19
2013
Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial Dies
An article by 72MetsFan
Cardinals Hall of Famer Stan Musial died on Saturday at his suburban St. Louis home. A cause of death was not immediately announced. Stan the Man was the second baseball icon to pass away in less than 24 hours. Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver died Saturday morning.
Musial won seven National League batting titles, was a three-time MVP, 20-time All-Star, and helped the Cardinals capture three World Series championships in the 1940s. He finished his career with a .331 batting average and 475 home runs, earning him first-ballot election to the Hall of Fame in 1969.
He retired in 1963 as the all-time National League leader in games, runs, hits, doubles and RBI. He became a team vice-president for the next 25 years. He also was general manager in 1967, when the Cardinals won the World Series.
In his best year, 1948, he had four five-hit games, hit 39 home runs and batted .376, best in the National League. He also led his league that year in runs scored (135), hits (230), total bases (429), doubles (46), and triples (18).
The only year Musial missed with the Cardinals was 1945, when he was in the U.S. Navy during World War II. He was based in Pearl Harbor.
Musial played nearly until 43rd birthday and he got a hit in his final at-bat, sending an RBI single past Cincinnati’s rookie second baseman Pete Rose, who would break Musial’s league hit record of 3,630 some 18 years later.
Widely considered the greatest Cardinals player ever, the outfielder and first baseman was the first person in their team history to have his number retired.
In addition to his excellence, Musial was clearly St. Louis’ most popular player. He was so revered that Albert Pujols, while playing the for Cardinals, resisted the nickname “El Hombre,” Spanish for “The Man,” calling it disrespectful to Musial.
Dodgers pitcher Preacher Roe once joked about how to handle Musial: ”I throw him four wide ones and then I try to pick him off first base.”
Unlike Enos Slaughter and other Cardinal teammates, he was supportive when the Dodgers’ Jackie Robinson broke baseball’s color barrier in 1947. Bob Gibson, who started out with the Cardinals in the late 1950s, would recall how Musial had helped established a warm atmosphere between blacks and whites on the team.
“How good was Stan Musial,” legendary broadcaster Vin Scully once said, “He was good enough to take your breath away.”
About the Author: Drew Staley
On June 1, 2012 Johan Santana officially became my favorite current Met! I'm a Queens native who grew up in the shadows of Big Shea. I was a huge Ron Darling, Dave Magadan and John Olerud fan. Honored to be a part of such a great site for Mets fans. Ya Gotta Believe!
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Braves | 42 | 30 | .583 | - |
| Phillies | 35 | 37 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Nationals | 34 | 36 | .486 | 7.0 |
| Mets | 27 | 40 | .403 | 12.5 |
| Marlins | 22 | 48 | .314 | 19.0 |
Last updated: 06/19/2013
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R.I.P. Stan the man , thanks for the memorys
Baseball has lost two legends in less than 24 hrs. R.I.P. Stan “The Man” & Earl Weaver. Sad weekend for the game I love.
RIP Stan the Man – what a talent and class act.
I spoke to Tim McCarver twice on my job and once asked him what it was like to play with some storied MLB legends- Stan the Man Musial, Roger Maris, Bob Gibson and Lefty Carlton.Tim told me Stan was great, so kind and gracious and revered.
They don’t make them like this anymore. RIP Stan the Man.
No…They don’t!
They SHOULD but they don’t!
R.I.P. Stan the Man and Earl Weaver
Interesting face about “The Man.”
3630 career hits: 1815 home
1815 away
And a swing that would keep him from being drafted or playing in the MLB if he entered the draft today! LOL
The old Corkscrew!
Just a sad day.
Stan was the elder statesman of the game. A gentleman in every way.
Earl was well respected too, despite being the only manager not only to be thrown out of a world series game but to be tossed out of both ends of a doubleheader as well.
Hi Joey
As a old () Brooklyn Dodger fan. Hey, I was a kid then but old now, Stan Musial kicked our butt.He was too be feared. He was a doubles machine against Brooklyn at Ebbets Field. He was the engineer of just about all St Louis Cardinals scoring rally. Preacher Row had it right to walk him and hope to pick him off. The nickname “Man” came from Brooklyn fans as he was our Daddy of that time. I remember he and Ted Williams retired the same time and in their last games respectively hit home runs. Now Stan Musial is linked in a sad way with Earl Weaver. Stan was a “man of all seasons”. He was also as I remember him very much Mr. Clutch.