Second Baseman,
Cincinnati Reds
Age: 32 (Sept. 19)
4th season
with Reds
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’7” Weight: 160
Prior to 1975:
Born in Texas,
Morgan moved to Oakland, California with his family as a child. He played
basketball as well as baseball at Castlemont High School. Following two
outstanding seasons at Oakland City College, Morgan signed with the expansion
Houston Colt .45s for $500 per month and a $3000 signing bonus in 1962.
Assigned to Modesto of the Class A California League in 1963 he batted .263 in
45 games with 5 home runs, 27 RBIs, and 21 stolen bases. Advancing to the
Durham Bulls of the Class A Carolina League later in the season, he benefited
from the coaching of manager Billy Goodman, a former major league batting star,
who helped him learn patience at the plate. He hit .332 with 13 home runs and
43 RBIs. Called up to Houston in September, the diminutive “Little Joe”
appeared in eight games and batted .240. Moving on to the San Antonio Bullets
of the Class AA Texas League in 1964, Morgan batted .323 with 42 doubles, 8
triples, 12 home runs, 90 RBIs, and 47 stolen bases. He was named league MVP
and again received a September call-up to the Colt .45s. He stayed with the
renamed Astros in 1965 and became the regular second baseman. He hit .271 with
14 home runs, 40 RBIs, 100 runs scored, and 20 stolen bases, placing second in
NL Rookie of the Year voting. His speed and surprising power considering his
size, made Morgan appear to be a star in the making. He developed a distinctive
arm flap that served as a reminder to keep his back elbow up when at the plate.
He missed 40 games in 1966 due to a fractured kneecap which kept him from
appearing in his first All-Star Game. Playing in 122 games he batted .285 with
8 triples, 5 home runs, 42 RBIs, 60 runs scored, and 11 stolen bases. Morgan
rebounded in 1967 by playing in 133 games and hitting .275 with 27 doubles, 11
triples, 6 home runs, 42 RBIs, and 29 stolen bases while performing well in the
field. He was limited to ten games in 1968 due to torn knee ligaments that
required surgery. Morgan returned in 1969 to bat .236 with 15 home runs, 43
RBIs, 94 runs scored, and 49 stolen bases as the Astros proved to be surprise
contenders in the new NL Western Division. He was an All-Star in 1970 on his
way to hitting .268 with 8 home runs, 52 RBIs, 102 runs scored, and 42 stolen
bases. Morgan remained productive in 1971, batting .256 with a league-leading
11 triples, 13 home runs, 56 RBIs, and 40 stolen bases, while committing only
12 errors at second base. He also clashed with manager Harry Walker, who
criticized his attitude, and in the offseason he was dealt to the Reds along
with four other players for second baseman Tommy Helms, first baseman Lee May,
and utilityman Jimmy Stewart. Morgan proved to be a solid addition to a
pennant-winning team in 1972, leading the NL in runs scored (122), walks drawn
(115), and on-base percentage (.417) while hitting .292 with 16 home runs, 73
RBIs, and 58 stolen bases. In addition to being chosen as an All-Star he placed
fourth in league MVP voting. He received his first Gold Glove in 1973 and batted
.290 with 26 home runs, 82 RBIs, and 67 stolen bases for the division-winning
Reds. In 1974 he topped the NL with a .427 on-base percentage while hitting
.293 with 22 home runs, 67 RBIs, 107 runs scored, and 58 stolen bases.
