Joe Morgan, Cincinnati Reds legend and Hall of Famer, dies at 77

Morgan, a 10-time All-Star, won back-to-back MVP titles (1974-75) while leading “The Big Red Machine” to consecutive World Series titles.

Another baseball legend has passed on.

Pitcher great Bob Gibson died on Oct. 3 and on Sunday Joe Morgan died at his home in California due to a non-specified polyneuropathy, his family announced.

He was 77.

Morgan, a 10-time All-Star as a second baseman, won back-to-back MVP titles (1974-75) while leading “The Big Red Machine” to consecutive World Series titles during those years.

“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,” Hall of Fame catcher and Reds teammate Johnny Bench said in a statement via the Morgan family. “He was a dedicated father and husband and a day won’t go by that I won’t think about his wisdom and friendship. He left the world a better, fairer, and more equal place than he found it, and inspired millions along the way.”

USA TODAY’s Chris Bumbaca has more on Morgan’s life here.

 

Joe Morgan, Cincinnati Reds legend and Hall of Famer, dies at 77

Morgan, a 10-time All-Star, won back-to-back MVP titles (1974-75) while leading “The Big Red Machine” to consecutive World Series titles.

Another baseball legend has passed on.

Pitcher great Bob Gibson died on Oct. 3 and on Sunday Joe Morgan died at his home in California due to a non-specified polyneuropathy, his family announced.

He was 77.

Morgan, a 10-time All-Star as a second baseman, won back-to-back MVP titles (1974-75) while leading “The Big Red Machine” to consecutive World Series titles during those years.

“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,” Hall of Fame catcher and Reds teammate Johnny Bench said in a statement via the Morgan family. “He was a dedicated father and husband and a day won’t go by that I won’t think about his wisdom and friendship. He left the world a better, fairer, and more equal place than he found it, and inspired millions along the way.”

USA TODAY’s Chris Bumbaca has more on Morgan’s life here.

 

The Baseball HOF should be laughed at until Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens get in

It continues to be hard to take the Baseball Hall of Fame seriously.

This is the online version of our morning newsletter, The Morning WinSubscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning.

The Baseball Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 was announced on Tuesday (Derek Jeter and Larry Walker) and once again two of the best players to ever play the game did not get their names called.

Which is pathetic.

Yup, another year of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens not getting into the Hall makes it another year for us not to take that silly museum in Cooperstown all that seriously. Because come on, how are you not going to have Bonds and Clemens in there?

I know what you’re thinking – they cheated and allegedly took PEDs. Well boo-freaking-hoo. These two legends shined during a period of time in baseball when a lot of guys were juiced to the gills. Oh, and Bonds and Clemens also outperformed most of those juiced up players.

They also shined well before the steroid era, too, which only makes their cases even that more worthy.

Some baseball writers who get a HOF vote really need to get over themselves and do the right thing before it’s too late – both Bonds and Clemens have been eligible for the last eight years and have just two years of eligibility remaining. I don’t know how anyone could take that place seriously if these two guys don’t make it over the next two years.

Bonds is the all-time home run leader, has the most home runs in a season, is a 7-time NL MVP (including three that he won in the early 90s when he was a skinny little fella), is the all-time leader in walks, won eight Gold Gloves, and is a 12-time Silver Slugger award winner.

He’s the greatest baseball player of all time. And he’s not in the silly Hall of Fame.

How ridiculous.

Clemens is one of the greatest pitchers to ever play the game, as he racked up 354 wins in 24 seasons. He won over 20 games six different years. He led the league in strikeouts five times. He won seven Cy Youngs and did the double dip in 1986 when we won the AL Cy Young and the AL MVP awards, which is something that pitchers rarely pull off.

How he isn’t in the Hall of Fame is beyond me, too.

So congrats to Derek Jeter and Larry Walker for making it this year, but shame on those who don’t have the courage to do the right thing and actually make this Hall of Fame what it should be – a celebration of the best to ever do it.

Hopefully, things change soon.

