[kailes2872]

I was born in '72, so I first remember watching Joe with the Giants in '80. That was about the time I started following baseball and collecting baseball cards, so I read immediately about the MVP's in 75 and 76. It was crazy to think that with Bench, Rose, and company, Morgan was the MVP.

What I think is interesting is that it was in his 10th and 11th year that he won the award. I went back and looked at old sets and all-star cards and it seems that he was a good player, but not a perennial all-star. I'm not sure who the '72 Joe Morgan would compare to today that would help make it relative, but I am just a bit surprised that he went from this really good, sought after strong player to a back to back MVP which eventually was the driver for his HOF induction. The fact that Houston let him be traded says a lot about his relative value in the league at the time.

By no means any disrespect to Joe - especially on this day. I am just surprised about such a late peak and wonder if there are any comps that anyone can think of - someone who was more than half way through their career before they make that second spike to first tier. I was born 90 minutes from Cincinnati and grew up a Reds fan. By the time I was actively following, most of the great 8 had moved on and the Reds were struggling in the 82-84 time frame. But, "who is better, Bench vs Rose?" could sometime rise to the level of a playground fight.