Editing Lou Brock (section)

== Baseball career ==

===College and the minor leagues===
Brock hit for a .189 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]] in his first year of college baseball, but improved the following year to hit for a .500 average.<ref name="Success Story: Lou Brock's Climb to the Hall of Fame"/> Southern University won the [[National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics]]' baseball championship during his junior year, and Brock was selected for the United States baseball team in the [[1959 Pan American Games]].<ref name="Success Story: Lou Brock's Climb to the Hall of Fame"/> When Brock decided to try for a professional baseball career, he traveled to St. Louis to try out for the Cardinals, but the [[Scout (sports)|scout]] who had recommended him was in [[Seattle]] to sign [[Ray Washburn]].<ref name=" Lou Brock Looks Back on His 19-Year Hall of Fame Career"/> He then decided to try out for the [[Chicago Cubs]], who signed him as an amateur [[free agent]] in 1960. Assigned to play for the [[St. Cloud Rox (minor league baseball)|St. Cloud Rox]], Brock won the 1961 [[Northern League (baseball, 1902–71)|Northern League]] batting championship with a .361&nbsp;batting average.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/leader.cgi?type=bat&id=7ffee8c4#league_batting::none |title=1961 Northern League Batting Leaders |website=Baseball Reference |access-date=April 19, 2011}}</ref>

===Chicago Cubs===
Brock made his major league debut with the Cubs on September 10, [[1961 Chicago Cubs season|1961]], at the age of 22.<ref name="Lou Brock statistics">{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brocklo01.shtml |title=Lou Brock statistics |website=Baseball Reference |access-date=April 19, 2011}}</ref> In his rookie season of [[1962 Chicago Cubs season|1962]], Brock became one of four players to hit a [[home run]] into the center-field [[bleachers]] at the old [[Polo Grounds]] in [[New York City]] since its 1923 reconstruction. His blast came against [[Al Jackson]] in the first game of a June 17 [[doubleheader (baseball)|doubleheader]] against the [[1962 New York Mets season|New York Mets]] and was one of two that cleared the wall in consecutive days,<ref name="Success Story: Lou Brock's Climb to the Hall of Fame"/> with [[Hank Aaron]]'s coming the very next day. [[Joe Adcock]] was the first to hit a ball over that wall, in 1953. [[Babe Ruth]] reached the old bleachers (a comparable distance) before the reconstruction. Brock was not known as a power hitter, though he aspired to be one.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holtzman |first1=Jerome |title=The Cubs' most infamous trade didn't look nearly that bad 25 years ago |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1989-06-15-8902100268-story.html |website=The Chicago Tribune|date=June 15, 1989 }}</ref><ref name="NYT">{{cite news |last1=Goldstein |first1=Richard |title=Lou Brock, Baseball Hall of Famer Known for Stealing Bases, Dies at 81 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/06/sports/baseball/lou-brock-dead.html |website=The New York Times|date=September 6, 2020 }}</ref>

Brock had great speed and [[base running]] instincts, but the young right fielder failed to impress the Cubs management, hitting for only a combined .260 average over his first two seasons. In [[1964 Chicago Cubs season|1964]] after losing patience with his development, the Cubs gave up on Brock and made him part of a trade with the [[St. Louis Cardinals]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Tom Owens|title=Greatest Baseball Players of All Time|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F6WE9At5BKYC|year=1990|publisher=Publications International|isbn=978-0-88176-696-7|page=66}}</ref> The June 15 deadline deal for pitcher [[Ernie Broglio]] saw Brock, [[Jack Spring]], and Paul Toth head to St. Louis for Broglio, [[Bobby Shantz]], and [[Doug Clemens]]. Cardinals general manager [[Bing Devine]] specifically sought Brock at the insistence of Cardinals' manager [[Johnny Keane]] to increase team speed and solidify the Cardinals' lineup, which was struggling after the retirement of left fielder [[Stan Musial]] in [[1963 St. Louis Cardinals season|1963]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Jim Bresnahan|title=Play It Again: Baseball Experts on What Might Have Been|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MVdcMkcuRNYC&pg=PA139|date=July 5, 2006|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-2546-4|page=139}}</ref> At the time, many thought the deal was a heist for the Cubs. Broglio had led the National League in wins four years earlier, and had won 18 games the season before the trade.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Sullivan |first1=Paul |title=Former Cubs pitcher Ernie Broglio, who was part of the famous Lou Brock trade with the Cardinals, dies at 83 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cubs/ct-cubs-ernie-broglio-dies-20190717-22p3wahjojakzgzreixv6cxafi-story.html |website=The Chicago Tribune|date=July 17, 2019 }}</ref>

