Quote of the Day (Bill White, on the Cardinals’ Initial Reaction to Getting Lou Brock)

"None of us liked the deal [in which the St. Louis Cardinals traded recent 18-game winner Ernie Broglio to the Chicago Cubs for outfielder Lou Brock]. [We'd] say we did, but we didn't like that deal. In my opinion, Lou had a lot of talent, but he didn't know anything about baseball.… But somehow, when he came to us, he turned everything around." —Cardinals first baseman Bill White quoted in Peter Golenbock, The Spirit of St. Louis (2000)

“Turned everything around?” Did he ever! In June 1964, when the Cubs gave up on Lou Brock—born 80 years ago today, in El Dorado, Ark.— he was only batting .251 and represented a liability in right field. Above all, he was coiled tight from all his anxiety and frustration. 

But the change of scenery to another Midwestern park—along with a different manager, Johnny Keane, more likely to give him the green light to steal, and a change of position to left field—catalyzed Brock’s career and the Cardinals’ fortunes for the rest of the decade. 

While Broglio injured his arm and only won seven more games in his remaining 2½ years in the big leagues, Brock played through the 1979 season, amassing 3,000 hits, winning election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Through the end of the 1960s, he led the Cards to three National League pennants and two World Series championships.

Yes, Brock was speedy, but he was more than that. As he aged, he stole even more bases, making up in constant study of pitchers' windups and pickoff moves (gleaned through using 8 mm film) and in sheer cunning for the speed he had inevitably lost. Remarkably, he broke Ty Cobb's single-season stolen base record at age 35 and, before he retired, surpassed the Georgia Peach's career total. (Both would later be surpassed by Rickey Henderson)

Moreover, his explanation to Time Magazine on the psychological impact of the art he perfected illustrates perfectly what has gotten lost in baseball’s current penchant for the home run:

“Stealing is the most dramatic moment of the game. The pitcher knows you're going, the crowd knows you're going, you know you're going. When you succeed it's a great feeling. Nothing upsets the other team as much as a stolen base."