A tribute to Lou
Yesterday the Lou lost one of its greatest treasures Louuuuuuu Brock.
Lou was one of the best players to ever wear the birds on the bat and indeed any baseball uniform. Over a 19-year Hall of Fame career he had over 3000 hits, averaged 100 runs per 162 game season, hit over .300 eight times (including .304 in his final season at age 40) and stole 938 stolen bases (the Major League record at the time).
Brock’s star shined the brightest when it mattered the most. Over the course of three World Series in 1964, 1967 and 1968 he hit nearly .400 and had an OPS of 1.079 ( the only men in history higher with at least 75 plate appearances are baseball royalty Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Reggie Jackson). He also set the all-time record for most stolen bases in a World Series in 1967 (7) – a record he still shares nearly a half a century later with himself ( having repeated the feat in 1968).
Lou was more than great player; he was a game changer. When he reached first base the entire energy of the Stadium shifted. Pitchers, catchers and fielders buzzed with activity and nervousness. Fans put down their hot dogs and pretzels and stopped ruminating about Vietnam, Woodstock or Civil Rights and paid close attention to the immediate drama, as everyone present knew that Lou Brock was about to try to steal second base. I spent much of my childhood transfixed by this battle.
That Brock would ever rise to such prominence was an enormous long shot and a study in perseverance. Born on a cotton farm to a family of sharecroppers in Arkansas, Lou never even played organized baseball until he was in the 11th grade! In his first year as a college baseball player he hit below the notorious “Mendoza line” (a mere .189).
Yet, he improved monumentally the following year, hitting a remarkable .500. Emboldened by his success, he decided to try out for the Cardinals. He travelled to St. Louis to display his skills but the Redbirds didn’t offer him a contract. Ironically, the Cardinals’ biggest rival did. Lou did well in the minors for the Cubs but struggled when called up to the major league team. After only a few years he was traded in 1964 to the Cardinals of all teams -primarily for 20-game winner Ernie Broglio who fizzled spectacularly (never again winning more than 4 games in a season!). To this day it is regarded as the best/worst trade in Cards/Cubs history respectively. Brock apparently much preferred red over blue and that very year helped lead the Cardinals to the World Championship and thereafter embarked on a Hall of Fame career.
Lou persevered through many inequities in life. Even after he overcame his disadvantaged upbringing and made it all the way to the Promised Land of the Big Leagues he suffered the appalling injustice of fellow Cardinal greats Bob Gibson, Curt Flood and Bill White of often being shipped across a city on the road to the “Negro” hotels. When he made baseball history by becoming the 14th player to have collected 3000 hits, only a month before beloved white player Carl Yaztremski achieved the same milestone, it was Yaz, not Lou, who was immediately invited to the White House to be honored. After his career was long over the man who ran like the wind and with reckless abandon suffered the cruel irony of having one of his legs amputated below the knee due to complications from diabetes.
Yet throughout all of the indignities in his life, Lou was the epitome of dignity. The man exuded class. He chose to live in the Lou during and after his playing days (indeed, my suburb of Olivette) and was commonly seen around town – always a gentleman, friendly to all and willing to lend his name and support to any worthy cause. Lou Brock was the 5th recipient of the annual Roberto Clemente Award bestowed for exemplary commitment to community and helping others.
In a sad irony, the great Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Seaver passed away less than a week ago. Tom and Lou were linked by era, competition and All-Star Games (when Lou reportedly mistook a babyfaced 22-year old Seaver for a clubhouse attendant and asked him to bring him a coke) . Moreover, no player in baseball history had more at bats in their career against Terrific Tom than the Base Burglar.
Thanks for all the great memories Lou and for being such an exemplary representative of the Lou.
