But Joe Morgan was the essential player. A few years ago, when I was writing the book "The Machine," I went to a dinner in Cincinnati which featured the Great Eight players of the Big Red Machine.

“Joe wasn’t just the best second baseman in baseball history, he was the best player I ever saw and one of the best people I’ve ever known,” said Johnny Bench. “He was a dedicated father ...

Morgan is remembered for being the engine that powered the Big Red Machine clubs of the 1970s, leading them to three pennants and back-to-back World Series triumphs in 1975 and 1976 after he ...

Joe Morgan, the Hall of Fame second baseman who became the sparkplug of the Big Red Machine and the prototype for baseball’s artificial turf era, has died. He was 77.

Joe Morgan was all about efficiency — when Bill James came up with a formula to rank the most efficient players in baseball (based on career fielding percentage, stolen base percentage ...

Joe Morgan, the Hall of Fame second baseman and sparkplug of the Cincinnati Reds’ Big Red Machine who went on to spend more than two decades as a baseball broadcaster, has died. He was 77.

Joe Morgan speaks during a Baseball Hall of Fame event in 2010. Morgan, a star second baseman for the Cincinnati Reds in the 1970s, died Sunday at age 77. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) AP ...

JOE MORGAN: I did not go out to be the best, but I wanted to be the most complete player in the game. And I think I reached that goal in, you know, '75, '76 - in that era.

Joe made them count." Morgan scored a major league-leading 122 runs in his first season with the Reds and they reached the 1972 World Series, where they lost in seven games to Oakland.

Morgan was a two-time NL Most Valuable Player, a 10-time All-Star and won five Gold Gloves. A 5-foot-7 dynamo known for flapping his left elbow at the plate, Little Joe could hit a home run, steal ...

Joe Morgan, the Hall of Fame second baseman who became the sparkplug of the Big Red Machine and the prototype for baseball’s artificial turf era, has died. He was 77.

Joe Morgan, the Hall of Fame second baseman who became the sparkplug of the Big Red Machine and the prototype for baseball’s artificial turf era, has died. He was 77.