Hardball with Chris Dimino is a podcast almost 20 years in the making. Conversations. Not “interviews”… I promise not interviews. Conversations that I have had with some of the greatest players and others who have been a part of some of the biggest moments in baseball history. Ted Williams. Hank Aaron. Stan Musial. Whitey ford. Duke snider. Vin Scully

Joe Morgan has seen a lot in his lifetime. From the integration on baseball to being a part of broadcast history.
And in between he built a sure shot Hall of Fame career..and more importantly to him..the career of a winner.
We talk about that and more..including how the game has REALLY changed.

Notable Events and Chronology for Joe Morgan Career

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September 19, 1943

Joe Morgan is born September 19 1943

November 1, 1962

Houston Colt .45s sign 19-year-old infielder Joe Morgan as a free agent

April 25, 1965

1965 – Joe Morgan singles home Bob Aspromonte in the 11th inning for a 5-4 triumph over Pittsburgh. It’s the first day game at the Astrodome after the ceiling tiles had been painted to reduce the glare. Pirate outfielder Bill Virdon couldn’t use it as an excuse when Jim Wynn scores on his three-base error. Umpire Vinnie Smith couldn’t use it as an excuse when he overturns his own home-run call on Walt Bond’s drive off the fence.

July 8, 1965

Joe Morgan is the first Houston player with six hits in a game

August 13, 1965

Rusty Staub plates Joe Morgan for a Astro walk off win – Full Radio Broadcast

November 26, 1965

 Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Jim Lefebvre is voted National League Rookie of the Year

April 22, 1966

Dave Giusti surrenders eight hits but walks away with a 2-0 shutout against the Giants.

May 3, 1966

1966 – Joe Morgan homers and drives in three to pace the Astros past the Cubs, 10-2. Dave Giusti is the complete-game winner, assisted by three Chicago errors that provide five unearned runs. Sonny Jackson adds three hits and a stolen base.

May 5, 1966

1966 – “13” is not an unlucky number when the Astros trip the Cubs, 4-3, in 13 innings. Jim Wynn singles home Joe Morgan for Houston’s 13th win of the season. Dick Farrell and Bill Faul, who both wear 13 on their backs, are the starters but it’s Frank Carpinwho gets the victory.

June 25, 1966

A batting-practice line-drive by Lee Maye strikes Joe Morgan, breaking his kneecap and forcing him to miss 40 games

June 28, 1966

Joe Morgan becomes the first Astro named to start in an All-Star Game

June 5, 1969

Joe Morgan goes 4-for-4, including a home run and four runs scored, to pace the Astros past St. Louis, 11-6, at the Astrodome. Dooley Womack, the last of six Houston pitchers, gets the victory. Houston wins off the field too, choosing pitcher James Rodney Richard of Ruston, LA with the second overall pick in the draft, behind Jeff Burroughs. Richard has a 21-0 mark in his three years at Ruston High School.

July 18, 1969

Back for the first time in over a month after an on-field collision with teammate Hector Torres put him in a hospital, Jesus Alou starts a four-run ninth-inning rally that topples the Reds, 7-4. Alou scores the tying run on a double by Sandy Valdespino then Joe Morgan plates Johnny Edwards with a squeeze bunt for the game-winner.

May 7, 1971

1971 – Joe Morgan raps four hits, steals two bases, scores three times and drives in two to lead the Astros over the Phillies, 8-1, in their first game at Veterans Stadium. Don Wilson strikes the key blow off Jim Bunning, a bunt that found a hole in the artificial turf between third and the pitcher and rolled until two runs were in.

June 15, 1971

“If they ever want to rate the 10 greatest catches of all time,” One of the top 10 catches of all time – Roberto Clemente’s fantastic catch of Bob Watson’s line drive in Houston’s Astrodome 

September 19, 1971

Joe Morgan bashes an 11th-inning homer on his 28th birthday to torpedo the Reds, 5-4.

November 29, 1971

Multiple Hall of Famers traded November 29, 1971

April 18, 1972

1972 – After the infamous eight-player trade that sent Joe Morgan to Cincinnati, Houston wins the first head-to-head matchup with the Reds, 8-4. Tommy Helms, part of the deal, homers off Don Gullett to spark the attack. 

July 25, 1972

The National League wins the All-Star Game, 4 – 3, at Atlanta behind hometown hero Hank Aaron’s two-run home run and Joe Morgan’s 10th-inning RBI single. It is the 7th time the classic has gone into extra innings.

October 20, 1972

Pete Rose hits home run on the first pitch of the game off Catfish Hunter 

November 22, 1972

Johnny Bench wins his second NL MVP in the last three years

December 25, 1972

Major League Season Recap 1972

June 30, 1973

Dodgers win in extra innings 8-7 over the Reds

July 3, 1973

After waiting three hours to begin the game due to rain, the Reds beat San Francisco at Riverfront Stadium, 6-3

October 8, 1973

New York Mets defeat the Cincinnati Reds, 9-2, in the third game of the playoffs

November 24, 1973

Pitcher Bob Gibson wins the last of his nine Gold Gloves, and Joe Morgan wins the first of his five at second base.

