Joe Morgan, Baseball Hall of Famer and Oakland native, dies at 77

Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, one of the greatest second basemen in baseball history and a spark plug for the Cincinnati Reds’ Big Red Machine, has died. He was 77.

A family spokesman said Morgan passed away Sunday night in his Danville home. The cause of death was complications from non-specified polyneuropathy, a nerve condition.

Morgan, who was overlooked growing up in Oakland because of his small stature, grew from a 5-foot-5, 140-pound high school star at Castlemont into one of baseball’s giants on the diamond.

What he lacked in size he made up for with his talent and an unwavering desire to outwork anyone else around him.

A 5-foot-7 dynamo known for flapping his left elbow at the plate in the majors, Little Joe could hit a home run, steal a base and disrupt any game with his daring.

“I’ve always felt my size was a plus because it made me work harder,” Morgan once said. “I had to prove I could do the same thing the bigger guys could do. The only way I could do it was to work harder.”

He led the Reds to back-to-back World Series championships in 1975 and ‘76 while being named the National League’s Most Valuable Player in both seasons. Morgan was inducted into baseball’s Hall of Fame in 1990 on the first ballot.

Morgan, a 10-time All-Star, played for both the Giants and the A’s during his 22year career. In fact, he hit one of the most memorable home runs in Giants history on the the last day of the 1982 season. He endeared himself to Giants fans by smashing a dramatic, game-winning three-run homer against Los Angeles at Candlestick Park that knocked the hated Dodgers out of the postseason.

No matter where he played, though, Morgan always maintained a home in the East Bay.

After his playing career, Morgan became a familiar face on baseball broadcasts across the country as an analyst for both NBC and ESPN, where he teamed for years with Giants announcer and fellow East Bay product Jon Miller. They were a TV tandem for 21 years.

Morgan had been a special advisor to the Reds’ baseball operations department and CEO Bob Castellini since 2010.