Francona's father, Tito, was playing for the A's.
"The Indians held a moment of silence for McNamara before their home game against the Chicago White Sox.As a player, McNamara spent 14 seasons in the Kansas City A's farm system, including nine years as player-manager. Morgan last managed for the Red Sox 12 years ago, yet a day hardly goes by when some stranger doesn't reminisce with him about '88. "I think my dad was actually a year older than him when he was managing in Oakland, so it was kind of funny," Francona said Wednesday.
In fact, it never gets old to Morgan either. Or, according to Morgan, it might never be duplicated. He is the townie's townie. Hobson's teams finished under .500 three straight seasons. And "Morgan Magic" is a story that never gets stale to the most ardent Sox followers. When you have a hitting club, it's always exciting.
It was around this time 15 years ago when the Red Sox fired John McNamara and called on Morgan to be their temporary solution. "That will never happen again, I don't think. The odd thing was that Morgan -- who surely could have landed a job somewhere after his firing from the Sox -- never even attempted to look for another job. "That's the story."
He was the 1986 AL Manager of the Year.Current Cleveland manager Terry Francona, who was the Red Sox skipper when they ended their title drought, said he first met McNamara in Oakland in 1969-70.
Morgan is a fan of Sox manager Grady Little, who rode the bus for some 16 years as a minor league manager.
Plus the Yankees went 20-4 to start the year.
He won two World Series championships with the Reds in 1975 and 1976 and was also named the National League Most Valuable Player in … Former Red Sox manager Joe Morgan always said that a major league manager earns his keep by managing the bullpen. Now we're beefing up the bullpen so if we can stay close, anything could happen going down the highway." "We go to Florida in March, we go to the Kentucky Derby.
That was Morgan's seventh consecutive victory after taking over. That majestic period in Red Sox history -- known as "Morgan Magic" -- is something that could take decades to duplicate. Every now and then, he ventures out of Walpole and takes a little getaway. During his days as a minor league manager, he used to earn money in the winter by plowing snow and working as a toll booth collector.
McNamara stayed with the Red Sox into the 1988 season, when he was fired at the All-Star break with a 43-42 record; third base coach Joe Morgan replaced him and won 19 of his first 20 games — a string known as “Morgan Magic” — to lead the team to an AL East title. What does Morgan recall most about that wild string of wins?
"Just a sweet, sweet man.
Okay Red Sox trivia experts, I need YOUR help. The Red Sox busted out of the All-Star break with 12 consecutive wins. In 1990, the Sox, a plucky team picked by most "experts" to have a mediocre season, won the AL East. We just weren't doing any good and it just happened that way." "I didn't want to manage anymore," Morgan said. "I watch every game," Morgan said. McNamara stayed with the Red Sox into the 1988 season, when he was fired at the All-Star break with a 43-42 record; third base coach Joe Morgan replaced him and won 19 … Just a game over .500, they were nine games back in the AL East.
The death was unexpected and the cause was not yet known, she said.A weak-hitting catcher who first signed with the St. Louis Cardinals but never made it past Triple A, McNamara went on to win — and lose — more than 1,000 games while managing six major league teams. But nothing elaborate. Joe Morgan’s 1988 magic honored by Red Sox Members of 1988 team gathers at Fenway Park.
The plan was that general manager Lou Gorman would be on the swift hunt for a big-name skipper while Morgan guided the ship for a week or two.
Not 12 in a row for an interim manager," Morgan said. Absolutely. Well, that's how the story started.