Baseball
Related: About this forumJoe Morgan was my all time favorite ballplayer.
I love this story about him.
When he was playing for the Astros he returned to the dugout having struck out badly. A player approached him, in jest, using a bat handle as play microphone to "interview" him about what happened on that pitch. Here's the "interview."
Player: Hey Joe, you looked pretty bad on that pitch, can you tell the viewers what happened."
Morgan: (grabs the bat like it's a microphone):" I sure can tell you what happened. Do you know the difference between a curveball and a motherfucking curveball? Well, let me tell you. A curveball is a pitch you can pick up the spin on, seeing it clearly, and nail it for a hit. Now, your motherfucking curveball looks just like a fastball, you can't see the spin, and when it crosses the plate the ball drops off the table and it's a motherfucking strike three."
RIP Joe (2020). An all time great. Made the Big Red Machine go.
Wounded Bear
(60,682 posts)patphil
(6,941 posts)He gave him a great tribute.
twodogsbarking
(12,228 posts)In eight days it will be 50 years since his death.
YDogg
(6,683 posts)Wow, 50 years.
twodogsbarking
(12,228 posts)Joe Christopher
Bennie Daniels
ElRoy Face
Dick Groat
Vern Law
Bill Mazeroski
Roman Mejias
Bob Oldis
Bob Skinner
YDogg
(6,683 posts)I became a fan a few years later, but that was a heck of a team.
MichMan
(13,160 posts)Went to a handful of games back then at Riverfront Stadium.
What a team; Rose, Bench, Morgan, Perez, Foster, Concepcion, Gullett, Bellingham, Borbon, Carroll, Grimsley, Geronimo, Griffey. List goes on and on.
Looked up the 73 season on wikipedia and they mentioned a doubleheader that I went to with my dad.
"The Reds were still in a slump when they met the Dodgers for a July 1, doubleheader in Cincinnati. The Reds were 3937 and trailed the Dodgers (5127) by 11 games. Just as they had done 12 years earlier, the Reds swept the Dodgers in a doubleheader to jumpstart their pennant hopes. In Game 1, Cincinnati's third-string catcher, Hal King, belted a game-winning, three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning off Don Sutton to give the Reds a 43 victory. In Game 2, Tony Pérez singled in the game-winner off knuckleball specialist Charlie Hough in the bottom of the 10th as the Reds won 32. The doubleheader sweep was part of a stretch where Cincinnati won 10 of 11 games and by July 10, had cut the Dodgers' lead to 4½ games".
Now I have zero interest in baseball.
twodogsbarking
(12,228 posts)I loved the competition regardless of the teams. Lots of respect for the opposing teams. No interest now.
gibraltar72
(7,629 posts)everything looked easy for him. He was a man right out of high school. pretty rare.
MichMan
(13,160 posts)They even named a battery after him
Probatim
(3,016 posts)ificandream
(10,510 posts)The Dodgers and Giants were tied when Morgan came to the plate. I remember Dodgers fans being really loud all game. But Morgan's three-run home run was the blow that won the game and shut them up. I would have loved to have seen Tommy Lasorda when he hit that.
Here's the call by the great Vin Skully.