Joe Morgan Stats

Joe Morgan was born on Sunday, September 19, 1943, in Bonham, Texas. Morgan was 20 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 21, 1963, with the Houston Colt .45s. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Joe Morgan baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"Have you no shame? You just got beat by a guy (Joe Morgan) who looks like a Little Leaguer!" - Gene Mauch in Baseball Digest (Herskowitz, Mickey. The Houston Chronicle: Despite His Small Stature, Joe Morgan Was A Big Success. 2000 July.) [Joe Morgan Quotes]

Joe Morgan

Joe 'The Little General' Morgan Autograph on a 1993 Ted Williams Baseball Card (#M18)

Joe 'The Little General' Morgan Autograph on a 1993 Ted Williams Baseball Card (#M18)

CareerCollegeAll-StarWild CardDivisionLCSWorld SeriesManagerTradesAwardsVideosCardsmlb   espn
Birth Name:   Joe Leonard Morgan
Nickname:   Little Joe or The Little General
Born On:   09-19-1943  (Virgo)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Bonham, Texas
Year of Death Data Died On:   10-11-2020 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Danville, California
Cemetery:   Not Yet Determined
High School:   Castlemont High School (Oakland, CA)
College:   None Attended
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Left   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   5-07   Player Weight Chart Weight:   160
First Game:   09-21-1963 (Age 20)
Last Game:   09-30-1984
Draft:   Not Applicable / Signing Bonus = $3,000

Joe Morgan

Joe Morgan Pitching Stats

- - Did Not Pitch - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Joe Morgan

Joe Morgan Hitting Stats

1963 20 Colt .45s 8 25 5 6 0 1 0 0 3 5 0 5 0 0 0 0 .240 .367 .320
1964 21 Colt .45s 10 37 4 7 0 0 0 0 0 6 0 7 0 0 0 0 .189 .302 .189
1965 22 Astros 157 601 100 163 22 12 14 0 40 97 1 77 3 4 3 4 .271 .373 .418
1966 23 Astros 122 425 60 121 14 8 5 0 42 89 3 43 9 2 3 2 .285 .410 .391
1967 24 Astros 133 494 73 136 27 11 6 0 42 81 5 51 1 2 2 2 .275 .378 .411
1968 25 Astros 10 20 6 5 0 1 0 0 0 7 0 4 0 0 0 0 .250 .444 .350
1969 26 Astros 147 535 94 126 18 5 15 0 43 110 1 74 7 4 1 5 .236 .365 .372
1970 27 Astros 144 548 102 147 28 9 8 0 52 102 3 55 5 2 1 11 .268 .383 .396
1971 28 Astros 160 583 87 149 27 11 13 0 56 88 2 52 10 7 1 4 .256 .351 .407
1972 29 Reds 149 552 122 161 23 4 16 0 73 115 1 44 3 4 6 5 .292 .417 .435
1973 30 Reds 157 576 116 167 35 2 26 0 82 111 3 61 3 4 4 12 .290 .406 .493
1974 31 Reds 149 512 107 150 31 3 22 1 67 120 8 69 1 5 3 7 .293 .427 .494
1975 32 Reds 146 498 107 163 27 6 17 0 94 132 3 52 0 6 3 3 .327 .466 .508
1976 33 Reds 141 472 113 151 30 5 27 2 111 114 8 41 0 12 1 2 .320 .444 .576
1977 34 Reds 153 521 113 150 21 6 22 1 78 117 2 58 0 5 2 5 .288 .417 .478
1978 35 Reds 132 441 68 104 27 0 13 0 75 79 3 40 0 11 2 6 .236 .347 .385
1979 36 Reds 127 436 70 109 26 1 9 0 32 93 11 45 3 5 1 8 .250 .379 .376
1980 37 Astros 141 461 66 112 17 5 11 0 49 93 6 47 3 5 0 4 .243 .367 .373
1981 38 Giants 90 308 47 74 16 1 8 0 31 66 7 37 1 3 0 3 .240 .371 .377
1982 39 Giants 134 463 68 134 19 4 14 0 61 85 4 60 1 3 2 3 .289 .400 .438
1983 40 Phillies 123 404 72 93 20 1 16 0 59 89 1 54 1 6 4 13 .230 .370 .403
1984 41 Athletics 116 365 50 89 21 0 6 0 43 66 4 39 0 6 1 6 .244 .356 .351
22 Years 2,649 9,277 1,650 2,517 449 96 268 4 1,133 1,865 76 1,015 51 96 40 105 .271 .392 .427

