Joe Morgan (Hall of Famer)

From SoSH

Contents 1 Overall Career 2 Awards 3 Achievements 4 Trivia 5 Transactions 6 External Links

Overall Career

Joe Leonard Morgan (born September 19, 1943 in Bonham, TX), was a fierce competitor renowned for his baseball smarts. Joe Morgan could single-handedly beat opposing teams with his multi-faceted skills. A two-time National League MVP in 1975 and 1976, he was a terror on the base paths, topping the 40-steal plateau nine times during his career. His skilled batting eye enabled him to lead the National League in on-base percentage and walks four times each. Morgan also packed considerable power into his compact frame, hitting 449 doubles and 268 home runs.

Awards

• Elected to Hall of Fame by Baseball Writers in 1990 (81.76%)

• 1964 MVP Texas League - San Antonio Bullets
• 1965 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
• 1972 All-Star Game MVP
• 1982 National League Silver Slugger Award - 2B
• 1982 National League Comeback Player of the Year Award
• 2-time National League MVP (1975 & 1976)
• 2-time Major League Player of the Year (1975 & 1976)
• 5-time National League Gold Glove - 2B (1973-1977)
• 10-time National League All-Star (1966, 1970, 1972-1979)

Achievements

• 4-time NL On-Base Percentage Leader (1972, 1974, 1975 & 1976)
• NL Slugging Percentage Leader (1976)
• 2-time NL OPS Leader (1975 & 1976)
• NL Runs Scored Leader (1972)
• NL Triples Leader (1971)
• 4-time NL Bases on Balls Leader (1965, 1972, 1975 & 1980)
• 20-Home Run Seasons: 4 (1973, 1974, 1976 & 1977)
• 100 RBI Seasons: 1 (1976)
• 100 Runs Scored Seasons: 8 (1965, 1970 & 1972-1977)
• 50 Stolen Bases Seasons: 5 (1972-1976)

Trivia

• Won two World Series Rings with the Cincinnati Reds (1975 & 1976).
• Joe Morgan's familiar habit of flapping his arm while at bat was a timing mechanism that was suggested to him by teammate and future Hall of Fame second baseman Nellie Fox.
• Great 2nd Baseman for the Big Red Machine
• Awful Baseball Announcer for ESPN
• Doesn't like to read books that haven't played the game
• Seems to think Billy Beane wrote Moneyball
• Encourages the belief that players from the 1970s would whup players from today in any head to head competition, stats be damned!
• Still thinks mustaches make the man

Transactions

• November 1, 1962: Signed by the Houston Colt .45's as an amateur free agent.
• November 29, 1971: Traded by the Houston Astros with Ed Armbrister, Jack Billingham, Cesar Geronimo, and Denis Menke to the Cincinnati Reds for Lee May, Tommy Helms, and Jimmy Stewart.
• November 1, 1979: Granted Free Agency.
• January 31, 1980: Signed as a Free Agent with the Houston Astros.
• December 8, 1980: Released by the Houston Astros.
• February 9, 1981: Signed as a Free Agent with the San Francisco Giants.
• December 14, 1982: Traded by the San Francisco Giants with Al Holland to the Philadelphia Phillies for Mike Krukow, Mark Davis, and Charles Penigar.
• October 31, 1983: Released by the Philadelphia Phillies.
• December 13, 1983: Signed as a Free Agent with the Oakland Athletics.

External Links

• Baseball-Reference.com - Career Statistics and Analysis
• Joe Morgan: Hall of Fame Page
• 1990 Hall of Fame Class
• firejoemorgan.com