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10. Lou Brock

10. Lou Brock
  1. General
  2. Awards
  3. Career Stats
  • Born: June 18, 1939 in El Dorado, AR USA
  • Weight: 170 lbs.
  • Height: 5'11"
  • Bats: L
  • Throws: L
  • Debut: September 10, 1961
  • Final Game: September 30, 1979
  • Babe Ruth Award - 1967
  • TSN All-Star - 1974
  • TSN Major League Player of the Year - 1974
  • TSN Player of the Year - 1974
  • Roberto Clemente Award - 1975
  • Lou Gehrig Memorial Award - 1977
  • Hutch Award - 1979
  • MVP - 1964
  • MVP - 1966
  • MVP - 1967
  • MVP - 1968
  • MVP - 1971
  • MVP - 1972
  • MVP - 1973
  • MVP - 1974
  • MVP - 1975
  • MVP - 1976
 
ABRHHRRBISBAVG
206643220604629818001876 0.293
 

Lou Brock arrived to St. Louis in a mid-season trade in 1964 and it turned into one of the greatest steals in trade history.  Brock’s batting seemed to automatically improve and he would help the Cardinals win the 1964 World Series.  With Brock’s increased base presence he also developed stronger baserunning skills and in 1967 he went to his first All Star Game, won his first Stolen Base title and helped the Cards win the World Series.  Brock would be a base stealing machine leading the NL in that metric eight of nine seasons (1966 to 1974), the last of which would set a then record 118, which was the season where he finished second in NL MVP voting.  The Outfielder would become the all-time Stolen Base leader with 938 (888 with St. Louis) and he would hold that record until Rickey Henderson broke that mark.

While Brock was known primarily for his prowess on the base paths he was quite the hitter with St. Louis who had four 200 Hit seasons and another seven where he tallied over 180.  In his final season with St. Louis, he would enter the 3,000 Hit Club while accumulating 2,713 with a .294 Batting Average overall for the Cardinals.  It also can’t be discounted that over his three World Series appearances he had a Slash Line of .391/.424/.655 with 4 Home Runs over 21 Games.

If this ranking seems a little bit on the low side keep in mind that defensively, Brock was not that special, in fact he had eight seasons where he had a -1.0 Defensive bWAR, is third time all-time in Errors by a Leftfielder, and he was in the top five six times with St. Louis in Strikeouts.  This certainly hurt his advanced metrics, which is reflected here.

He would be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 on the first ballot, and was also part of the first class inducted into the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.  His number 20 was also retired by the team after he retired in 1979.

The Bullet Points

  • Position: Outfield
  • Acquired: Traded from the Chicago Cubs with Jack Spring and Paul Toth for Ernie Broglio, Doug Clemens and Bobby Shantz 6/15/64.
  • Departed: Retired after the 1979 Season.
  • Games Played: 2289
  • Notable Statistics: 1,427 Runs Scored
    2,713 Hits
    434 Doubles
    121 Triples
    129 Home Runs
    814 RBI
    888 Stolen Bases
    .297/.347/.414 Slash Line
    41.8 bWAR

    21 Playoff Games
    16 Runs Scored
    34 Hits
    7 Doubles
    2 Triples
    4 Home Runs
    13 RBI
    14 Stolen Bases
    .391/.424/.655 Slash Line
  • Major Accolades and Awards:

    World Series Champion (1964 & 1967)
    TSN Major League Player of the Year (1974)
    All-Star (1967, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1975 & 1979)
    Babe Ruth Award (1967)
    Roberto Clemente Award (1975)
    Lou Gehrig Memorial Award (1977)
    Hutch Award (1979)
    Most At Bats (1936)
    Most Plate Appearances (1967 & 1971)
    Most Runs Scored (1967 & 1971)
    Most Doubles (1967)
    Most Triples (1968)
    Most Stolen Bases (1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973 & 1974)
    Most Singles (1972)
    Highest Power-Speed # (1967)
    Highest Championship Win Probability Added (1968)
    Most Putouts by a Leftfielder (1967, 1968 & 1969)
    Most Assists by a Leftfielder (1965)
    Most Double Plays Turned by a Leftfielder (1969 & 1973)
    Most Total Zone Runs by a Leftfielder (1965, 1966 & 1968)
    Highest Range Factor per Game by a Leftfielder (1965, 1966, 1967 & 1968)

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