Joe Morgan

Joe Morgan Fielding Stats

1963 Colt .45s 2B 7 6 162 33 4.7 30 15 15 3 2 n/a n/a n/a .909 5.00
1964 Colt .45s 2B 10 10 282 59 5.9 56 31 25 3 4 n/a n/a n/a .949 5.36
1965 Astros 2B 157 155 4,227 867 5.5 840 348 492 27 82 n/a n/a n/a .969 5.37
1966 Astros 2B 117 117 3,114 593 5.1 572 256 316 21 61 n/a n/a n/a .965 4.96
1967 Astros 2B 130 126 3,381 655 5.0 641 297 344 14 67 n/a n/a n/a .979 5.12
1967 Astros LF 1 1 24 2 2.0 2 2 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 2.25
1968 Astros 2B 5 5 129 17 3.4 15 9 6 2 2 n/a n/a n/a .882 3.14
1968 Astros LF 1 1 15 1 1.0 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.80
1969 Astros 2B 132 131 3,414 649 4.9 631 303 328 18 79 n/a n/a n/a .972 4.99
1969 Astros CF 2 2 48 1 0.5 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 0.56
1969 Astros LF 12 11 288 10 0.8 10 10 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 0.94
1970 Astros 2B 142 141 3,762 796 5.6 779 349 430 17 98 n/a n/a n/a .979 5.59
1971 Astros 2B 157 153 447 830 5.3 818 336 482 12 93 n/a n/a n/a .986 49.41
1972 Reds 2B 149 148 4,011 814 5.5 806 370 436 8 92 n/a n/a n/a .990 5.43
1973 Reds 2B 154 151 4,023 866 5.6 857 417 440 9 106 n/a n/a n/a .990 5.75
1974 Reds 2B 142 140 3,642 742 5.2 729 344 385 13 92 n/a n/a n/a .982 5.40
1975 Reds 2B 142 141 3,615 792 5.6 781 356 425 11 96 n/a n/a n/a .986 5.83
1976 Reds 2B 133 130 3,378 690 5.2 677 342 335 13 85 n/a n/a n/a .981 5.41
1977 Reds 2B 151 147 3,732 715 4.7 710 351 359 5 100 n/a n/a n/a .993 5.14
1978 Reds 2B 124 120 3,030 553 4.5 542 252 290 11 49 n/a n/a n/a .980 4.83
1979 Reds 2B 121 120 3,054 600 5.0 588 259 329 12 74 n/a n/a n/a .980 5.20
1980 Astros 2B 130 123 3,111 599 4.6 592 244 348 7 68 n/a n/a n/a .988 5.14
1981 Giants 2B 87 84 2,229 439 5.0 435 177 258 4 61 n/a n/a n/a .991 5.27
1982 Giants 2B 120 117 3,102 625 5.2 618 254 364 7 69 n/a n/a n/a .989 5.38
1982 Giants 3B 3 2 42 4 1.3 3 1 2 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .750 1.93
1983 Phillies 2B 117 109 2,754 579 4.9 562 231 331 17 63 n/a n/a n/a .971 5.51
1984 Athletics 2B 100 97 2,313 440 4.4 430 201 229 10 62 n/a n/a n/a .977 5.02
2B Totals 2,527 2,471 60,912 12,953 5.1 12,709 5,742 6,967 244 1,505 n/a n/a n/a .981 5.63
LF Totals 14 13 327 13 0.9 13 13 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 1.07
3B Totals 3 2 42 4 1.3 3 1 2 1 0 n/a n/a n/a .750 1.93
CF Totals 2 2 48 1 0.5 1 1 0 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 0.56
22 Years 2,546 2,488 61,329 12,971 5.1 12,726 5,757 6,969 245 1,505 n/a n/a n/a .981 5.60

Joe Morgan

Joe Morgan Miscellaneous Stats

1963 Colt .45s 1 0 1.000 1 1 n/a 0.0 5.0 8.3 - - -
1964 Colt .45s 0 1 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 5.3 0.0 - - -
1965 Astros 20 9 .690 0 0 n/a 42.9 7.8 15.0 - - -
1966 Astros 11 8 .579 5 0 n/a 85.0 9.9 10.1 - - -
1967 Astros 29 5 .853 5 0 n/a 82.3 9.7 11.8 - - -
1968 Astros 3 0 1.000 4 0 n/a 0.0 5.0 0.0 - - -
1969 Astros 49 14 .778 3 0 n/a 35.7 7.2 12.4 - - -
1970 Astros 42 13 .764 3 0 n/a 68.5 10.0 10.5 - - -
1971 Astros 40 8 .833 5 0 n/a 44.8 11.2 10.4 - - -
1972 Reds 58 17 .773 1 0 n/a 34.5 12.5 7.6 - - -
1973 Reds 67 15 .817 4 1 n/a 22.2 9.4 7.0 - - -
1974 Reds 58 12 .829 7 2 n/a 23.3 7.4 7.6 - - -
1975 Reds 67 10 .870 5 0 n/a 29.3 9.6 5.3 - - -
1976 Reds 60 9 .870 8 2 n/a 17.5 11.5 4.3 - - -
1977 Reds 49 10 .831 6 0 n/a 23.7 9.0 6.7 - - -
1978 Reds 19 5 .792 12 0 n/a 33.9 11.0 5.9 - - -
1979 Reds 28 6 .824 6 0 n/a 48.4 9.7 13.6 - - -
1980 Astros 24 6 .800 18 0 n/a 41.9 9.8 9.4 - - -
1981 Giants 14 5 .737 5 0 n/a 38.5 8.3 9.9 - - -
1982 Giants 24 4 .857 15 0 n/a 33.1 7.7 7.6 - - -
1983 Phillies 18 2 .900 13 0 n/a 25.3 7.5 6.8 - - -
1984 Athletics 8 3 .727 16 0 5 60.8 9.4 8.5 - - -
22 Years 689 162 .810 142 6 5 34.6 9.1 8.2 - - -

