Lou Brock, R.I.P.

Lou Brock, the Hall of Fame outfielder who spent the bulk of his career of the St. Louis Cardinals and the greatest basestealer in National League history, passed away this afternoon at the age of 81. No cause of death was released but Brock had suffered from diabetes and multiple myeloma in recent years.

Born in Arkansas and raised in Louisiana, Brock played collegiate baseball at Southern University in Baton Rouge before signing with the Chicago Cubs in 1960. Brock rapidly rose through the Cubs system and made his MLB debut with the Cubs late in the 1961 season. After struggling during two and a half seasons with the Cubs, Brock was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals in the middle of the 1964 season for pitcher Ernie Broglio. 

At the time, it was thought the deal was a steal - for the Cubs. Broglio had just come off an 18 win season for the Cardinals in 1963 and was regarded to be reaching the peak of his career. Instead, Broglio would win only 7 games for the Cubs until he retired in 1966. Meanwhile, Brock hit .348 in 103 games for the Cardinals and would be a key figure in the team's first NL pennant and World Series title since 1946. Brock was just getting warmed up.

Between 1966 and 1974, Brock led the NL in stolen bases eight times. In 1974, Brock broke the single season record for stolen bases with 118 (surpassing the 104 bases stolen by Maury Wills in 1962 with the Los Angeles Dodgers). This would be eclipsed eight years later by Rickey Henderson when he stole 130 bases for the Oakland A's. But Brock retains the NL record. In 1977, Brock broke Ty Cobb's MLB record for stolen bases when he swiped his 893rd base. (There is a picture of Brock appearing with Johnny Carson after attaining this distinction at the top of this post). Again, this record would be surpassed by Henderson in 1991 but Brock retains the NL record.

Brock finished his career in 1979 when he won NL Comeback Player of the Year. In 19 MLB seasons, Brock collected 3,023 hits with 938 stolen bases, 6 NL All-Star Team selections and two World Series rings. In three World Series, Brock an astounding .391 (34 for 87) with 4 HR and 13 RBI. Brock was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 in his first year of eligibility with 79.7% of the vote.

Following his baseball career, Brock remained in the St. Louis area as a businessman primarily as a florist and promoter of an umbrella hat known as the Brockabella. Brock was also active in his church and was an ordained minister.

Brock's death comes less than a week after the passing of fellow Hall of Famer Tom Seaver. Brock faced Seaver 157 times - more than any other batter. They are forever linked in both life and now death. R.I.P.