May 1, 1974

Dock Ellis of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits three batters during the first inning of a game against the Cincinnati Reds

October 12, 1975

Down 2 – 1 in the 9th inning, Cincinnati rallies to beat the Boston Red Sox in Game 2 of the World Series, 3 – 2.

October 15, 1975

Boston Red Sox Luis Tiant throws 163 pitches in winning his second game of the World Series against Cincinnati, 5 – 4, to even the Series after four games.

October 22, 1975

Joe Morgan drives in winning run to finish the 1975 World Series

November 19, 1975

Joe Morgan wins the National League’s MVP Award

December 25, 1975

Major League Season Recap 1975

September 5, 1976

Reds’ infielder Joe Morgan becomes the first second baseman in 26 years to drive in 100 runs when his third-inning single off Dick Ruthven plates Pete Rose and Ken Griffey in the team’s 6-4 victory in Atlanta. The last second sacker to reach the plateau was Bobby Doerr, who accomplished the feat in 1950 with the Red Sox.

October 16, 1976

In Game 1 of the World Series Dan Driessen becomes the first National League player to be used as a designated hitter in the Reds 5-1 win

November 24, 1976

Joe Morgan outpoints Cincinnati Reds teammate George Foster to win his second straight National League MVP Award. Morgan hit .320 with 27 home runs, 111 RBI, 113 runs, 60 stolen bases, and led the NL in slugging percentage (.576) and OPS (1.020). Foster finished with 29 home runs and led the league in RBI (121).

December 25, 1976

Major League Season Recap 1976

March 16, 1978

high-priced free agent Andy Messersmith separates his shoulder in an exhibition game for the New York Yankees

April 6, 1978

On opening day the Astros pull off the first triple play begun with a strikeout

April 23, 1978

Joe Morgan error first in 91 games

August 27, 1978

Joe Morgan first to reach 500 stole bases and 200 homeruns

August 23, 1979

Commissioner Bowie Kuhn slaps Padres owner Ray Kroc with a $100,000 fine for tampering, following remarks Kroc made about potential free agents Joe Morgan and Graig Nettles.

November 2, 1979

1Nolan Ryan and Joe Morgan are the top names available in the free agent reentry draft held at the New York Plaza Hotel.

January 31, 1980

The Houston Astros sign free agent second baseman Joe Morgan

April 17, 1980

Astros get more steals than hits in a 6-4 loss to the Dodgers

October 8, 1980

Houston tastes their first post-season win, a 7-4 ten-inning victory in Philadelphia

October 10, 1980

Denny Walling delivers Rafael Landestoy with a sacrifice fly as Houston wins their first post-season home game, 1-0, over Philadelphia

February 9, 1981

Joe Morgan signs a free agent contract with the San Francisco Giants

November 18, 1981

Mike Schmidt wins his second consecutive NL MVP

December 11, 1981

Veteran free agent infielders Joe Morgan and Mark Belanger sign one-year contracts with the Giants and Dodgers, respectively.

October 3, 1982

The Giants eliminate the Dodgers

December 14, 1982

The San Francisco Giants trade second baseman Joe Morgan and pitcher Al Holland to the Philadelphia Phillies for pitchers Mike Krukow and Mark Davis and Charles Penigar.

September 15, 1983

1983 – Behind Marty Bystrom’s 5-hit win the Phils sweep the Expos, 9 – 5. Mike Schmidt, Joe Morgan and Len Matuszek (his first in the majors) hit homers to back Steve Carlton’s 298th career win.

September 19, 1983

Phillies 2B Joe Morgan celebrates his 40th birthday by going 4 for 5 with two home runs in a 7 – 6 win over the Cubs

December 13, 1983

Forty-year-old Joe Morgan signs a one-year contract with Oakland

June 24, 1984

Joe Morgan breaks Rogers Hornsby’s record by hitting his 265th home run as a second baseman

July 4, 1984

Jim Rice caps a 5 for 6 day with a grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning to give Boston a walkoff 13 – 9 win over Oakland.

July 21, 1988

Red Sox veteran Jim Rice is suspended for three games by the club for shoving manager Joe Morgan

January 9, 1990

Joe Morgan and Jim Palmer elected into Hall of Fame

February 7, 1990

The Astros Silver Anniversary Team (1965-1989) is announced at a Houston banquet

May 18, 1990

Chicago Cubs Ryne Sandberg’s errorless game streak at second base comes to an end after 123 games and 584 chances

April 26, 1997

Ryne Sanberg breaks Joe morgan homerun record

September 5, 2007

Brandon Phillips hits his 28th home run of the yeargiving him the record for a Cincinnati Reds second baseman, surpassing Joe Morgan’s 27 in 1976

February 1, 2010

Jon Miller is the 2010 Ford Frick Award winner

November 8, 2010

ESPN announces Jon Miller and Joe Morgan will no longer do Sunday Night Baseball, ending the pair’s 21-year tenure behind the mike

September 3, 2015

Bryce Harper scores four times and records an RBI without ever swinging his bat in Washington’s 15-1 rout of the Braves

December 28, 2018

Joe Morgan Stats & Facts

December 29, 2018

Joe Morgan Stats & Facts