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Joe Morgan: A Life in Baseball
The Hall-of-Fame player explains what made the Cincinnati Reds the smartest team in baseball, why today's teams play so dumb, the impact of Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, and others on the team, and his own life history
300 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1993
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
July 11, 2020
Joe Morgan came of age in the big boy era of baseball, coming up in the late 1960s when guys like Clemente, Aaron, Stargell, a young Pete Rose were around, and peaking during the 1970s on the Big Red Machine. I think the fact that he is a short guy and might have been doubted really fueled him but also left him with a boulder sized chip on his shoulder that comes through in the book time again and might explain why he was so at times combative with players, managers and owners during his long and storied career. The good in the book is that Morgan doesn’t waste a lot of time on meaningless details of his youth or baseball career. Interesting to read about the segregation and racial issues he dealt with coming up in the minors. He doesn’t go through the endless details of every season - that’s good cause his career was 20 years. He does a great job in describing how he learned the game and the off the field stuff. Where it really shines was in the Reds years. Really good chronicle there..a bit arrogant but that team was legendary. I do doubt that the team was always as confident as he described..you gotta have some nerves. Also interesting is how he describes how the Machine was disassembled. His return to Houston was cool - I had no idea him and Howe were removed in game 5 vs. Philly. Of course, he’d called a players only meeting that pissed the skipper off a few weeks prior. His observations on the game I felt were extraneous and unnecessary. I dinged him a star for that and for name dropping. A surprisingly good book.
September 24, 2019
This book is well written and a good read. Morgan touches all the bases here, telling us those inside baseball stories we love to hear, his opinions of some of the people he played with or for, and his take on the big events in baseball and where baseball is heading.
He credits Nellie Fox going beyond the call of duty in his efforts to teach young Joe Morgan how to play second base. He is equally appreciative of Sparky Andersen for his clear message on what he expected of Morgan and then creating an atmosphere where Morgan and his teammates could not just succeed, but excel.
He also pays tribute to Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, and especially Tony Perez.
On the other hand, he does not think well of his former managers Harry Walker and Bill Virdon and explains why.
Finally, unlike nearly every other baseball player bio I have read, he discusses baseball from a big picture perspective (i.e. management, league level).
Possibly the most intelligent baseball autobiography I have read since Tim McCarver's.
He credits Nellie Fox going beyond the call of duty in his efforts to teach young Joe Morgan how to play second base. He is equally appreciative of Sparky Andersen for his clear message on what he expected of Morgan and then creating an atmosphere where Morgan and his teammates could not just succeed, but excel.
He also pays tribute to Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, and especially Tony Perez.
On the other hand, he does not think well of his former managers Harry Walker and Bill Virdon and explains why.
Finally, unlike nearly every other baseball player bio I have read, he discusses baseball from a big picture perspective (i.e. management, league level).
Possibly the most intelligent baseball autobiography I have read since Tim McCarver's.
November 13, 2019
Not sure what to say about this book except to point out two glaring inaccuracies that I happen to be aware of because they involved the Pittsburgh Pirates: First, Chuck Tanner was not the first manager to field an all black starting line up as Morgan says. That would have been Pirates manager Danny Murtaugh in 1971. Second, Morgan completely makes up a story about Willie Stargell and several players being out all night in 1966 before a double header on the fourth of July and despite them partying all night, he has Willie going 5 for 5 in the first game and 4 for 4 in the second game, while Morgan was one for both games with a bunt single. Never happened. A simple check of baseball reference shows the Pirates playing the Cubs on July 4, 1966. Checking other years also does not produce a double header against the Astros (Morgan's team in that era) near the Fourth of July. Checking double headers in general between the Pirates and Astro also does not produce batting results anything at all similar to his story.
June 23, 2025
I got this book from my son, who knows I love baseball.
When I grew up, the Big Red Machine was in high gear. My brother's favorite team was Cincinnati. I remember watching them win the 1975 and 1976 World Series. In the 1970s, they were good even when they didn't win the World Series. Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, and Tony Perez were their core four.
Morgan gives a glimpse of what it was like on all of his teams. You hear about other players and teammates during Morgan's seasons. He includes all of the controversies at the time. Morgan doesn't hold back. You hear the good, the bad, and the ugly in this book.
Joe Morgan is a tad whiny throughout the book and overlays his role but it was still a fun read. You get a feeling as to what it was really like. I enjoyed the description of the two years Joe played with the San Francisco Giants, my team.
When I grew up, the Big Red Machine was in high gear. My brother's favorite team was Cincinnati. I remember watching them win the 1975 and 1976 World Series. In the 1970s, they were good even when they didn't win the World Series. Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, and Tony Perez were their core four.
Morgan gives a glimpse of what it was like on all of his teams. You hear about other players and teammates during Morgan's seasons. He includes all of the controversies at the time. Morgan doesn't hold back. You hear the good, the bad, and the ugly in this book.
Joe Morgan is a tad whiny throughout the book and overlays his role but it was still a fun read. You get a feeling as to what it was really like. I enjoyed the description of the two years Joe played with the San Francisco Giants, my team.
