Hall of Famer Lou Brock has part of his leg amputated

Hall of Fame outfielder Lou Brock, who played for the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, had part of his left leg amputated because of an infection related to diabetes, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Brock, 76, is recovering in a hospital after having the lower part of his left leg below his knee removed because of the infection.

Brock was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at 60 and has worked to raise awareness of the disease and its management.

“Like the average patient, I was in denial for a while,” Brock told the Florida Times-Union of his battle with the disease in August. “As diabetic patients, we like to feel that maybe because we can’t see or smell or hear diabetes, it’s not there. But diabetic awareness is huge.”

Brock won two World Series with the Cardinals (1964, 1967), was a six-time all-star and led the MLB in stolen bases eight times over the course of his 19-year career from 1961-79.

His record of 938 career stolen bases is second to Rickey Henderson’s 1,406 -- his 118 in 1974 are the fourth-most in a single season.

Brock is one of 29 players in MLB history with more than 3,000 hits. He finished with 3,023 hits, a .293 batting average and 149 home runs.

He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.

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