Father's job as a sports editor helped Guardians' Eli Morgan fall in love with baseball

CLEVELAND — Guardians reliever Eli Morgan pulled out his phone, eager to show one of his most prized photographs.

“I’ve got one for you. It’s as good as it gets,” Morgan said, finding the picture in no time. “First Dodger game.”

His father, Dave, is holding him at the iconic Los Angeles baseball stadium.

A guess on Eli’s age at one year old went too far.

“Not even,” Morgan said. “Six, eight months. It started young.”

“It” was Morgan’s love for baseball, but also the bond he shared with his dad through the game.

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Eli and Dave didn’t play catch every day. Dave didn’t make it to all of Eli’s games. Until Eli was nearly 10, Dave Morgan worked at the Los Angeles Times, starting in 1985 and leaving in early 2006. He was hired as a reporter and moved up to assistant sports editor, night sports editor, and deputy SE.

Then it was on to become executive editor of Yahoo! Sports, then to USA TODAY as senior vice president for content at its sports media group. Now Dave Morgan is head of sports digital news for Sinclair Broadcasting Group, running content for Bally Sports regional networks, including Bally Sports Great Lakes, which televises Guardians games.

With all his connections in the industry, Dave knows of only three other journalists — L.A. Times  baseball writer Ross Newhan, Times copy editor Fernando Dominguez and John Marvel, who worked for ESPN, NFL Media, Golf Digest properties and is now with Backstage Media — whose sons made it to the major leagues.

David Newhan, an outfielder/second baseman, was drafted by the Oakland A's in 1995 and played eight years for five teams, three with the Baltimore Orioles. Matt Dominguez, a third baseman drafted in the first round by the Florida Marlins in 2007, played five years, three with the Houston Astros. James Marvel pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2019 and is now in the Philadelphia Phillies organization.

“It’s extremely rare,” Dave said.

Eli Morgan didn’t make it because his dad was introducing him to professional athletes, although he acknowledged that his dad’s job probably made him more captivated by baseball.

“I got to meet his friends in the media, in the press box, that was cool, seeing everyone typing away and scratching on their paper,” Eli told the Beacon Journal on June 27. “You see him chit-chatting with everyone, the man of the hour. But no one on the team.”

Eli Morgan's dad, Dave, was 'quarterbacking' a dozen reporters when Angels won 2002 World Series

Eli was 6 when the Angels won the World Series in 2002, but his dad was “quarterbacking” more than a dozen LA Times reporters at every game.

“It wasn’t like, ‘Let’s take my 6-year-old-son to the World Series,’” Dave said in a June 29 phone interview. “He was watching the games at home. He’d hear me talking about it and see the newspaper. He wasn’t in the middle of it per se, but he knew that’s why I’m not home tonight and I know he followed it.

“I know that helped him like the Angels.”

As for attending professional games together, Eli said they might see two to five a year.

Asked if that provided motivation for his career, Eli said, “I’m sure it couldn’t hurt. It made me fall in love with baseball even more. I got to go watch the professional level. Little League was fun, but there’s nothing like going to a ballgame, especially with your dad.

“He would always have tickets or hookups for Dodger games or Angel games, Lakers, Clippers, that was really fun. We got to go to the Rose Bowl. I was always a baseball guy, though, football didn’t really do it for me. I’m sure if I was a football fan, that would have stuck out more. Just getting to go to Dodgers and Angels games was a blast.”

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Dave can understand what Eli meant about falling in love with baseball on those special days.

“He likes what he likes, baseball and golf. Getting Eli to like baseball, it just happened, there was no prodding,” Dave said. “Even when he was young, his motivation came from himself. I never had to tell him, ‘We’ve got to go work out.’ He wanted to. If he said he wanted to throw, my answer was always, ‘Of course.’”

Dave said he coached Eli until he turned 11; he lasted a little longer with Eli’s sister, Briana, who played softball through high school. Their mother, Diana, attended all their games, and Dave said she constantly took pictures and saved mementos like they were going in the Library of Congress. Dave came when he could, but didn’t want Eli to miss a tournament just so they could go to Dodger Stadium.

Guardians reliever Eli Morgan was coached by two former major leaguers at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School

After all, Eli was being coached by pros, including Michael and Ramon Garciaparra, brother and father of six-time All-Star and two-time batting champion Nomar Garciaparra.

“I was replaced by people who could teach him things I couldn’t imagine,” Dave said. “His first club coach played in the majors. He played for Michael and Ramon Garciaparra after that. Brian Bowles, his high school coach played in the majors. Don Slaught was one of the assistants because that was the high school he went to.

“When Eli was a junior and senior in high school, he had a former major leaguer as his coach and a longtime major leaguer in Don Slaught as the hitting and catching coach.”

After graduating from Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Eli pitched three years at Gonzaga University.

“He was in very good hands,” Dave said of Eli.

Eli was drafted by the Guardians in the eighth round of the 2017 first-year player draft. After a stint at Triple-A Columbus in 2021, he made 18 starts for the Guardians, going 5-7 with a 5.34 ERA. This season Eli was converted to a relief role, his versatility used for multiple innings or occasionally as the setup man for closer Emmanuel Clase. That means longer stays if Dave wants to see Eli pitch as he travels around the country to cities where Bally Sports has offices and channels.

Dave knows there’s no certainty when Eli will get called out of the bullpen. Eli did not appear in the four-game road series against the Angels in April.

Eli Morgan got the win on Father's Day in his first appearance in Los Angeles

In a three-game series in L.A. against the Dodgers June 17-19, Dave didn’t get to see Eli take the mound until Father’s Day. The Guardians prevailed, 5-3, to win the series 2-1 and Eli struck out three in 1⅔ innings to earn the victory.

“As if we didn’t have an emotional enough weekend, he got to pitch professionally in L.A. for the first time,” Dave said. “He gets in on Father’s Day, he gets the win. We get home and there’s a Father’s Day gift for me.”

It was what Dave described as a baseball card case — similar to a shadow box, perhaps 16 by 24 with five shelves inside — to hang on the wall.

With it was a custom-made Father’s Day card, with the photo of Dave holding baby Eli at Dodger Stadium.

“I hadn’t seen that picture in 25 years. It literally stopped me in my tracks,” Dave said. “I took a picture of the picture and sent it to him. I said to him, ‘As if this wasn’t emotional enough.’”

Told how Eli called it up on his phone at a moment’s notice, Dave appreciated what it meant to his son.

As Eli said, “It’s as good as it gets.”

Marla Ridenour can be reached at mridenour@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MRidenourABJ.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Guardians Eli Morgan's sports editor father gave him an inside look