I always enjoy looking at early cards of great stars. You know, before they came into their own. This original 1964 Joe Morgan card is a prime example. While he’s not my favorite broadcaster, I prefer to remember him as one of my favorite secondbasemen as a kid. He was a perennial All-Star for the Reds and he would represent my National League each July.
Morgan wasn’t always with the Reds and he certainly always good either. His first nine years were with the Houston Colt 45s/Astros and he was growing into his role as speedster with power. In 1964, he was in his second year in the majors and started ten games for the Colt 45s backing up Nellie Fox.
That year, Morgan batted .189 (7 for 37) with no extra base hits. He scored four runs and walked six times but only attempted one steal and was caught.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 Totals | 10 | 43 | 37 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 7 | .189 | .302 | .189 |
Due to his six walks in 43 plate appearances, Morgan has some offensive value in his five 14s. However, he has zero power with a 66-7. He gets an additional 11-7 and has no steal numbers which puts his last hit number at 15.
He’s rated as a 2B-5 too if you hadn’t noticed.
Ugly numbers: 51-37, 25-18, 66-7, 2B-5
I don’t know if this is an acknowledged card error but 1964 Morgan has two 18s. He has his normal error number, a 53-18 then a strange 25-18. Also strange is that Morgan’s 1964 card has two 37s, one at 51 and one at 42. Hold that runner close!
It didn’t take long before Joe Morgan turned it up a notch. The next year in 1965 which was his actual rookie year, he came in second for the Rookie of the Year voting. It was well deserved as he scored 100 runs and led the league with 97 walks behind a .271 batting average. He even hit 14 homers and found his stride stealing 20 bases. One could argue he deserved the top rookie award in 1965 over LA favorite Jim Lefebvre (.250, 12 HR, 69 rbis).
Thanks to new friend Scott Veatch for this great find!