Tuesday’s big winner: Las Vegas.

AP Photo/Laura Rauch

It was announced on Tuesday that this year’s NFL Draft will be held in Vegas and the league will – as you often do while in Vegas – go big. The red carpet event before the draft is going be in the fountains of the Bellagio with boats bringing players across. Boats! The main draft stage will be at Caesars Palace. It’s going to be nuts.

 Quick hits: NFL trying something new… Hurts’ perfect helmet… Tebow wedding photos… And more!

– The NFL is trying out a fun new alternative to onside kicks at the Pro Bowl this week. Could they try this in real games eventually?

– Jalen Hurts has the perfect helmet at the Senior Bowl.

– Tim Tebow is now married and here are some photos from the event.

– Check out our latest “Bachelor” power rankings.

Patrick Mahomes among fans upset about Derek Jeter falling 1 vote shy of unanimous HOF pick

Derek Jeter got 396 of the 397 votes.

Derek Jeter, to the surprise of no one, was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

There was one somewhat surprising thing about the announcement however – he wasn’t a unanimous selection as Jeter got 396 of the 397 votes.

He will be joined by Larry Walker, who was inducted in to the HOF in the final of year that he will be on the ballot, which is cool.

The fact that guys like Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens still aren’t in the HOF, however, makes this whole thing feel a really silly. But hey, two new former stars will be enshrined in Cooperstown on July 26.

MLB fans – including Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes – really want to find out who the one person was who didn’t vote for Jeter:

[jwplayer Jw3HjI5K-q2aasYxh]

Baseball Hall of Fame voting: How it works and who is on the ballot for 2020

Derek Jeter could become the second unanimous choice for the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday.

The 2020 Baseball Hall of Fame class will be revealed on Tuesday evening, and the baseball world is waiting to see if Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens will finally garner enough support to earn their spot in Cooperstown.

Derek Jeter is a lock to join the 2020 Hall of Fame class, and he could become just the second player in history to earn 100 percent of the vote. Fellow Yankees superstar Mariano Rivera became the first unanimous choice in 2019.

When will the voting results be announced, and how does the process work? We’re here to help.

The 2020 Hall of Fame voting results will be announced at 6:00 p.m. ET on MLB Network.

How voting works: Players are eligible to receive votes five years after the end of their career, provided they played for a minimum of 10 seasons. A Baseball Writers’ Association of America screening committee votes to determine which players who become eligible each year will make the ballot. A BBWAA voter can vote for a maximum of 10 players to make the Hall of Fame each year.

Players who earn at least five percent of votes each year will be included on the next year’s ballot, up to a maximum of 10 years of eligibility. To earn election into the Baseball Hall of Fame, a player must be named on 75 percent of all ballots cast.

Players on the ballot for the first time in 2020 (via baseballhall.org):

Derek Jeter, Bobby Abreu, Jason Giambi, Cliff Lee, Josh Beckett, Heath Bell, Eric Chávez, Adam Dunn, Chone Figgins, Rafael Furcal, Raúl Ibañez, Paul Konerko, Carlos Peña, Brad Penny, J.J. Putz, Brian Roberts, Alfonso Soriano and José Valverde.

Returning players on the ballot:

  • Curt Schilling (60.9% in 2019)
  • Roger Clemens (59.5% in 2019)
  • Barry Bonds (59.1% in 2019)
  • Larry Walker (54.6% in 2019)
  • Omar Vizquel (42.8% in 2019)
  • Manny Ramirez (22.8% in 2019)
  • Jeff Kent (18.1% in 2019)
  • Scott Rolen (17.2% in 2019)
  • Billy Wagner (16.7% in 2019)
  • Todd Helton (16.5% in 2019)
  • Garry Sheffield (13.6% in 2019)
  • Andy Pettite (9.9% in 2019)
  • Sammy Sosa (8.5% in 2019)
  • Andruw Jones (7.5% in 2019)

[jwplayer Jw3HjI5K-q2aasYxh]

[vertical-gallery id=879984]