Morgan was twice named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the National League, ten times All-Star, and five times winner of the Gold Glove.
Second baseman Joe Morgan, who was part of the famous and historic “Big Red Machine” of the Cincinnati Reds, has died at the age of 77, according to information released Monday by Major League Baseball.
Morgan, a member of the Hall of Fame, died Sunday at his residence in California, without disclosing the causes of his death.
For the past several years he had struggled with various health problems, including a nervous condition, a form of polyneuropathy.
Morgan was twice named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the National League, ten times All-Star, and five times winner of the Gold Glove.
He is considered one of the best second basemen in baseball history and also gained renown for his more than 25 years as an announcer after his playing career.
He spent most of his 22-year career with the Reds and the Houston Astros franchise.
Along with Pete Rose and fellow Hall of Famers Johnny Bench and Cuban Tony Pérez, Morgan helped the Reds win back-to-back World Series championships in 1975 and 1976.
The Cincinnati team also reached the World Series in 1972, Morgan’s first year with the Reds.
Morgan was the Old Circuit MVP in 1975 and 1976 and was also named an All-Star in each of his eight seasons with the Reds.
He dominated all facets of the game and had a .271 batting average with 268 homers, 1,133 RBIs, 1,650 runs scored, and 689 stolen bases, the eleventh best record of all time.
His major league debut came in 1963 when Morgan played with the Astros when they were the Houston Colt .45’s. He was traded to the Reds in November 1971 as part of an eight-player contract and competed for the next eight years with the Cincinnati team.
After spending the 1980 season with Houston, Morgan also played for the San Francisco Giants, the Philadelphia Phillies, and the Oakland Athletics at the end of his career before retiring in 1984 at the age of 41.
Morgan was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1990 and worked as a television commentator until he returned to the Reds in 2010 as a special adviser for baseball operations.
Morgan is among several Hall of Famers who has died this year, a list that includes Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Tom Seaver, and Al Kaline.
Amelia Warner
Amelia Warner writes all the Latest Articles. She mostly covers Entertainment topics, but at times loves to write about movie reviews as well.
