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He's the Man (And He Really Is)

© Harold Friend

Albert Pujols may be the best player in baseball. His first four major league seasons rank among the best of all time, but once upon a time, a long time ago, in another era and in a different St. Louis ball park, the Cardinals had a player who was every bit as good as Pujols might become. Few baseball "experts" outside of St. Louis talk about the greatness of Stanley Frank Musial.

The left handed Musial batted .331, averaging 25 home runs and 104 RBIs a season, but for many years, Musial was considered the best player in the National League. Some of his seasons would make his great contemporaries, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams, envious.

Musial won seven National League batting titles, three Most Valuable Player awards, has over 3,000 career hits, appeared in twenty four all-star games and was in four World Series, with the Cardinals winning three of them. Brooklyn Dodgers fans, weary of getting beaten by Musial, named him "Stan the Man."

Carl Erskine , who was one of Brooklyn's better pitchers, quipped that "I've had pretty good success with Stan by throwing him my best pitch and backing up third." Another Brooklyn hurler, left hander Preacher Roe, said that he knew how to pitch to Musial. "I throw him four wide ones and then I try to pick him off first base."

To get an idea of Musial, one should imagine George Brett's extra base power, Ted Williams' selectivity at the plate, Joe DiMaggio's grace, and the competitiveness of Pete Rose. It is significant, in light of the fact that many fans merely look at statistics and draw conclusions that may not be valid, that Musial has stated "There was never a day when I was as good as Joe DiMaggio at his best. Joe was the best, the very best I ever saw."

In his first full season, which was 1942, Musial batted .315 with 10 home runs. Then he went to work. From 1942-1958 he averaged .341. In 1948 he hit .376 with 39 home runs and 131 RBIs, missing the Triple Crown by one home run because Ralph Kiner and Johnny Mize each hit 40 home runs. Musial had 200 or more hits in season six times, with a high of 230 hits in 1948. In both 1946 and 1948 Musial led the league in runs scored, hits, doubles, triples, BATTING average and SLUGGING average.

Musial started his career as a pitcher. He was fast but wild. In 1940 he played for Daytona Beach, a Class C* team under manager Dickie Kerr. The team sometimes had as few as fifteen players on the roster so Kerr often used Musial in the outfield. No one knows if Musial would have made it as a pitcher but fate stepped in. Late in the 1940, Musial made a diving catch in the outfield, landing on his left shoulder and ending his pitching career.

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