I was sad to learn that Lou Brock, one of my boyhood heroes, recently passed away. He was 81. As a young kid playing Little League Baseball in the ‘60s, if I could have been anyone in the world, it was Lou Brock. In my dreams, he was who I wanted to be. There’s nothing like losing a childhood hero to make you reflect on your past.

The Saint Louis Cardinals baseball team acquired Brock from the Cubs for Ernie Broglio in a deal since considered the “steal of the century”. Brock played left field for the Cards, helping lead them to pennants in ‘64, ‘67, and ‘68, and World Series Titles in ‘64 and ‘67. Me? I played left field for the Ottawa, Illinois Yanks in Little League. We won the City Championship in 1967.

The resemblance between us, at least as far as left field goes, ended there. Brock was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985. Along the way, he surpassed Ty Cobb’s stolen base record, and collected over 3,000 hits, putting him in elite company. Me? My baseball career ended the year we won the city championship. I’d made the cut for Little League (yes, Ottawa Little League held a “draft”), but didn’t make Pony League, and didn’t try out for High School Baseball. I had a pretty short baseball career.

Fortunately, there were other lessons I learned from Lou, including hard work, dedication, humility, and playing while hurt. Those are good life lessons, no matter what you are doing. Later, it also wasn’t lost on me that he was a Black man finding his way in America, during one of the more tumultuous periods in our history. I learned about dignity from him as well.

Between recently turning 65, and witnessing a close and old friend deal with cancer, I’m in a more thoughtful mood these days. My friend had some good news lately, and for that we are all thankful. As for turning 65, I have been texting with friends I’ve known since grade school about Medicare and Social Security. While the discussions are humorous, there’s also a bit of grim reaper attitude in them.

With Brock’s passing, I was thinking back to my youth. Through the rose tinted glasses of my memory, I see Lou and I both chasing down deep fly balls in left field. I’ve also thought of the rest of my life. There’s nothing like losing a childhood hero to make you reflect on your past. I’ve been lucky and had a good run so far. As Sinatra sang, “Regrets? I’ve had a few…”, though I wouldn’t trade any of it. The good, the bad and the in between have all made for a pretty good life.

Kris Kristofferson, who is still among the living, penned a song called ”Feeling Mortal” a few years ago. I love how the song ends –

“Soon or later I’ll be leaving

I’m a winner either way

For the laughter and the loving

That I’m living with today.”

I’m going to continue to try and live life exuberantly each and every day. Thanks for reminding me to do so, Mr. Brock.

Addendum:

• Lou Brock had quite the career. In addition to helping the Cards with three pennants, and two World Series, he was a National League All Star six times, and led the League in stolen bases eight times. He surpassed Ty Cobb’s stolen base record, which many thought unassailable (Brock’s record was later broken by Ricky Henderson). He had 3026 hits (number 27 on the all time list for MLB), and had a .293 lifetime batting average. Brock’s .391 World Series batting average is still the highest for anyone who played over 20 series games. He was inducted to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985, his first year of eligibility. After his baseball career, he became a successful florist in Saint Louis, and still later, an ordained minister. He had a pretty good life, especially if you consider he was born in 1939 to a Louisiana sharecropper.

• Frank Sinatra singing “My Way” is of course a classic. “… Regrets, I’ve had a few, But then again, too few to mention …” – For those who may have forgotten, the song was actually written by Paul Anka.