TW Hit List - Stan Musial

"Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight."—Ford C. Frick

"When a pitcher's throwing a spitball, don't worry and don't complain, just hit the dry side like I do."—“Stan the Man” Musial

Stan Musial’s career was widely acclaimed for sustained excellence and integrity. Or as Williams puts it, “The kind of hitter—and the kind of man—for whom they erect statues.” Musial played his entire 22-year career with the St. Louis Cardinals where the fans still adore him for his great ballplaying and his solid citizenry. Compared to previous entries, he is characterized by a certain lack of colorfulness. He hadn’t the hostile fierceness of Cobb, the graceful style of Dimaggio, the intimidating presence at the plate of Gehrig or Foxx, much less the towering persona of Babe Ruth. But he was and is loved by the fans as a true baseball hero. Williams says the way he conducted his baseball life suggested a man who escaped from the cover of the Saturday Evening Post.

He may not have been such a hero to pitchers, however. He led the league in total bases six times and won seven batting titles. He batted over .300 seventeen times. He maintained a .331 career average, and finished with the then-NL record for hits with 3,630, which to this day ranks fourth all-time among both leagues. His OPS was .977 and he still hit .330 is his next-to-last season when he forty-one years old. He was known for smacking left-handed pitchers almost as well as right-handers. He famously batted .314 in his career off Hall of Fame great lefthander, Warren Spahn, who once admitted that Musial was the only man he once intentionally walked with the bases loaded. If Spahn had such trouble, what was the remedy for pitching to this man? Preacher Roe found nothing, “I throw him four wide ones and then try to pick him off first base.”

When it was all done, Musial had three MVP awards, three World Series rings, and yes that consummate nickname, “The Man.” This appellation was given by Dodger fans(!) for his constant exploits against the Dodgers at Ebbets Field. He is one of only two players to hit five home runs in a doubleheader. Interestingly, when he did it first in 1954, Nate Colbert was an old eight-year old boy watching from the stands. Colbert became the second in 1972. There are some who would say he is often overlooked when debates about the greatest ever flare up, but those who played with him and against him know better than to do so. "He was one of the greatest players I ever played against," said Hank Aaron. "And he is an even better person."