Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan, best known for his days with the Big Red Machine in Cincinnati, passed away yesterday. No specific cause of death has been released, but Morgan has had significant health problems over the past five years including Mydolesplastic syndrome which led to leukemia complicated by polyneuropathy. Morgan was 77.
A native of Bonham, Texas (just north of Dallas), Morgan signed with the Houston Colt 45's as an amateur free agent in 1962 and would make his big league debut with the Colt 45's two days after his 20th birthday in 1963. His first full season in MLB would come in 1965 when the team was renamed the Astros. Morgan led the NL in walks with 97. This was good enough to finish runner up in NL Rookie of the Year balloting to Jim Lefebvre of the Los Angeles Dodgers. While with the Astros, Morgan would make the NL All-Star Team in 1966 and 1970.
After leading the NL in triples with the Astros in 1971, Morgan was traded to the Cincinnati Reds along with outfielders Ed Armbrister and Cesar Geronimo, infielder Dennis Menke and pitcher Jack Billingham in exchange for first baseman Lee May, infielder Tommy Helms and utility man Jimmy Stewart. This is usually not listed among the most lopsided trades in MLB history (i.e. Lou Brock for Ernie Broglio) but it should be.
Although the Reds won the NL pennant in 1970, they took a big step back in 1971 going from 102 wins to a losing record of 79-83. Despite the presence of Pete Rose, Johnny Bench and Tony Perez and the genius of Sparky Anderson, there probably would not have been a Big Red Machine without Morgan. In Morgan's eight seasons in Cincinnati, he was named to the NL All-Star Team all eight seasons (including All-Star Game MVP in 1972), walked 100 or more times and had a OBP of .400 or greater six straight seasons, earned five Gold Gloves, played in three World Series, won back to back World Series in 1975 and 1976 (including the game winning hit in Game 7 of the '75 Series) as well as back to back NL MVPs in '75 and '76. One could make a legitimate case that Morgan was the best overall player in the NL, if not all of MLB, in the 1970's. Morgan could have retired after the 1979 season and would have been elected to the Hall of Fame.
Instead, Morgan would return to Houston in 1980 where he would help the Astros make their very first post-season appearance with a NL West title. Morgan then spent two seasons with the San Francisco Giants. His most memorable appearance in a Giants uniform was when he ended he broke the hearts of Los Angeles Dodgers fans by hitting a game winning homerun ending their chance at a NL West which instead went to the Atlanta Braves.
In 1983, Morgan would reunite with Big Red Machine alumni Pete Rose and Tony Perez on the Philadelphia Phillies. Dubbed The Wheeze Kids, the triumvirate would help the Phillies earn a NL pennant and another World Series appearance though they would fall to the Baltimore Orioles in five games.
Morgan would return to the Bay Area to finish out his career with the Oakland A's in 1984 - his lone season in the AL. In 22 seasons, Morgan played in 2649 games, collected 2517 hits for a lifetime batting average of .271 with 268 HR and 1133 RBI. When you add Morgan's 1865 walks he finished with a career OBP of .392. Morgan finished fifth on the all-time walks list. Only Ted Williams, Babe Ruth, Rickey Henderson and Barry Bonds collected more walks in their careers. Morgan was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1990 with 81.8% of the vote.
Following his playing career, Morgan spent 25 years in the broadcast booth calling games for the Reds in 1985 and for the Giants from 1986 to 1994. He also appeared on national broadcasts with both ABC and NBC, but was best known for his 20 year partnership with Jon Miller on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball. That program has simply not been the same since their departure after the 2010 season.
Morgan would join the Reds' front office in 2011 as a special assistant. His health problems would be evident when he walked with a cane when introduced to the crowd prior to the start of the 2015 All-Star Game in Cincinnati. But his competitive spirit was still there in his eyes.
Morgan is now the sixth member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame to pass away in 2020. Detroit Tigers legend Al Kaline died in April. On August 31st, Tom Seaver (a teammate of Morgan's in Cincinnati from mid-1977 through 1979) was claimed by COVID-19. Less than a week later, Lou Brock succumbed. Less than a month later, Brock's longtime Cardinals teammate Bob Gibson died. New York Yankees pitching legend Whitey Ford passed away only 48 hours before Morgan. I would ask if this awful year could get worse but I already know the answer to that.
The best we can do is to remember what Morgan did best. R.I.P.
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