===St. Louis Cardinals===
After Brock was traded to the Cardinals, his career turned around. He moved to left field and batted .348 and stole 33 bases for the remainder of the [[1964 St. Louis Cardinals season|1964 season]].<ref name="Lou Brock statistics"/> At the time of the trade, the Cardinals were 28–31, in eighth place in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]], trailing even the Cubs, who were 27–27 and in sixth place. Brock helped the Cardinals storm from behind to capture the National League [[Pennant (sports)|pennant]] on the last day of the season.<ref name="Success Story: Lou Brock's Climb to the Hall of Fame"/> Four months to the day after Brock's trade, the Cardinals won the [[1964 World Series]] in seven games over the favored [[1964 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]], who were appearing in their 14th World Series in 16 years (and their last until a dozen years later). Brock's contributions to the Cardinals' championship season were recognized when he finished in tenth place in voting for the 1964 National League [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player Award]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1964.shtml#NLmvp |title=1964 National League Most Valuable Player Award voting results |website=Baseball Reference |access-date=April 19, 2011}}</ref> Meanwhile, Broglio won only seven games for the Chicago Cubs before retiring from baseball after the 1966 season. To this day, the trade of [[Brock for Broglio]] is considered one of the most lopsided deals in baseball history.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SCsDAAAAMBAJ&q=aaron+robinson+baseball+digest&pg=PA32 |title=These Were the Ten Most Lopsided Player Trades |author=Gold, Eddie |date=August 1996 |magazine=Baseball Digest |access-date=April 19, 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Lou Brock - St. Louis Cardinals.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Brock with the Cardinals, {{c.|1977}}]]
In [[1966 St. Louis Cardinals season|1966]], Brock ended [[Maury Wills]]' six-year reign as the National League's stolen base champion with 74 steals.<ref>{{cite news |title=National Loop Hitting Crown Won By Alou |agency=Associated Press |work=Gadsden Times |page=15 |date=December 11, 1966 |access-date=April 19, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DRApAAAAIBAJ&pg=874,1465586}}</ref> In [[David Halberstam]]'s book, ''October 1964'', the author stated manager Johnny Keane asked Brock to forgo hitting home runs in favor of stealing bases.<ref name="Lou Brock: Base Stealing Demands Mental Discipline">{{cite magazine |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ry4DAAAAMBAJ&q=lou+brock+baseball+digest&pg=PA35 |title=Lou Brock: Base Stealing Demands Mental Discipline |author=Stone, George |date=September 1990 |magazine=Baseball Digest |access-date=April 19, 2011}}</ref> Brock went on to lead the National League in stolen bases eight times within a nine-year span between 1966 and 1974 (former teammate [[Bobby Tolan]] led the league in steals in 1970).<ref name="Success Story: Lou Brock's Climb to the Hall of Fame"/>

Brock began the [[1967 St. Louis Cardinals season|1967 season]] by hitting five home runs in the first four games of the season, becoming the first player to do so ([[Barry Bonds]] tied this record in 2002).<ref>{{cite news |title=Lou Brock Slowed To Trot By Power |agency=United Press International |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=April 17, 1967 |access-date=April 19, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=2kgqAAAAIBAJ&pg=3738,1394989}}</ref> He was hitting for a .328 average by mid-June to earn the role as the starting left fielder for the National League in the [[1967 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1967 All-Star Game]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/gl.cgi?id=brocklo01&t=b&year=1967 |title=1967 Lou Brock batting log |website=Baseball Reference |access-date=April 19, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/ALS/ALS196707110.shtml |title=1967 All-Star Game |website=Baseball Reference |access-date=April 19, 2011}}</ref> After suffering through a mid-season slump, he recovered to finish the season with a career-high 206 [[Hit (baseball)|hits]] and a .299 batting average while leading the league in stolen bases and [[Run (baseball)|runs]] scored as the Cardinals won the National League pennant by ten and a half games. Brock became the first player in MLB history to [[20–50 club|steal 50 bases and hit 20 home runs in the same season]].<ref name="Success Story: Lou Brock's Climb to the Hall of Fame"/> In the [[1967 World Series]], Brock hit for a .414 average, scored eight runs, and set a World Series record with seven stolen bases as the Cardinals defeated the [[1967 Boston Red Sox season|Boston Red Sox]] in seven games.<ref>{{cite news |title=Gibson Gets His Car, Says Brock Real Hero |agency=Associated Press |work=Daytona Beach Morning Journal |page=7 |date=October 17, 1967 |access-date=April 19, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=e24eAAAAIBAJ&pg=1875,3617083}}</ref>

