danfrank wrote:Man, Joe Morgan! The Big Red Machine of the 1970s was the greatest baseball empire I’ve seen in my lifetime, and Joe Morgan was in the elite circle. I’ve always had an affinity for second basemen, and Joe was among the finest to ever play the game.
Yes, my late brother was a huge baseball fan & the Cincinnati Reds were a big deal in my family -- just an hour north.
Man, Joe Morgan! The Big Red Machine of the 1970s was the greatest baseball empire I’ve seen in my lifetime, and Joe Morgan was in the elite circle. I’ve always had an affinity for second basemen, and Joe was among the finest to ever play the game. There were so many ways he helped his team win, whether it was with power (a lot of pop for a small guy) or speed or grace or just smarts. He was an Oakland native which gives him extra stature for me. A true baseball giant.
Remember in 2016, when Bowie and Prince and a bunch of other famous musicians died, and it seemed like there was a cleanse being done of the rock industry? This year, it's baseball's turn, as we add Joe Morgan to the list of the newly departed.
Joe Morgan is at or near the top in any discussion of greatest second baseman of all time. Nowadays, since the Ryne Sandberg years, we're more accustomed to middle infielders with gaudy power numbers, but there was a time when all that was expected of second basemen was to maintain a decent batting average and make those slick plays. Morgan did all that but so much more. He won back-to-back MVPs in the 70s, and might have won more but for playing on a team that featured other MVP candidates named Bench and Rose. He was a brilliant base-stealer -- he could reach pitch-outs better than almost anyone -- and, yes, there was that power: obits are highlighting the home run he hit as a Giant in 1982, that knocked the Dodgers out of the playoffs.
A genuinely great player, and another one it's hard for me to imagine the world without.
