Lou Brock’s 1964 Topps Card.
Thinking about Lou Brock‘s recent medical situation reminds us of how fragile we all really are.
Brock had part one of his legs amputated because of complications from diabetes.
Until National Baseball Hall of Fame member Rickey Henderson came along, Brock was the sport’s best base-stealer.
When he retired after the 1979 season, Brock was at the top on the all-time list with 938 stolen bases. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985. Henderson, who finished with 1,406 career steals, passed Brock in that category in 1991.
Brock led the National League in steals eight times from 1966 to 1969 and from 1971 to 1975. With only interruption of Brock’s titles in 1970, Brock had 51 steals to finish second to his former teammate Bobby Tolan, who had 57 for the Cincinnati Reds.
The Beginning
Brock started his 19-year career with the Chicago Cubs in 1961. In in four years with the Cubs, Brock managed to steal 50 bases despite a batting average of .257.
What is often called the most lopsided trade in the history of baseball, Brock was sent to the St. Louis Cardinals with Jack Spring and Paul Toth as Ernie Broglio, Doug Clemons and former American League Most Valuable Player Bobby Shantz would join the Cubs on June 15, 1964.
After the swap Brock became a key member of the 1964 World Series champion Cardinals. Brock was hitting .251 when he left Chicago. With the Cardinals, Brock batted .348 the rest of the season. Brock ended the year with a combined career-high average of .315.
The Fall Classic
Appearing in the World Series three times with the Cardinals, Brock had a .391 batting average with four homers, 13 RBI and 14 stolen bases in 21 games. He swiped seven bases in 1967 and 1968.
St. Louis won the title in 1964 by defeating the New York Yankees and in 1967 getting by the Boston Red Sox. In 1968, the Cardinals lost in seven games to the Detroit Tigers.
The All-Star
A six-time all-star, Brock started in the 1967 and 1975 contests.
In 1974 and 1975, the speedster had a single and a stolen base in each game. As a pinch-hitter in 1979, he singled in his last at bat in the mid-summer classic.
Lou Brock’s 1974 stolen base record of 118 was celebrated in the 1975 Topps set.
The Records
Two standards the Brock established in his career were the single-season and career stolen base mark. He’s now second behind Henderson in both categories.
In 1974, Brock became the second player in major league history to steal over 100 bases. Brock passed former record holder and Hall of Fame member Ty Cobb, who had 96 in 1915 for the Tigers. Henderson has the current top performance with 130 steals in 1982. Brock joined Maury Wills of the Los Angeles Dodgers, who had 104 in 1962,
In 1977, Brock would pass Cobb and his 897 steals to take the all-time lead, which he would keep until 1991 when Henderson ran by the record.
The Hits
Brock joined the 3,000-hit club during the 1979 season to finish with 3,023 and a .297 batting average.
The left-handed swinger had a career average of .297 as he was over .300 nine times in his career. In 1968, he led the National League with 46 doubles and 14 triples.
He also had over 200 hits three times with a best of 206 in 1967.