Remembering Stan “The Man” Musial….by Mark Arnold

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arlier today I heard that Stan Musial, the all time great St. Louis Cardinal outfielder and hitter, passed away at the age of 92. As a kid growing up it was my privilege to be able follow the great players of the ‘50s and early ‘60s. It was, in my mind, a golden age of baseball. Willie Mays, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, Frank Robinson, Eddie Mathews and Mickey Mantle were the players I cut my teeth on; and you can add to that number Stan Musial, who was as good as any of them and maybe in some ways better.

         Musial’s hitting statistics attest to his greatness; they are nothing short of eye popping. He played for the Cardinals for 22 seasons (1941 to 1963) and compiled a career batting average of .331 and an on base percentage of .417. He had 3,630 hits, 1951 RBIs, smashed 475 home runs and was a National League All Star an unbelievable 20 times! On top of all that he won the NL batting title 7 times and was the NL MVP 3 times! It didn’t matter what park he played in either; he was great everywhere, compiling exactly half of his career hits (1815) on the road and the other 1815 at home. Unquestionably Stan Musial was one of the greatest hitters who ever lived. Those of us who got to see him play will never forget him and for those who did not his Hall of Fame career and statistics will forever speak for themselves.

         So…Good Bye Stan “The Man” Musial! We thank you for your greatness and the inspiration it provided as well as the standard it set for the many players who followed and who continue to follow in your footsteps.

Copyright © 2013

By Mark Arnold

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