The Baseball Hall of Fame lost two its greats in the past two weeks; Tom Seaver and Lou Brock. I never met Seaver, but I did spend time with Brock on a couple occasions.

Seaver spent 20 seasons in Major League Baseball, playing with the New York Mets (twice), Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox and the Boston Red Sox. He won the National League’s Rookie of the Year Award in 1967, and won three NL Cy Young Awards. Seaver was voted to the All-Star Game 12 times, is the Mets’ all-time leader in wins.

During his MLB career, he compiled 311 wins, 3,640 strikeouts, 61 shutouts, and a 2.86 earned run average, and threw a no-hitter in 1978.

Seaver was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992, and is in the Mets and Reds Halls of Fame. In his post-baseball life, Seaver operated a 3.5-acre vineyard on his Calistoga, Calif., estate. He died in his sleep at the age of 75 on August 31, as a result of complications of Lewy body dementia and COVID-19.

I first met Brock in 1982. I was a senior in high school, taking some media courses at our local community college. My television production instructor, Dan Swackhamer, was working at the local Group W Cable station and asked if I would like to work a special event the cable company was having. Once he explained Brock would be there I said, “When does it begin!”

At the time, Brock was doing promotional appearances for Group W all across the country, and we were fortunate the company decided to send him to Jamestown, N.Y. That evening, my job was to sit with Brock and assist him while he met folks and signed autographs.

He was a gentleman and very accommodating to everyone he met. When things were quiet and there was nobody in line, Brock and I chatted. I listened as he told me several stories about his playing days. I just sat there and took it all in.

I remember he brought along some miniature, key chain sized, baseball gloves and bats that he would sign and hand out. He gave me several of those. Before the night was through, we posed for a photograph.

Fast forward a few years, and now my alter ego, “Yippee!” was invited to make an appearance at the Babe Ruth World Series in Jamestown, as I had several times. It just so happens this particular year, Brock was the former Major League star that was invited to be the guest of honor and throw out the first pitch to open the series.

I seized the opportunity to visit with him again, and this time got that photo of us autographed. Many people have talked about what a great guy Brock was, but I had the pleasure of really getting to experience his kindness, and it’s been a great memory for me all these years.

Brock played 19 seasons in MLB with the Chicago Cubs and St. Louis Cardinals, and won two World Series. He was a six-time All-Star and led the National League in stolen bases eight times. Brock broke Ty Cobb’s all-time major league career steals record and Maury Wills’ single-season stolen base record. He was inducted in the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985, and the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2014.

Brock’s left leg was amputated below the knee in Oct. 2015, because of an infection related to a diabetic condition, and in April 2017, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a blood cancer. Brock died at the age of 81 on Sept. 6.