Baseball Hall of Famer Joe Morgan dies at 77


Joe Morgan, the Hall of Fame second baseman who spent the prime of his career with the Cincinnati Reds, has died, USA Today reported Monday. He was 77.
Morgan is one of the game's all-time great players, earning two MVP awards, 10 All-Star trips, and five Gold Gloves. He was a key piece of Cincinnati's "Big Red Machine" teams alongside Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, and Ken Griffey, Sr, and together the group won back to back World Series titles in 1975 and 1976.
Originally signed by the then-Houston Colt .45s (since renamed the Astros) in 1962, Morgan was a solid hitter early in his career with the franchise, but he took his game to another level when he was traded to the Reds before the 1972 season.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Morgan's career .271 batting average doesn't immediately jump off the page, but he got on-base at a .392 clip and led the league in walks and on-base percentage four times each. And once he was on, he was a premier threat, stealing at least 58 bases five years in a row between 1972-76.
After his career, Morgan spent many years as a broadcaster, teaming with play-by-play announcer Jon Miller for ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball for two decades between 1990-2010.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
How will Wall Street react to the Trump-Powell showdown?
Today's Big Question 'Market turmoil' seems likely
By Joel Mathis, The Week US
-
Google ruled a monopoly over ad tech dominance
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi hailed the ruling as a 'landmark victory in the ongoing fight to stop Google from monopolizing the digital public square'
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
El Salvador's CECOT prison becomes Washington's go-to destination
IN THE SPOTLIGHT Republicans and Democrats alike are clamoring for access to the Trump administration's extrajudicial deportation camp — for very different reasons
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Canada beats US in charged 4 Nations hockey final
Speed Read 'You can't take our country — and you can't take our game,' Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted after the game
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Eagles trounce Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX
speed read The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Kansas City Chiefs 40-22
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Indian teen is youngest world chess champion
Speed Read Gukesh Dommaraju, 18, unseated China's Ding Liren
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Europe roiled by attacks on Israeli soccer fans
Speed Read Israeli fans supporting the Maccabi Tel Aviv team clashed with pro-Palestinian protesters in 'antisemitic attacks,' Dutch authorities said
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
New York wins WNBA title, nearly nabs World Series
Speed Read The Yankees with face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the upcoming Fall Classic
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Caitlin Clark the No. 1 pick in bullish WNBA Draft
Speed Read As expected, she went to the Indiana Fever
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
South Carolina ends perfect season with NCAA title
Speed Read The women's basketball team won a victory over superstar Caitlin Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Iowa's Caitlin Clark breaks NCAA scoring record
speed read College basketball star Caitlin Clark set the new record in Iowa's defeat of Ohio State
By Peter Weber, The Week US