1980 joe morgan

joe morgan left the big red machine and signed a free agent deal with the astros in january of 1980. here is his 1980 o-pee-chee card:

i am guessing he is telling the reporter all about tony perez being an rbi machine and that the twins' failed prospect billy beane will eventually write a book that he won't bother to read.

here's the topps front:

now the o-pee-chee back:

and the topps back:

for morgan, it was a bit of a homecoming as he was born in texas and had begun his career with the colt .45s in 1963. although he hit only .243 for the astros in 1980, he did help them get to the postseason for the first time in franchise history. once there, however, he pulled his nlcs disappearing trick as he managed just 2 hits in 13 official at bats against the phillies. he did break an 0 for 22 nlcs slump dating back to 1976 with a game 1 double. his last hit of the series came in game 2 and then he started a new skid - 0 for 15 - that wouldn't end until game 3 of the 1983 nlcs against the dodgers. to be fair, morgan also walked 6 times in the 1980 nlcs, so his obp was a nice .421 for the series.

after the series ended in defeat for the astros, they released morgan which allowed him to sign with the giants as a free agent, much to the chagrin of terry forster and dodger fans everywhere.

voici à vous, 1980 joe morgan!