1975 Season Summary
Appeared in 146
games
2B – 142, PH –
5
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 639 [19]
At Bats – 498
Runs – 107 [4]
Hits – 163 [15,
tied with Lou Brock]
Doubles – 27
Triples – 6
[17, tied with six others]
Home Runs – 17
RBI – 94 [11]
Bases on Balls
– 132 [1]
Int. BB – 3
Strikeouts – 52
Stolen Bases – 67
[2]
Caught Stealing
– 10 [10, tied with Von Joshua]
Average - .327
[4]
OBP - .466 [1]
Slugging Pct. -
.508 [7]
Total Bases – 253
[12]
GDP – 3
Hit By Pitches
– 3
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 6 [17,
tied with seven others]
League-leading bases
on balls were +22 ahead of runner-up Jim Wynn
League-leading
OBP was +.060 ahead of runner-up Pete Rose
Midseason
snapshot: HR – 13, SB – 40, RBI – 60, AVG – .345, SLG – .547
---
Most hits, game
– 3 on thirteen occcasions
Longest hitting
streak – 10 games
HR at home – 10
HR on road – 7
Most home runs,
game – 1 on seventeen occasions
Multi-HR games
– 0
Most RBIs, game
– 5 vs. Houston 4/20
Pinch-hitting –
1 of 4 (.250) with 1 R, 1 BB & 3 RBI
Fielding
Chances – 792
Put Outs – 356
Assists – 425
Errors – 11
DP – 96
Pct. - .986
Postseason: 10
G (NLCS vs. Pittsburgh – 3 G; World Series vs. Boston – 7 G)
PA – 47, AB – 38,
R – 6, H – 10, 2B – 4,3B – 0, HR – 0, RBI – 4, BB – 7, IBB – 0, SO – 3, SB – 6,
CS – 1, AVG - .263, OBP - .383, SLG - .368, TB – 14, GDP – 0, HBP – 1, SH – 0, SF
– 1
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
Major League
Player of the Year: Sporting News
Gold Glove
All-Star (Started
for NL at 2B)
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Joe Morgan,
Cin.: 321 pts. - 21 of 23 first place votes, 96% share
Greg Luzinski,
Phila.: 154 pts. – 46% share
Dave Parker,
Pitt.: 120 pts. – 36% share
Johnny Bench,
Cin.: 117 pts. – 35% share
Pete Rose, Cin.:
114 pts. – 2 first place votes, 34% share
---
Reds went 108-54
to finish first in the NL Western Division by 20 games over the Los Angeles Dodgers,
while leading the league in runs scored (840), RBIs (779), stolen bases (168),
walks drawn (691), and OBP (.353). The Reds got off to a 35-5 coasted to the NL
West title, clinching on September 7. Won NLCS over the Pittsburgh Pirates, 3
games to 0. Won World Series over the Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3 in a
drama-filled battle that came down to Morgan’s RBI single in Game 7.
Aftermath of ‘75:
Morgan followed
up with an even better season in 1976, topping the NL in on-base percentage
(.444) and slugging percentage (.576) while batting .320 with 27 home runs, 111
RBIs, and 60 stolen bases. The Reds again won the World Series and Morgan
repeated as National League MVP. Cincinnati was a second-place club in 1977 but
Morgan hit .288 with 22 home runs, 78 RBIs, and 49 stolen bases. Hampered by a
pulled stomach muscle in 1978, Morgan’s batting average dropped to .236 with 13
home runs, 75 RBIs, and 19 stolen bases. Injuries slowed Morgan again in 1979
and he batted .250 with 9 home runs, 32 RBIs, and 28 stolen bases for the
division-winning Reds. In the offseason, the fading 36-year-old returned to the
Astros as a free agent. Following a slow start in 1980 Morgan became a key to
Houston winning its first NL West title, batting .243 with a .367 on-base
percentage fueled by his league-leading 93 walks drawn. He also produced 11
home runs, 49 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases. Moving on to the San Francisco Giants in
1981 he helped to solidify the infield defensively while providing leadership
during the strike-interrupted season. “The Little General” hit .240 with a .371
on-base percentage, 66 walks drawn, 8 home runs, and 31 RBIs. He followed up
with an impressive season in 1982, by the end of which he was 39 years old,
batting .289 with 14 home runs, 61 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases while the Giants
contended in the NL West. He was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in the
offseason, which reunited him with former Cincinnati teammates Pete Rose and
Tony Perez. The Phillies won the division and NL pennant as Morgan contributed
a .230 average with 16 home runs and 59 RBIs. He added two home runs in the
World Series loss to Baltimore. Released by the Phillies in the offseason,
Morgan played one last year with the Oakland Athletics in 1984 in which he hit
.244 with 6 home runs and 43 RBIs. Overall for his major league career, he
batted .271 with 2517 hits that included 449 doubles, 96 triples, and 268 home
runs. He further compiled 1650 runs, 1133 RBIs, 689 stolen bases, and 1865
walks drawn. With the Reds he batted .288 with 1155 hits, 816 runs scored, 220
doubles, 27 triples, 152 home runs, 612 RBIs, 406 stolen bases, and 881 walks
drawn. In 50 postseason games he hit just .182 with 5 home runs, 13 RBIs, and
15 stolen bases. Morgan was a 10-time All-Star (8 straight with the Reds) and
received five Gold Gloves. The Reds retired his #8 and he was inducted into the
Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. In retirement he went into broadcasting.
--
MVP Profiles feature players in the National or
American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award
(1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present)
as Most Valuable Player.
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