Lou Brock on Importance of His Breaking Stolen Base Record

Lou Brock (June 18, 1939 – September 6, 2020) began his 19-year MLB career with the 1961 Chicago Cubs but spent the majority of his big league career as a left fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. Brock was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985 and the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014. He was a special instructor coach for the St. Louis Cardinals.

Brock was best known for his base stealing, breaking Ty Cobb's all-time major league career steals record and Maury Wills's single-season record. Brock was an All-Star for six seasons and the NL stolen base leader for eight seasons. He led the NL in doubles and triples in 1968. He also led the NL in singles in 1972, and was the runner-up for the NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1974.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Here's another radio Baseball card. Hallof Famer Lou Brock ranks his stolen based
record behind achieving three thousand hits.He'll share his feelings about breaking records right
after this, Before Ricky Henderson,Lou Brock grabbed the stolen based record in

(00:21):
nineteen seventy four that Maury will settwelve years earlier. Was that Brock's greatest
accomplishment. No, it was justanother record because I had broken perhaps fourteen
fifteen records by the end, Sotherefore just a mark that was in my
way, in the way of pursuingto be the best you could be on
the basis, So I really don'tsee that had been a crown. So

(00:46):
to speaking, stolen base is justanother dimension of the game that I excelled
at him. When you're sustaining ata high level of play, he's going
to be passing by quite a fewrecords. Most of the times you compete
against yourself. In fact, playeris going to tell you from point blank,
they never admitted, but that isexactly what they compete in against.
As long as the quest is real, and that is to be the best

(01:07):
that I can be. At thistime, I would imagine three thousand hits
might have been the crown of mycareer. Have an outstanding the World Series,
said, World Series Record, hiddenrecords, All those things are far
greater to me than a stolen baseaspect of it. Blue Rock still holds
a record for stolen bases in acareer with nine hundred and thirty eight with

(01:33):
radio baseball cards. I'm Don Drysdale.