The Cardinals won the National League pennant for a second consecutive year in [[1968 St. Louis Cardinals season|1968]] as Brock once again led the league in stolen bases as well as in [[Double (baseball)|doubles]] and [[Triple (baseball)|triples]].<ref name="Lou Brock statistics"/> In the [[1968 World Series]] against the [[1968 Detroit Tigers season|Detroit Tigers]], Brock had three stolen bases in Game 3 and contributed a double, triple, home run, and four runs batted in during Game 4 to help the Cardinals build a three-games to one advantage over the Tigers.<ref name="1968 World Series">{{cite web |url=http://www.baseball-almanac.com/ws/yr1968ws.shtml |title=1968 World Series |publisher=Baseball Almanac |access-date=December 24, 2011}}</ref> The Cardinals appeared to be on the verge of winning a second consecutive World Series, going into the fifth inning of Game 5 with a 3–2 lead.<ref name="1968 World Series"/> Although Brock's base running abilities had proven to be a factor in the previous four games, his carelessness may have cost the Cardinals a run.<ref name="1968 World Series"/> After Brock had hit a double, he tried to score standing up on [[Julián Javier]]'s single to left, but [[Willie Horton (baseball)|Willie Horton]] threw him out with a strong throw to home plate.<ref name="1968 World Series"/> Detroit rallied for three runs in the seventh inning as [[Mickey Lolich]] shut out the Cardinals for the final eight innings to win the game for the Tigers.<ref name="1968 World Series"/> In Game 7, Brock had another crucial miscue when he was [[Pickoff|picked off]] base by Lolich, extinguishing a possible Cardinals rally.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thisgreatgame.com/1968.html |title=1968: Year of the Pitcher |publisher=thisgreatgame.com |access-date=December 24, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111224181907/http://www.thisgreatgame.com/1968.html |archive-date=December 24, 2011 }}</ref> The Tigers rallied from being down three games to one behind the excellent pitching of Mickey Lolich to win the series.<ref name="1968 World Series"/> Brock once again stole seven bases and was the leading hitter in the series, posting a .464 batting average with six runs and five [[runs batted in]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/b/brocklo01.shtml#batting_postseason::none |title=Lou Brock post-season statistics |website=Baseball Reference |access-date=April 19, 2011}}</ref>

Beginning in [[1969 St. Louis Cardinals season|1969]], Brock produced six consecutive seasons with 190 hits or better. He was named [[Major League Baseball Player of the Month Award|NL Player of the Month]] for the first of three times in his career in May 1971 with a .405 batting average and 8 stolen bases. In August 1973, he broke a record set by [[Ty Cobb]] when he stole his 50th base of the season, marking the ninth time he had stolen 50 or more bases in a season.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lou Brock Still Having Fun Stealing Bases |agency=Associated Press |work=Schenectady Gazette |page=26 |date=August 28, 1973 |access-date=April 19, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=32hGAAAAIBAJ&pg=3395,2949056}}</ref> Brock won his second NL Player of the Month Award in August 1974, marking one of only four times the award was given to a player who [[slugging percentage|slugged]] below .500.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Martin |first1=Cameron |title=Exploring The Player of the Month Award |url=https://tht.fangraphs.com/exploring-the-player-of-the-month-award/ |website=[[FanGraphs]]|date=April 30, 2019 }}</ref>

In 1972, Brock improved on Maury Wills' method by, instead of trying to maximize lead off distance, focusing on starting with a little momentum. "Brock pioneered the rolling start," states a later ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' article, which also maintains that base-stealing tends to be overrated as a factor in team success.<ref name="SI1982">[https://www.si.com/vault/1982/09/06/624392/so-whats-all-the-fuss So What's All The Fuss? Rickey Henderson may be the Man of the Hour but, argues the Author, Base Stealing has Never Really Amounted to Very Much], ''Sports Illustrated'', Bill James, September 6, 1982.  This article gives a historical overview of base stealing primarily of the 1950s, '60s, and '70s.</ref>

===Stolen base records===
On September 10, [[1974 St. Louis Cardinals season|1974]], Brock tied Wills' single-season stolen bases mark of 104 with a first-inning steal of second base in a game against the visiting Philadelphia Phillies, then broke the record with another swipe of second in the seventh inning.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lou Brock Matches Wills' Mark |agency=Associated Press |work=Harlan Daily Enterprise |page=26 |date=September 11, 1974 |access-date=April 19, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=E5BBAAAAIBAJ&pg=7273,495027}}</ref> He ended the season with a new major league single-season record of 118 stolen bases.<ref name="Success Story: Lou Brock's Climb to the Hall of Fame"/> Brock finished second to [[Steve Garvey]] in the balloting for the 1974 [[National League Most Valuable Player Award]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/awards/awards_1974.shtml#NLmvp |title=1974 National League Most Valuable Player Award voting results |website=Baseball Reference |access-date=April 19, 2011}}</ref>

