Hall of Famer Joe Morgan – the Astro who got away – dead at 77

Former Houston Astros/Colt .45s and Cincinnati Reds star Joe Morgan died Monday at the age of 77.

Morgan is best known as a key cog in the Reds’ Big Red Machine, but he started his career in Houston.

He was drafted by the Colt .45s in the franchise’s inaugural season in 1962 and made his Major League debut a year later. The diminutive second baseman played nine seasons in Houston before he was traded in one of the worst deals in franchise history.

After the 1971 season, the Astros dealt Morgan, along with Ed Armbrister, Jack Billingham, Cesar Geronimo and Denis Menke to the Reds for Tommy Helms, Lee May and Jimmy Stewart.

Morgan would go on to make eight straight All-Star games with the Reds, win two National League MVP awards and two World Series titles.

The Astros brought Morgan back as a free agent for the 1980 season in which the team made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.

Morgan was a 10-time All-Star and five-time Gold Glove winner. He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990.

Morgan is the fifth Hall of Famer to die in the past six weeks. Yankees legend Whitey Ford died on Friday, Cardinals legends Bob Gibson and Lou Brock and Mets pitcher Tom Seaver all passed since Aug. 31.