The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #52 Joe Morgan

Joining the list at #52 is second baseman Joe Morgan. Morgan was a vital cog to Cincinnati’s Big Red Machine, combining with Pete Rose to provide a 1-2 punch at the top of the order that rivals any in history. Morgan helped lead the Reds to two World Series titles in four appearances. Morgan was the perfect combination of speed, power, and patience. He joins Rickey Henderson as the only two players in history with 1,800 career walks, 1,600 runs, and 650 stolen bases. Morgan and Henderson are the only two players in history with 250 career home runs and 650 stolen bases. Among second basemen, Morgan is arguably the greatest since 1930. His 1,865 walks are the 5th most in history regardless of position and 366 more than any other second baseman. Morgan’s 689 career stolen bases are the most by a second baseman since the dead-ball era. Morgan joins Rogers Hornsby as the only second basemen to win two league MVPs and he racked up 19.1 more WAR than any other second baseman since 1930.

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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