In a game against the [[San Diego Padres]] on August 29, [[1977 St. Louis Cardinals season|1977]], at [[San Diego Stadium]], Brock broke Ty Cobb's career record of 892 stolen bases and became the all-time major league stolen base leader.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lou Brock: King of Thefts |agency=Associated Press |work=The Calgary Herald |page=26 |date=August 30, 1977 |access-date=April 19, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=eXBkAAAAIBAJ&pg=3789,4306935}}</ref> Cobb's record had been one of the most durable in baseball and, like Babe Ruth's record of 714 career home runs, had been considered unbreakable by some observers.<ref name=" Lou Brock: Base Stealing Demands Mental Discipline"/> &nbsp;Brock held this record until May 31, 1991, when it was broken by [[Rickey Henderson]] of the [[Oakland Athletics]], who would go on to steal a total of 1,406 bases.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2020/06/24/rickey-henderson-mlb-stolen-base-record-never-broken-lou-brock/3244198001/|title = Rickey Henderson's base-stealing mark is one MLB record that will stand the test of time|website = [[USA Today]]}}</ref>

Brock remained best known for base-stealing and starting Cardinals rallies. He was said to have disliked Wills' method of base-stealing, instead shortening his leads and going hard. He was also an early student of game films. In 1964, Brock acquired a movie camera and filmed opposing pitchers from the dugout to study their [[pitching position|windups]] and [[pickoff]] moves to detect weaknesses he could exploit.<ref name="SI1982"/><ref name="NYT"/>

===Later years and retirement===
[[File:Lou Brock 2005.png|200px|thumb|Brock with the Cardinals in spring training in 2005]]
Brock fell into a hitting [[Slump (sports)|slump]] early in the [[1978 St. Louis Cardinals season|1978 season]] and lost the left fielder's job. However, he fought back during [[spring training]] in [[1979 St. Louis Cardinals season|1979]] with a .345 batting average to regain his starting job.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brock is at crisis stage |agency=Associated Press |work=The Leader-Post |page=26 |date=July 11, 1978 |access-date=April 19, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wVtVAAAAIBAJ&pg=3694,2626789}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Brock Looking For No. 3000 Before Quitting |agency=Associated Press |work=Sarasota Herald-Tribune |page=26 |date=May 2, 1979 |access-date=April 19, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UUk1AAAAIBAJ&pg=6656,689670}}</ref> Brock was named [[Major League Baseball Player of the Month|Player of the Month]] for the month of May 1979, when he produced a .433 batting average.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brock Earns N.L. Award |agency=Associated Press |work=The Albany Herald |page=18 |date=June 5, 1979 |access-date=April 20, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_1xYAAAAIBAJ&pg=2173,888445}}</ref>

On August 13, 1979, in a game against the team that traded him, the Chicago Cubs, Brock became the fourteenth Major League Baseball player to garner [[3,000 hit club|3,000 hits]].<ref>{{cite news |date=August 14, 1979 |title=Lou Brock, a rock of ages, hits No. 3,000 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-news-lou-brock-a-rock-of-ages/165942543/ |access-date=2025-02-17 |work=The Miami News |page=C1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> About one month later, [[Carl Yastrzemski]] reached the same plateau and was promptly invited to the [[White House]] by Massachusetts native and Speaker of the House [[Tip O'Neill]]. Brock was reported to have felt slighted that he hadn't received a similar invitation.<ref>{{cite news |title=Brock Finally Gets Invitation |agency=Associated Press |work=The Southeast Missourian |page=10 |date=September 17, 1979 |access-date=April 20, 2011 |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kVofAAAAIBAJ&pg=2919,2337752}}</ref> Brock originally said that he wouldn't go to the White House even if he was invited. However, after consideration, he decided that forgiveness was the best course and accepted a belated invitation to meet with the President.<ref>{{cite news |date=September 22, 1979 |title=White House snafu? OK says Brock |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=wQUnAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VgMGAAAAIBAJ&pg=1240,2141979&hl=en |access-date=2025-02-17 |work=Baltimore Afro-American |page=14 |via=Google News Archive}}</ref> Brock retired at the end of the season, having posted a .304 batting average in his last season at the age of 40.<ref name=" Lou Brock statistics"/> At the end of the season, he was named the National League [[Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award|Comeback Player of the Year]] — the first player to be so named in his final Major League season.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Ladd|first1=Chelsea|title=Swinging Into History: Lou Brock|url=https://dugoutdish.com/2020/05/21/swinging-into-history-lou-brock/|website=DugoutDish.com|date=May 21, 2020|access-date=September 6, 2020}}</ref>