Joe Morgan

Joe Morgan Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1963 Houston Colt .45s 12 $5,500.00 - -
1964 Houston Colt .45s 35 $5,750.00 - -
1965 Houston Astros 18 $8,500.00 - -
1966 Houston Astros 18 $14,000.00 Stats -
1967 Houston Astros 18 $24,000.00 - -
1968 Houston Astros 18 $34,000.00 - -
1969 Houston Astros 18 $50,000.00 - -
1970 Houston Astros 18 $50,000.00 Stats -
1971 Houston Astros 18 $50,000.00 - -
1972 Cincinnati Reds 8 $100,000.00 Stats Stats
1973 Cincinnati Reds 8 $105,000.00 Stats -
1974 Cincinnati Reds 8 $132,500.00 Stats -
1975 Cincinnati Reds 8 $155,000.00 Stats Stats
1976 Cincinnati Reds 8 $200,000.00 Stats Stats
1977 Cincinnati Reds 8 $400,000.00 Stats -
1978 Cincinnati Reds 8 $400,000.00 Stats -
1979 Cincinnati Reds 8 $475,000.00 Stats -
1980 Houston Astros 8 $225,000.00 - -
1981 San Francisco Giants 8 $250,000.00 - -
1982 San Francisco Giants 8 $500,000.00 - -
1983 Philadelphia Phillies 8 $600,000.00 - Stats
1984 Oakland Athletics 8 $600,000.00 - -

search this site site glossary Print Friendly and PDF

baseball almanac flat baseball

baseball almanac fast facts

Joe Leonard Morgan was a Major League Baseball player with the Houston Colt .45s (1963-1964), Houston Astros (1965-1971), Cincinnati Reds (1972-1979), Houston Astros (1980), San Francisco Giants (1981-1982), Philadelphia Phillies (1983), and Oakland Athletics (1984). Joe, his nickname, was ranked by Bill James in the The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract (James, Bill. Free Press Publishing. 100 Greatest Second Basemen: #1 Joe Morgan. Page 480.) the best second baseman in baseball history!

Joe Morgan Rookie Baseball Card

Joe Morgan Rookie Card | 1965 Topps Baseball Card (#16 | Checklist)
Baseball Almanac Collection

Did you know that when Joe Morgan made his big league debut on September 21, 1963, he became the first Colt .45s (Astros) player to wear #12 in a regular season game? Did you know that after the franchise officially changed their name, he became the first to wear #18 in an Astros uniform?

Did you know Joe Morgan, the day he made his debut, was actually the second Castlemont High School graduate to play in the majors? Do you know who preceded The Little General, way back in 1939? [Answer]

Did you know then when Joe Morgan walked (BB) to first one-hundred fifteen times in 1972, it set a new Reds' record for most bases on a balls in a single season, set originally in 1905, by Miller Huggins (103 BB), then tied in 1923, by George Burns? Morgan shattered his own record in 1975, when he had a league-leading 132 bases on balls, and he held the franchise record until Joey Votto broke it in 2013 (135 BB), and again in 2015 (143 BB).

Did you know then when Joe Morgan won his fifth consecutive Gold Glove Award (1973-1977), he tied the all-time record for most consecutively by a second baseman? Set originally by Bobby Richardson (1961-1965), then tied by Bill Mazeroski (1963-1967 | also won in 1958 and 1960-1961), the record stood until Frank White won six-in-a-row (1977-1982), which stood until Ryne Sandberg won a still-standing record nine-in-a-row (1983-1991)!

Did you know then when Joe Morgan won back-to-back Most Valuable Player Awards (1975-1976), he became the first second baseman in baseball history to win two MVPs in a row?

Did you know then when Joe Morgan won his first and only Silver Slugger Award, in 1982, it was also the first time a Giants' player at any position had received the honor?

Did you know that when Joe Morgan retired, his career Wins Above Replacement (WAR) was 100.5, fourth in baseball history amongst second basemen; behind Nap Lajoie (107.3 Career WAR), Eddie Collins (123.9 Career WAR) and Rogers Hornsby (127.1 Career WAR). Did you know that not one second baseman since Morgan's retirement in 1984, has passed him?

Did you know Joe Morgan was the very first color commentator used on the ESPN Sunday Night Baseball program? The series made its debut in 1990, and featured Jon Miller on play-by-play alongside Morgan. The broadcast team worked together every Sunday night until the 2010 season ended!

Did you know Joe Morgan was inducted into the Houston Astros Hall of Fame during their inaugural class? See the other fifteen players chosen for this unique honor in the Astros Hall of Fame on Baseball Almanac.

Joe Morgan Hall of Fame Plaque

Joe Morgan | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1990 (HOF)

Joe Morgan was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990, the first year of his eligibility. The only other second baseman sent to Cooperstown at that time on their first ballot was Jackie Robinson (1962). [Hall of Fame Fast Facts]