I have Thurman Munson as the best position player to not receive a vote. Among pitchers it's Steve Busby or Phil Niekro

I had Munson on my ballot at #11 or #12 at one point, but he was supplanted by Singleton. Neither Busby nor Niekro got anywhere near my ballot.

I think Morgan has to be the favorite for 1976. He was really close to three consecutive MMP awards.

Oh yeah, I'm pretty sure Morgan will be first on my ballot for '76 and I was one of the holdouts in '73 and '74 (I voted for third basemen Darrell Evans and Mike Schmidt in those years). Still, 3 MMPs in 4 years would be pretty impressive. Willie Mays is the only player to have done it so far ('62, '64, '65).

A few footnotes:

Joe Morgan is the first unanimous MMP since Bob Gibson in 1968. He also joins Willie Mays ('62, '64 and '65) and Carl Yastrzemski ('67 and '70) as the 3rd multiple winner.

Jim Palmer is the first AL pitcher to win the outright pitching MMP since Dean Chance in 1964 and only the second to date (Gaylord Perry of the Indians tied for the award last year). This marks five straight years in which the AL MMP was won by a pitcher beginning with Vida Blue in 1971 (Perry won in '72 and '74, Blyleven in '73).

Rod Carew was named the top position player in the AL for the second straight year. He joins Mickey Mantle ('61 and '62) and Carl Yastrzemski ('67 and '68) as back-to-back winners.

Tom Seaver is pretty good in odd numbered years. He's been the top pitcher in the NL in '71, '73 and '75. However, Seaver's 7th place showing this year is the lowest for the top NL pitcher since Jim Bunning finished 8th in 1967.

Goose Gossage just missed becoming the second reliever to finish in the top ten. He was 11th overall with 5 votes. John Hiller has the best showing for a reliever so far (6th in 1973).

Agreed, Munson is the highest without a vote on my ballot (albeit in 21st).
For pitchers I have The Count (Montefusco)(22nd) the highest without a vote.
I didn't even have Busby in my consideration set... (which either means I pooched it or he
didn't do well enough in the systems I use to bother with... I have no idea which at this point!)

Morgan has a great chance at a 1st, 2nd, 1st and 1st in 4 years. This is some serious dominance.

That would beat out Mays (he finished 3rd in '63).

Morgan was also 3rd in 1972. That makes 3rd, 1st, 2nd, 1st and probably 1st in 5 years. He is likely to pick up votes in 1977 but unlikely to win.

Fred Lynn's 4th is the highest finish by a non-HoM player since Vida Blue in 1971. Here's the list

Year Player Finish
1961 Norm Cash 2nd
1962 Tommy Davis 5th
1963 Dick Ellsworth 4th
1964 Dean Chance 4th
1965 Zoilo Versalles 5th
1966 Jim Maloney 15th
1967 Orlando Cepeda 7th (non-HoF is Tim McCarver 10th)
1968 Denny McLain 4th
1969 Rico Petrocelli - 2nd (best non-HoM showing)
1970 Jim Fregosi - 4th
1971 Vida Blue - 2nd
1972 Cesar Cedeno - 6th
1973 John Hiller - 6th
1974 Luis Tiant - 10th
1975 Fred Lynn - 4th

I have Thurman Munson as the best position player to not receive a vote. Among pitchers it's Steve Busby or Phil Niekro

I agree about Munson, but I have Al Hrabowsky as the best pitcher not to be seen on any ballots.

Morgan has a great chance at a 1st, 2nd, 1st and 1st in 4 years. This is some serious dominance.

How many of us thought he was an inner-circle great back then, though? For me, it wasn't until the early '80s before it was clear. I can't recall anyone seriously placing him near the top of the second baseman list outside of sabermetric circles, but, of course, he belongs there.

How many of us thought he was an inner-circle great back then, though?

I may be misremembering, but in my memory I had Morgan as a dead-certain HoFer (although maybe not inner-circle) from about 1977 onward. Of course, I was a bit of a Reds' fan back then. When the AL introduced the DH, I abandoned the Tigers and started tuning in to WLW's signal, which was loud and clear in Detroit. (That quite possibly saved me from becoming a Cubs' fan. You had to get towards Jackson before picking up WGN.)

As far as I can remember Joe Morgan was always a Hall of Famer. Of course I don't remember baseball before 1983.

I thought he was a certain HOFer, too, but someone to rival a Hornsby, Collins or Lajoie? I can't remember anybody thinking he could compete with that crowd.

I can't remember anybody thinking he could compete with that crowd.

After some more thought, I can't remember having any idea of 'inner-circle' before I started reading Bill James in the late 1980s, even if then. For me it was a binary thing: you were either in or out. Even the idea of ranking HoFers never occurred to me beyond 'knowing' that Babe Ruth was the best of the best. Why, it would be like ranking saints after St Peter!

As far as I can remember Joe Morgan was always a Hall of Famer. Of course I don't remember baseball before 1983.

1982 for me. What year were you born, DL?

What year were you born, DL?

1976. The Twins always played in the Metrodome. Harmon Killebrew was always a Hall of Famer. Rod Carew was an Angel.

I was a little kid in the mid-70s and biased to the Reds because of living in central Kentucky, but I never heard anyone doubt that Morgan & Bench were the greatest ever at their positions. That was just a default. Rose may have been more beloved (not by me as Bench was my personal hero until I was 12 or 13 and replaced him with Huey Long--I was a strange kid) but everybody at least in that area knew Morgan was just incredible. Probably people thought Bench was better or more unusual, and probably that verdict has reversed over time.

1976. The Twins always played in the Metrodome. Harmon Killebrew was always a Hall of Famer. Rod Carew was an Angel.

Cool. I was born in '74. I grew up in Northern Ontario, became an Orioles fan because '82 was Cal Ripken's rookie year and saw my first game at the Metrodome back in the days of Puckett and Hrbek (my memory is a little hazy but I'm pretty sure they played Mattingly and the Yankees).