#2 - Lou Brock (1964)
Cardinals acquire: OF Lou Brock, LHP Jack Spring, and RHP Paul Toth
Cubs acquire: OF Doug Clemens, RHP Ernie Broglio, and LHP Bobby Shantz
Total surplus fWAR: 44.0
Thank you, Cubbies! The little brother up north gifted the Cardinals Hall of Famer Lou Brock, and St. Louis is forever grateful!
After a cup of coffee with Chicago in 1961 and three and a half mediocre seasons to follow, the Cubs traded Brock to the Cardinals in a six-player deal on June 15th. It was a trade that baffled Cardinals fans and left Cubs fans over the moon at the time of the deal, as the Cardinals gave up starting pitcher Ernie Broglio, who was one of the best pitchers in baseball the two years prior. Well, Broglio fell off fast for the Cubs, and Brock went on the be a Hall of Famer.
We all know about Brock's speed, whose 938 stolen bases rank second all-time behind only the great Ricky Henderson, and along with leading the Cardinals in stolen bases, is second all-time in franchise history in hits, runs scored, and games played, third in doubles, and fourth in triples.
Brock was a two-time World Series champion with the Cardinals in his career, including posting a 1.107 OPS in the 1967 postseason on their way to the championship. For his postseason career, Brock slashed .391/.424/.655 with four home runs, seven doubles, and 14 stolen bases in 21 games. Players who raise their game when the lights are shining the brightest are a rare breed to find.
Not only was Brock a six-time All-Star, but he received MVP votes in 10 of his 19 big league seasons, including top 10 finishes in five of those years and finishing runner-up in 1974, the season where Brock stole 118 bases with a .306/.368/.381 slash line. Brock stole over 50 bases in 12 different big league seasons.
Brock is one of the best players in Cardinals history and baseball history as a whole, and it makes things even sweeter to know that he was acquired by the Cubs via a trade. The Cardinals saw the potential in Brock that the Cubs did not, and they were rewarded for it!