107. LF Lou Brock, St. Louis Cardinals
Brock got to the Majors with the Cubs in 1961. He was traded to the Cardinals in 1964 and won a World Series with them that year. Brock finished the season with 74 stolen bases in 1966. In 1967, he was an All-Star and won a World Series with the Cardinals. In 1971, he won a Player-of-the-Month Award and played in the All-Star Game. He played in the All-Star Game in 1972. He finished the season with 70 stolen bases in 1973. In 1974, he won a Player-of-the-Month Award, played in the All-Star Game, and finished the season with 118 stolen bases. In 1975, he hit for the cycle and played in the All-Star Game. He won a Player-of-the-Week Award in 1977. In 1979, he won two Player-of-the-Week Awards, a Player-of-the-Month Award, played in the All-Star Game, and was named the National League Comeback Player of the Year before retiring. Brock was a true franchise player, having spent 15-plus seasons with the Cardinals. His number 20 was retired by St. Louis after his career ended. Brock was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985. His son Lou Jr. was drafted by Milwaukee in 1982 but opted to attend college instead and ultimately never played professional baseball. He finished his career with a .293 batting average, 3,023 hits, 149 home runs, 900 runs batted in, and 939 stolen bases.
Honorable Mention:
RF David Justice, Atlanta Braves
Justice first made waves in 1985 when he became the first-ever player drafted from Thomas More College by the Braves. In 1990, he won a Player-of-the-Week Award, a Player-of-the-Month Award, was named to the Topps All-Rookie Team and was named the National League Rookie of the Year. He won a Player-of-the-Month Award in 1991. In 1993, he participated in the Home Run Derby, played in the All-Star Game, finished the season with 40 homers and won a Silver Slugger Award. He played in the All-Star Game in 1994. He won a World Series with the Braves in 1995. He moved onto Cleveland in 1997 and in his first season there he won a Player-of-the-Week Award, played in the All-Star Game, won a Silver Slugger Award and was named the American League Comeback Player of the Year. He won a Player-of-the-Week Award in 1998. He was traded to the Yankees in 2000 where he finished the season with 41 homers and won a World Series. He moved onto Oakland in 2002 where he won a Player-of-the-Week Award before retiring. Justice was also well-known for his high-profile marriage to former Miss America, model, and actress Halle Berry. They divorced in 1996 amidst allegations of domestic violence which Berry attributed to 'roid rage. Her allegations were proven correct when it was revealed that he'd taken steroids throughout his career in 2008. Based on the empirical data we have at our expense, Justice had a pretty good baseball life, finishing his career with 305 home runs. But he probably was a notch below that of a Hall of Famer and he won't make the cut for this list, either. Oh by the way, without the PEDs he probably wouldn't have even been considered for inclusion on this list.
RF Darryl Strawberry, New York Mets
Strawberry first made waves when he was taken by the Mets as the number one overall draft pick in 1980. He continued to make waves in the Minors in 1982 when he hit 34 home runs and stole 45 bases in the Texas League before being named the League MVP. In 1983, he was named to the Topps All-Rookie Team and was named the National League Rookie of the Year. In 1984, he won a Player-of-the-Week Award and played in the All-Star Game. In 1985, he hit three homers in a game, won two Player-of-the-Week Awards and played in the All-Star Game. In 1986, he participated in the Home Run Derby (a contest which he won), played in the All-Star Game and won a World Series with the Yankees. In 1987, he won a Player-of-the-Month Award, played in the All-Star Game and finished the season with 39 homers and 36 stolen bases. In 1988, he played in the All-Star Game and won a Silver Slugger Award. He played in the All-Star Game in 1989. In 1990, he won a Player-of-the-Week Award, participated in the Home Run Derby, played in the All-Star Game and won a Silver Slugger Award. He moved on to the Dodgers in 1991, and in his first season with them he became the highest-paid player in the Majors, won a Player-of-the-Week Award and played in the All-Star Game. He moved on to San Francisco in 1994. In 1995 he went to the Yankees, where he was suspended for 60 games for violating the after-care program. In 1996, he hit three home runs in a game and won a World Series with the Yankees. In 1998, he won a Player-of-the-Week Award, was suspended for three games for participating in a brawl, was suspended a second time for three games for participating in a brawl and won a World Series with the Yankees. He was suspended indefinitely for failure to comply with the drug program in 1999, and was then suspended for an additional 120 games after being arrested for possession of cocaine in 1999 and won a World Series with the Yankees. He was suspended for 365 games for failure to comply with the drug program in 2000, which ended his playing career. He had a Hall of Fame career on paper, finishing with 335 home runs and 1,000 runs batted in, but his problems with cocaine, suspensions and other legal entanglements kept him out of the Hall. He won't make this list either.
LF Greg Vaughn, Milwaukee Brewers
Vaughn first made waves in 1987 when he hit 33 home runs and stole 36 bases in the Midwest League before being named the League MVP. He gained attention again in 1990 when he became a top prospect for the Brewers. He played in the All-Star Game in 1993. He was traded to San Diego in 1996, where he won a Player-of-the-Week Award, participated in the Home Run Derby, played in the All-Star Game and finished the season with 41 homers. In 1998, he won a Player-of-the-Week Award, played in the All-Star Game, finished the season with 50 homers, won a Silver Slugger Award, and was named the National League Comeback Player of the Year. He moved on to Cincinnati in 1999, where he hit three homers in a game, won a Player-of-the-Month Award and finished the season with 45 homers. He moved on to Tampa Bay in 2000. In 2001, he won a Player-of-the-Week Award and played in the All-Star Game. He played another season in Tampa Bay and then moved onto Colorado for a season where he finished his career. Vaughn had a Hall of Fame career, finishing with 355 home runs and 1,055 runs batted in but was snubbed by the BBWAA. Despite his good credentials, he won't make this list either.
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