R.I.P.: Joe Morgan, MLB Hall Of Famer, Broadcaster

Joe Morgan

Joe Morgan, the MLB Hall of Fame second baseman who became the sparkplug of dominant Cincinnati teams in the mid-1970s and the prototype for baseball’s artificial turf era, has died. 

He was 77, according to The Associated Press.

He died at his home Sunday in Danville, California, family spokesman James Davis said in statement Monday. Morgan was suffering from a nerve condition, a form of polyneuropathy.

“Joe Morgan was quite simply the best baseball player I played against or saw,” Reds Hall of Fame catcher Johnny Bench texted to The Associated Press.

Morgan’s death marked the latest among major league greats this year: Whitey Ford, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Tom Seaver and Al Kaline.

“All champions. This hurts the most,” Bench said.

Morgan was a two-time NL Most Valuable Player, a 10-time All-Star and won five Gold Gloves. A dynamo known for flapping his left elbow at the plate, Little Joe could hit a home run, steal a base and disrupt any game with his daring.

Health issues had slowed down Morgan in recent years. Knee surgery forced him to use a cane when he went onto the field at Great American Ball Park before the 2015 All-Star Game and he later needed a bone marrow transplant for an illness.

Miller and Morgan

Morgan hit .327 with 17 homers, 94 RBIs and 67 stolen bases in 1975, then followed with a .320 average, 27 homers, 111 RBIs and 60 steals the next year. He was only the fifth second baseman in the NL to drive in more than 100 runs and also led the league in both on-base percentage and slugging percentage in 1976.

After his playing career, he spent years as an announcer for the Reds, Giants and A’s, along with ESPN, NBC, ABC and CBS. He was analyst for ESPN’s Sunday night telecasts from 1990-2010 and won two Sports Emmy Awards as an Event Analyst — ESPN’s first two wins in the category, in 1998 and 2005.

San Francisco Giants broadcaster Jon Miller, Morgan's former ESPN booth partner stated, “Joe is rightfully remembered as a great player and Hall of Famer — and in my opinion is the greatest second baseman there ever was — but his pioneering efforts are not always as appreciated. He was the first Black or African-American game baseball analyst in prime time on national television and he did that for 21 seasons. He was the pioneering trailblazer among commentators. ... He was also someone whose opinion the commissioner valued and that he sought counsel from. Joe had an influence over the game way beyond what we all saw.”