Athletes - Joe Morgan

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	Athletes - Joe Morgan

Joseph Michael Morgan (born November 19, 1930 in Walpole, Massachusetts) is a former infielder, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball.

Morgan attended Boston College, where he played baseball and varsity hockey, and signed his first baseball contract with the hometown Boston Braves of the National League. However, by the time he returned from military service and a long stint in the minor leagues, the team had become the Milwaukee Braves. Morgan, a lefthanded-hitting middle infielder and third baseman, put up several strong seasons at the AA and AAA levels. But he could not crack the Braves' lineup, nor those of the Philadelphia Phillies, Kansas City Athletics, Cleveland Indians and St. Louis Cardinals. In parts of four major league seasons, he appeared in just 88 games and batted only .193.

In 1966, Morgan became a manager in the farm system of the Pittsburgh Pirates, rising quickly to the AAA level, and served as a Pittsburgh coach under Bill Virdon in 1972. In 1974, he joined the Boston Red Sox as skipper of their AAA Pawtucket club and led the PawSox for nine years (1974-82). He won the International League Manager of the Year award in 1977. He then was moved into a scouting role (1983-84) and was finally invited to return to the majors as a Red Sox coach in 1985.

In 1988, a strong Boston team was stumbling along at .500 under John McNamara. During the All-Star break, Boston ownership decided to fire McNamara and named Morgan acting manager while they began negotiations with high profile candidates, such as Joe Torre and Lou Piniella, who were under contract to other organizations. The Red Sox promptly won their first 12 games under Morgan - a period dubbed by the press as Morgan Magic - and the team named him as their regular field boss. The 1988 Red Sox won the American League East, but were swept by the Oakland Athletics in the American League Championship Series; two years later, the 1990 Sox repeated history, winning their division but bowing in four straight to the A's in the playoffs. Morgan holds the record for managing a team to eight straight post-season losses.

Despite the playoff setbacks, Morgan was a highly popular figure in Boston as a "native son," a former hockey player, and a blue-collar hero. He was called "Turnpike Joe" in tribute to the offseason job he held for many years to supplement his minor league pay: driving a snowplow on the Massachusetts Turnpike. His phrases such as "Roger spun another beauty" (describing one of many stellar outings by his star pitcher, Roger Clemens) or the often-repeated "Six, two and even" became part of New England folklore.

In 1991, Morgan guided a flawed Boston team to a distant second-place finish in the AL East. Although he had one year remaining on his contract, he was fired at season's end in favor of Butch Hobson. "This team just isn't that good," Morgan warned in his parting comments. He was right; under Hobson, the 1992 Red Sox finished last in the AL East.

Morgan's final major league managerial totals: 301-262 (.535) over 3 1/2 years, all with the Red Sox.

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Athletes - Joe Morgan

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