The statue that has been outside of the last two baseball stadiums in St. Louis has the inscription “Here Stands Baseball’s Perfect Warrior.”
He was the man.
Despite several players who put together National Baseball Hall of Fame careers with the Cardinals, Stan Musial still represents baseball in St. Louis.
Musial was a three-time National League Most Valuable Player in 1943, 1946 and 1948.
The Cardinals also won three of their 11 World Series titles with Musial as the team’s centerpiece in 1942, 1944 and 1946. He added another title as the team’s general manager in 1967.
Stan Musial’s 1948 season is represented on a Strat-o-Matic game card
Perhaps is greatest season was in 1948 when he finished a home run shy of winning the triple crown. Musial posted career-high numbers as he won the batting title with a .376 average and knocked in 131 runs. He hit a homer in a game that was rained out, but that didn’t count so he finished with 39 just behind Johnny Mize of the New York Giants and Ralph Kiner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, who each had 40.
Unique Career Stat
A 24-time all-star, Musial had 3,630 career hits, which at the time of his retirement was the NL record. That mark has only been surpassed by Pete Rose with 4,256.
Musial is currently fourth on the all-time list behind Rose, Ty Cobb (4,189) and Hank Aaron (3,771). Musial is still second in NL history as Aaron had 3,600 with the Braves. He passed Musial on the all-time list with 171 hits for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1975 and 1976 when that team was in the American League.
One of the most interesting facts about Musial’s hit total is that if it’s divided by two, the answer comes out to 1,815.
The significance of that number is that Musial had 1,815 hits in his career at home and on the road.
Power and Enough Speed
Musial hit 475 homers with five coming in one day. He hit three homers in the first game of a doubleheader against the New York Giants. He added two more in the nightcap to become the first player to ever hit five homers in a twinbill. San Diego Padres slugger Nate Colbert matched that feat in 1972.
Although Musial never led the league in homers, he finished on top in hits and doubles several times in his career. He even led the league in triples five times.
With that combination of skills, Musial did hit for the cycle in 1949 against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Service During WW II
Musial played for the Cardinals from 1941 to 1944 and from 1946 to 1963. He missed the entire 1945 season, while serving in the U.S. Navy during World War II. Upon his return the following season, he led the Cardinals to the world championship over Ted Williams and the Boston Red Sox.
The Griffey Connection
Musial was born on Nov. 21, 1920 in Donora, Pa. He shares his hometown with Ken Griffey, Sr., who was a member of the Big Red Machine in Cincinnati during the 1970s.
Ken Griffey, Jr. was born in Donora on Musial’s birthday in 1969, which was the same year that “Stan the Man” was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
According to some sources, Musial was a high school teammate of Ken Jr.’s grandfather.