Baseball Hall of Famer and MLB champion Lou Brock has died, his longtime agent and friend Dick Zitzmann confirmed to the Associated Press. A former all-time leader in stolen bases, Brock was 81.
Stationed at left field, Brock played 19 years in the MLB with the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals. A six-time All-Star, he was a speed demon on the bases throughout his career.
Brock had at least 50 steals in 12 consecutive seasons. He broke the records for most stolen bases in an individual season (118 in 1974) and in a career (938), both of which would later be broken by Rickey Henderson. Brock was also the first player in the MLB ever to have an award named after him while he was still active: the Lou Brock Award has been given to the National League player with the most steals during a season since 1978.
Brock was also a world-class hitter. He compiled 3,023 hits during his career and came up with numerous big hits in the clutch. Brock scored at least 100 runs on seven different occasions and had at least 200 hits in a season four times.
A winner throughout his career, Brock won two championships with the Cardinals in 1964 and 1967. In the 1967 World Series, he was a major factor, batting .414 in the series. Brock was also a part of the Cardinals team that made the World Series in 1968 but fell to the Detroit Tigers in seven games. Despite the series loss, Brock was spectacular, tying the World series record for hits with 13.
After the end of his playing career, Brock worked as a florist and as a commentator for Monday Night Baseball on ABC. He also regularly made appearances for the Cardinals and the MLB as an ambassador of the game.
Brock battled health issues in recent years, losing a leg due to diabetes before being diagnosed with blood cancer in 2017. The official cause of his death is as of yet unknown.
Read the full story at the Associated Press
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