Second Baseman, Cincinnati Reds
Age: 33 (Sept. 19)
5th season
with Reds
Bats – Left,
Throws – Right
Height: 5’7” Weight: 160
Prior to 1976:
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. Cincinnati returned to the top of the NL West in 1975 and Morgan was the
league MVP as he hit .327 with 17 home runs, 94 RBIs, 67 stolen bases, and led
the league in walks drawn (132) and OBP (.466). The Reds advanced to the World
Series and defeated the Boston Red Sox in a drama-filled seven games that came
down to Morgan’s RBI single in the climactic game.
1976 Season Summary
Appeared in 141
games
2B – 133, PH – 8,
PR – 2
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 599
At Bats – 472
Runs – 113 [2]
Hits – 151
Doubles – 30
[13]
Triples – 5
Home Runs – 27
[5]
RBI – 111 [2]
Bases on Balls
– 114 [2]
Int. BB – 8
[20, tied with eight others]
Strikeouts – 41
Stolen Bases – 60
[2]
Caught Stealing
– 9 [16, tied with four others]
Average - .320
[5]
OBP - .444 [1]
Slugging Pct. -
.576 [1]
Total Bases – 272
[5, tied with Willie Montanez]
GDP – 2
Hit by Pitches
– 1
Sac Hits – 0
Sac Flies – 12 [1]
League-leading
OBP was +.032 ahead of runner-up Bill Madlock
League-leading
slugging pct was +.046 ahead of runner-up George Foster
League-leading
sac flies were +1 ahead of runner-up Greg Luzinski
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 16, HR - 14, RBI - 62, SB – 23, AVG - .330, OBP - .463, SLG - .612
---
Most hits, game
– 3 on nine occasions
Longest hitting
streak – 19 games
HR at home – 13
HR on road – 14
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 3 AB) at Pittsburgh 6/7, (in 3 AB) at Pittsburgh 6/8, (in 5 AB)
vs. St. Louis 8/23
Multi-HR games
– 3
Most RBIs, game
– 5 at Montreal 7/5
Pinch-hitting/running
– 0 for 5 (.000) with 2 R, 1 SB, 1 RBI & 3 BB
Fielding
Chances – 690
Put Outs – 342
Assists – 335
Errors – 13
DP – 85
Pct. - .981
Postseason
Batting: 7 G (NLCS vs. Philadelphia – 3 G; World Series vs. NY Yankees – 4 G)
PA – 30, AB – 22,
R – 5, H – 5, 2B – 1,3B – 1, HR – 1, RBI – 2, BB – 8, IBB – 3, SO – 3, SB – 4, CS
– 0, AVG - .227, OBP - .433, SLG - .500, TB – 11, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF
– 0
Awards & Honors:
NL MVP: BBWAA
MLB Player of
the Year: Sporting News
Gold Glove
All-Star (Started
for NL at 2B)
Top 5 in NL MVP
Voting:
Joe Morgan,
Cin.: 311 pts. - 19 of 24 first place votes, 93% share
George Foster,
Cin.: 221 pts. – 5 first place votes, 66% share
Mike Schmidt,
Phila.: 179 pts. – 53% share
Pete Rose, Cin.:
131 pts. – 39% share
Garry Maddox,
Phila.: 98 pts. – 29% share
---
Reds went
102-60 to finish first in the NL Western Division by 10 games over the Los
Angeles Dodgers, while leading the league in runs scored (857), hits (1599), doubles (271), triples (63), home runs (141), RBIs (802), stolen bases (210), bases on balls drawn (681), batter strikeouts (902), batting (.280), OBP (.357), slugging (.424), and total bases (2419). The Reds were
28-17 by the end of May and coasted to a second straight NL West title. Won
NLCS over the Philadelphia Phillies, 3 games to 0. Won World Series over the
New York Yankees, 4 games to 0, making them the first NL club to win
back-to-back World Series championships since the 1921-22 Giants.
Aftermath of ‘76:
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. He died in 2020 at the age of 77.
---
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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