Happy Birthday Willie McGee!!!

Happy Birthday Willie McGee!!!

Willie McGee turns 56 years old today.

A true baseball star that consistently excelled for the duration of his career, McGee put on quite a show for 18 major league seasons.

A player with all-around skills, McGee was able to change the games in which he played with his multi-faceted talents.  He was a great contact hitter and finished his career with a batting average of .295 alongside 2,254 total hits.  He was also a threat on the base paths as he stole 352 bases during his career en route to scoring 1,010 runs.

In his best season of 1985, Willie McGee dominated the National League and won the MVP award.  During that season he collected 216 hits and finished the year with a .353 batting average.  For the year he hit 18 triples, 26 doubles, stole 56 bases, and scored 114 times.  Additional hardware that McGee picked up in ’85 was a batting title, a Gold Glove, an All-Star roster spot, and a Silver Slugger award.

For his birthday, I give Willie McGee my vote.  There are a few petitions around on the web trying to get enough votes to retire number 51 in St. Louis as a way to honor McGee.   I’m on board!!!  And if you are too, please submit your vote here.

Happy Birthday Mr. McGee!!!

1974 HEADLINE: Lou Brock Sets Single-Season Stolen Base Record

1974 HEADLINE: Lou Brock Sets Single-Season Stolen Base Record

On this day in 1974, Lou Brock stole his 105th base of the season.  This stolen bases gave Brock the single-season record as he eclipsed the 104-mark set by Maury Wills in 1962.

But Brock didn’t slow down.  In fact, he kept right on running in 1974 and by the end of the baseball season, he had a new record – 118 swipes!

And while this record was relatively short-lived(it lasted just 8 years), this is what catapulted Brock’s status as one of the greatest runners that the sport had ever seen.

Congratulations and Happy Anniversary to Mr. Brock!!!

SIGNING RESULTS: 1985 National League Most Valuable Player, Willie McGee!!

SIGNING RESULTS:  1985 National League Most Valuable Player, Willie McGee!!

Thanks to the generosity of loyal ’30-YOC’ reader Gerad (aka McGee-Fan51), I was able to take part in a signing with the 1985 NL MVP, Willie McGee two weeks ago in St. Louis.

I’ve wanted to add McGee to my collection for some time and a signed ball by him is another great MVP-themed ball for my collection.

Gerad hooked me up by working with the promoter of the event as he had  a few things to get signed as well.  And when he asked if  I was interested as well, I jumped right in!

I put a ball and payment in the mail the very next day.  And now, I am the proud owner of this new ball.

Have a look:

I love it.  Signed right on the sweetspot in Blue ink, this ball and autograph look sharp and clean.  And while Mr. McGee may not have the best looking signature around, I am thrilled to finally have one in my collection, especially when the cost was a fraction of what a signed ball would cost me on Ebay.

Thank you again, Gerad!  Another great piece has been added to my signed baseball collection.

🙂

1979 HEADLINE: Lou Brock Joins The ‘3,000 Hits Club’!!!!

1979 HEADLINE: Lou Brock Joins The ‘3,000 Hits Club’!!!!

On this day in 1979 Lou Brock connected for the 3,000th hit of his career.

In front of his home crowd of almost 45,000 fans at Busch Stadium, Brock went 2-for-2 on the day and made baseball history in front of the most loyal fans in the game.

The victim that day was Dennis Lamp of the Chicago Cubs who gave up singles to Brock in both the second and fourth innings.  It’s kind of ironic that Brock’s historic achievement came against his former team huh??

Congratulations Mr. Brock!!!

Lou Brock & His 1962 Topps Rookie Baseball Card

Lou Brock & His 1962 Topps Rookie Baseball Card

It is not his fault, not by any stretch, but Lou Brock’s rookie card is pretty bad.

Have a look:

As much as I like the 1962 Topps design, there is no escaping the horrible photo that accompanies Brock’s debut baseball card. It is awful!!

Still, I would love to own one. And yes, I would even take one of the many reprints that have been issued over the last decade+.

Lou Brock And The Hall Of Fame Class Of 1985

Lou Brock And The Hall Of Fame Class Of 1985

Lou Brock was elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985. In his first year of eligibility, Brock captured 315 of the 395 votes cast, good for a 79.7% clip.

His plaque at Cooperstown reads: “Baseball’s all-time leader in stolen bases with 938. Set major league record by stealing over 50 bases 12 times and NL record with 118 steals in 1974. Led NL in stolen bases 8 times. Collected 3,023 hits during 19 year career and holds world series record .391 batting average in 21 post-season games”.

Lou Brock And The 1964 & 1967 World Series Championships

Lou Brock And The 1964 & 1967 World Series Championships

Lou Brock played in three World Series match-ups during his career. He and his Cardinals teammates won titles in the 1964 and 1967 contests.

Brock was exceptional in post-season play. Even when his team lost in 1968, Brock was awesome!

In 21 World Series games, Brock amassed a .391 batting average while collecting 34 hits in 87 at-bats. Of the 87 hits, 7 were doubles, 2 were triples, and 4 were home runs. Brock scored sixteen runs in the Fall Classic while stealing 14 bases and driving in 13.

Lou Brock And The ‘3,000 Hits Club’

Lou Brock And The ‘3,000 Hits Club’

Date of entry into “Club 3,000” – August 13, 1979

The Story – At home, and in front of 44,000+ fans, the Cardinals took on their divisional rivals – The Chicago Cubs. Ironically, the Cubs were the team that Brock entered the major leagues with. On this day, Brock made baseball history capturing the 3,000th hit of his big league career. In the game, Brock went 2-for-2 raising his batting average to .326. And while his day momentous for his career and baseball history, it was just as important that his two hits helped the Cardinals win the game 3-2.

Baseball History – The game’s second greatest base stealer of all-time also ranks in 24th place on the all-time hits list with 3,023 career hits.

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Lou Brock & His 938 Career Stolen Bases

Lou Brock & His 938 Career Stolen Bases

Lou Brock retired from major league baseball with 938 career stolen bases. He was the all-time leader of this offensive category at the time of his retirement.

Brock had double-digit steals in 18 of his 19 big league seasons. His lowest output came in 1962 when he stole just 16 bases. His highest number of steals in a single season was 118 in 1974.

Brock retired with a 75.3% stolen base success rate.

He currently ranks in 2nd place on the all-time steals list and will likely remain in that spot for the foreseeable future. The highest ranking current major leaguer is more than 350 steals behind him…

Lou Brock: The MVP Contender

Lou Brock: The MVP Contender

Lou Brock hit full stride as a major league baseball player right around 1967. His game was peaking on all levels – from hitting, to running, and on-base percentage, Brock was becoming a National League force.

In ’67, he made his first appearance as an All-Star, and he finished in 7th place for the MVP award.

Brock would go on to rank in the Top 15 for the MVP award during seven different seasons. His highest finish would be 2nd place in 1974, behind Steve Garvey of the Dodgers.