January 15, 2021
Great way to hear about Joe Morgan’s life and relive so many baseball memories. This book was written in the mid-1990s and I truly enjoyed the escape. What a career he had and what an intelligent baseball man.
It was poorly edited with spelling, grammar, and factual errors but they hardly affected my enjoyment. I just appreciated getting into Morgan’s mind and reading his perspective on other baseball people.
It was poorly edited with spelling, grammar, and factual errors but they hardly affected my enjoyment. I just appreciated getting into Morgan’s mind and reading his perspective on other baseball people.
September 27, 2021
Joe Morgan is my favorite baseball player of all time; however, this autobiography could have used the assistance of a good editor.
While Morgan’s opinions and perspectives are interesting, the book contains a few inaccuracies which should have been cleaned up with minimal effort as well as the writing itself.
A great player, but I would only recommend for diehard Morgan and Big Red Machine-era fans.
While Morgan’s opinions and perspectives are interesting, the book contains a few inaccuracies which should have been cleaned up with minimal effort as well as the writing itself.
A great player, but I would only recommend for diehard Morgan and Big Red Machine-era fans.
March 20, 2018
This was an easy read. I thought it was quite self serving. He downplayed the fact that he was a troublemaker but in some of the stories you could read between the lines.
June 21, 2019
MVP, World Series Champ, and Hall of Famer. Morgan shares highlights of his amazing career as a ball player and TV analyst.
November 21, 2023
Interesting read from the best second baseman who ever played. Thanks for the memories, Little Joe. Rest in peace.
February 6, 2017
Joe Morgan – A Life in Baseball – an apter title never given. This is the story of Joe Morgan’s life in baseball.
From the early days, thru the Astros, then the Big Red Machine and on through his ‘parade’ through other teams before he retired. He finishes with a discussion about being a broadcaster and offers his thoughts on how to fix baseball circa 1992.
A fabulous read. It really takes the reader into the clubhouse both in Houston and Cincinnati. Some may regret that more of it isn’t centered on the Glory Days of Cincinnati but this is Joe Morgan’s story not the Big Red Machine * you can get books on that already *. What resonates from the pages to today is the stark clarity that Morgan uses in discussing racial intolerance both in baseball and in society in general. What is extremely sad is the instances of racist police and baseball people isn’t something we can look back on from 25 years in the future and shake our head as these issues exist today. A solid baseball book and one that has a proud place in my baseball library.
My Rating: 5 stars
This review first appeared: https://princessofthelight.wordpress....
From the early days, thru the Astros, then the Big Red Machine and on through his ‘parade’ through other teams before he retired. He finishes with a discussion about being a broadcaster and offers his thoughts on how to fix baseball circa 1992.
A fabulous read. It really takes the reader into the clubhouse both in Houston and Cincinnati. Some may regret that more of it isn’t centered on the Glory Days of Cincinnati but this is Joe Morgan’s story not the Big Red Machine * you can get books on that already *. What resonates from the pages to today is the stark clarity that Morgan uses in discussing racial intolerance both in baseball and in society in general. What is extremely sad is the instances of racist police and baseball people isn’t something we can look back on from 25 years in the future and shake our head as these issues exist today. A solid baseball book and one that has a proud place in my baseball library.
My Rating: 5 stars
This review first appeared: https://princessofthelight.wordpress....
January 23, 2017
This is a good read for fans of the Houston Astros, the Cincinnati Reds and baseball in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He chronicles his time with those teams well and offers a lot of insight into the mechanics of the Big Red Machine and how it collapsed after a few years.
It doesn't matter if you're a fan of Morgan now on ESPN. I'm not really, but I did enjoy the book simply because I am a baseball fan. He doesn't pull punches. He's critical of manager's decisions throughout the book, blaming Houston's manager Bill Virdon for losing the Astros' playoff series with Philadelphia one year, and slamming Cincinnati's management for trading Tony Perez to Montreal after winning the 1975 and 1976 World Series.
He also attacks race in baseball and salaries, although he, himself, sought large raises during his career, basing his requests on other players on his own team.
Morgan's ego comes through this book at times. He felt he should be considered in the same realm as Pete Rose and Johnny Bench and he did win those two consecutive MVPs.
Overall, this was an entertaining book. Better if you liked baseball in that era and could relate to the tales of Rose, Perez, Bench, et al., and the lesser known players of that time.
It doesn't matter if you're a fan of Morgan now on ESPN. I'm not really, but I did enjoy the book simply because I am a baseball fan. He doesn't pull punches. He's critical of manager's decisions throughout the book, blaming Houston's manager Bill Virdon for losing the Astros' playoff series with Philadelphia one year, and slamming Cincinnati's management for trading Tony Perez to Montreal after winning the 1975 and 1976 World Series.
He also attacks race in baseball and salaries, although he, himself, sought large raises during his career, basing his requests on other players on his own team.
Morgan's ego comes through this book at times. He felt he should be considered in the same realm as Pete Rose and Johnny Bench and he did win those two consecutive MVPs.
Overall, this was an entertaining book. Better if you liked baseball in that era and could relate to the tales of Rose, Perez, Bench, et al., and the lesser known players of that time.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews