MORGAN DIES
Hall of Fame second baseman Joe Morgan has died at age 77
Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, a 10-time All-Star and twotime World Series champion with the Big Red Machine, died Sunday at 77 at his home in Danville, California.
He died from a nerve condition, a non-specified polyneuropathy, according to a statement from his family.
Morgan played eight seasons with the Cincinnati Reds (1972-79), and he was selected to the All-Star team each year. He was named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1975 and '76, and he earned five Gold Gloves for his exceptional defense at second base.
He is the first of the "Great Eight" from the Big Red Machine to die.
“Joe wasn't just the best second baseman in baseball history, he was the best player I ever saw and one of the best people I've ever known,” Johnny Bench said. “He was a dedicated father and husband and a day won't go by that I won't think about his wisdom and friendship. He left the world a better, fairer, and more equal place than he found it, and inspired millions along the way.”
Nicknamed “Little Joe” because he was 5-foot7, 160 pounds during his playing career, Joe Leonard Morgan was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990 on his first year on the ballot.
Considered t he bes t second baseman of all-time, Morgan held records for home runs (268) and games played (2,649) by a second baseman at the end of his 22-year career. His trademark was flapping his left arm when awaiting pitches in the batter's box, which is noted on his Hall of Fame plaque. He recorded 2,517 hits and 689 stolen bases, owning the Reds' record for steals (406).
Morgan drove in the game-winning run in Game 7 of the 1975 World Series against Boston, scoring Ken Griffey Sr. on a single to center in the top of the ninth inning, to clinch Cincinnati's first World Series title in 35 years.
"I have never seen anyone, I mean anyone, play better than Joe did this year," manager Sparky Anderson said during the 1975 season.
The Big Red Machine may have been the best team in baseball history and Morgan, who wore No. 8, ignited the lineup after he was traded to the Reds on Nov. 29, 1971. It wasn't a popular trade initially because the Reds sent slugger Lee May and Gold Glove infielder Tommy Helms to Houston. But the Reds added pitcher Jack Billingham and center fielder César Gerónimo along with Morgan and the rest was history.
Morgan had the National League's best on- base percentage in four of his eight seasons with the Reds, drawing at least 110 walks in each year from 1972-77, and he even led the league in slugging percentage in 1976.
“Joe was a big part of my family during the time we played together and that remained the same long after our careers ended," Tony Pérez said.
For another generation of baseball fans, Morgan was known for his long career as a broadcaster and his distinct voice. He was the color commentator alongside Jon Miller for 21 years on ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball. He was a part of additional national broadcasts with NBC, ABC and CBS, and he called many World Series games.
It's been a tough time for the Hall of Fame fraternity, which has lost baseball greats Morgan, Tom Seaver, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Whitey Ford and Al Kaline this year.
Born in Bonham, Texas in 1943, as the oldest of six children, Morgan moved to Oakland when he was 5 years old. He was a standout in high school but there were always concerns about his small stature. Bill Wight, a scout for the Houston Colt .45s, gave Morgan a chance when he signed him in 1962.
He made his Major League debut as a 19-yearold in 1963 and he finished runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting in 1965. He was a two-time All-Star before he was traded to the Reds. He joked in his Hall of Fame induction speech that he needed to dispel the rumor that he just learned how to play baseball in Cincinnati, but he said the game was always about winning to him.
"I remember after my second Most Valuable Player Award, Tony Pérez came in one day, I was feeling pretty good, and he said, 'I want you to remember t his: When you played for Houston, no one even knew who you were. We brought you here and made you a star,' Morgan said in 1990, smiling. "And you know what, he was right. I say thank you to those guys every day."