Making the Big Red Machine go

In a trade not popular at the time with the masses in Cincinnati, the Reds 53 years ago today send infielders Lee May, Tommy Helms, and utility player Jimmy Stewart – the ballplayer, not the actor – to the Houston Astros.

In return, the Reds receive outfielders Cesar Geronimo and Ed Armbrister, pitcher Jack Billingham, third baseman Denis Menke and an undersized second baseman named Joe Morgan.

Cincinnati fans eventually come to love the trade as Geronimo, Billingham and Morgan join All-Stars Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, George Foster, Ken Griffey Sr. and Dave Concepcion in becoming vital cogs in the nearly unstoppable Big Red Machine.

Joe Morgan

No cog is bigger than the 5-foot-7, 160-pound Morgan, the future Hall of Famer who over the next five seasons from 1972-76 leads the Reds to three World Series appearances while winning two National League MVP awards.

Morgan ends up playing 22 seasons in the major leagues.

He eventually moves from Cincinnati back to Houston in 1980 before spending two seasons with the San Francisco Giants and another with the 1983 National League pennant-winning Philadelphia Phillies before finishing his career in 1984 with his hometown Oakland Athletics.

Morgan’s final totals: 2,517 hits with 268 home runs, 689 stolen bases, 10 All-Star Game selections, five Gold Gloves and a first-ballot selection to the Hall of Fame in 1990.

“I take my vote (into the Hall of Fame) as a salute to the little guy, the one who doesn’t hit 500 home runs,” Morgan says. “I was one of the guys that did all they could to win.

“I’m proud of my stats, but I don’t think I ever got one for Joe Morgan. If I stole a base, it was to help us win a game, and I like to think that’s what made me special.”