Joe Morgan (manager)
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. When 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 1973, Morgan's
Charleston Charlies won 85 games and the division title, but lost the finals of the
International League playoffs to the
Pawtucket Red Sox in five games.
Morgan switched to Pawtucket, and the
Boston Red Sox organization, the following season. He led the PawSox for nine years (1974-82); the longest-tenured manager in the franchise's history, Morgan won 601 games, losing 658 (.477) and was the Pawtucket skipper during its famous 33-inning game against
Rochester in
1981. He won the
International League Manager of the Year award in 1977. After he left Pawtucket, the parent Red Sox made him a scout (1983-84) before he was finally invited to return to the majors as a Boston coach in
1985. Morgan coached at first base in '85 and in the
bullpen during the Sox'
1986 pennant-winning season, before replacing
Rene Lachemann as Boston's third-base coach in
1987.
In
1988, a talented Boston team was stumbling at .500 under manager
John McNamara, leading the ownership to fire him during the All-Star break. They named Morgan acting manager and 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
AL 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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Baseball-Reference.com - career playing statistics and managing record
