Lost another baseball great with the passing of Joe Morgan. Whitey Ford was before my time but I remember watching Bob Gibson and Joe Morgan quite a lot growing up. Still remember Morgan’s arm flap when batting. Only 5’7” but what a career. Also, liked him on Sunday night baseball. Field of Dreams getting fuller.
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Man, my childhood heroes are leaving us. RIP.
Joe Morgan - phenomenal baseball player, one of the all-time greats
Joe Morgan - horrendous baseball analyst, one of the all-time worst
@Blair Kiel posted:Man, my childhood heroes are leaving us. RIP.
My favorite non-Brewer team of my childhood was the Big Red Machine. One of the best collections of position players in MLB history - really on par to some of the historically good Yankee teams. Probably the best combination of defensive ability with superstar hitting ability in history.
C- Johnny Bench - HOF -10 gold gloves, arguably the best defensive catcher in history
1B- Tony Perez - HOF
2B- Joe Morgan - HOF - 5-time gold glover. He'd be even more appreciated by today's standards with his ability to draw walks (over 100 in 6 different seasons).
3B- Pete Rose - obviously HOF level talent -2 gold gloves as well
SS- Dave Concepcion - 9-time all-star and 5 time Gold Glover. The only reason he didn't win more gold gloves is because Ozzie Smith came into the league and started winning them instead. If Ozzie is in the HOF there is a halfway decent argument for Concepcion to be in as well. Concepcion's defense wasn't that much below Ozzie's and at least as good of a hitter.
LF- George Foster - 5 time all-star, MVP. Had as good a 5 year peak as any HOFer. 320/52/149 in 1978 might be one of the top seasons of all time (1.013 OPS).
CF - Cesar Geronimo - 4 time Gold Glover
RF- Ken Griffey Sr. - 2 time all-star
"The Greatest Generation" may also apply for the 1950's through the 1970's in sports. It certainly is for baseball. Not only great players, but great teams.
Willie Mays was an idol, so I 'rooted' for the SF Giants. They're not generally thought of as a team in the same vein as the Dodgers, Yankees, or Cardinals, but they had some good ones in this era.
A few years ago, I dug through all my baseball cards to give Grandson the ones I had of the Baltimore Orioles, and had a trip down memory lane. Talk about a powerhouse of a team!
Cuellar, Palmer, and McNally on the mound, Robinson and Powell on the corners, Belanger in the middle, and Frank Robinson in the OF. Oh, and managed by this guy named Earl Weaver.
The late 70s were right before the effects of free agency really changed professional sports. It was absolutely the right thing for the players as the owners were making enormous amounts of money and the players were making so little that they often had jobs in the winter to get by. But, it changed being a fan from rooting for the same guys season after season with an occasional blockbuster trade to shake things up, to cheering for uniforms.
I remember some classic pitching matchups in the late 60’s and 70’s when I was a kid back before the specialized relievers when starters stayed in longer and pitch counts we’re that important. I remember the Oriole pitchers mentioned and I remember Bob Gibson pitching against Mickey Lolich in the World Series I think. Also remember when Denny McClain won 30 games one year. That won’t happen again.
Amazing on the field, sad to see him pass away. Baseball Gods are assembling quite a team, just this year, Al Kaline, Bob Gibson, Lou Brock, Tom Seaver and Whitey Ford.
@MichiganPacker2 posted:My favorite non-Brewer team of my childhood was the Big Red Machine. One of the best collections of position players in MLB history - really on par to some of the historically good Yankee teams. Probably the best combination of defensive ability with superstar hitting ability in history.
I'll second that emotion
A great Joe Morgan story from Jim Bouton's "Ball Four" book.
Norm Miller was doing the broadcast bit in the fourth inning when Joe Morgan came back to the dugout after missing a big curveball for strike three.
"Joe, Joe Morgan, may I have a word with you?"
"Sure, Norm, how's it going?"
"Fine, Joe, fine. We wanted to ask you about that pitch you missed. What was it?"
"Norm, that was a motherfucking curve."
"Can you tell our listeners, Joe, what's the difference between a regular curve and a motherfucking curve?"
"Well, Norm, your regular curve has a lot of spin on it and you can recognize it real early. It breaks down a little bit, and out. Now, your motherfucker, that's different. It comes in harder, looks like a fastball. Then all of a sudden it rolls off the top of the table and before you know it, it's motherfucking strike three."
"Thank you very much, Joe Morgan."
