ST. LOUIS, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) -
Stanley Frank Musial spent 22 years as a St. Louis Cardinal. He ranks at or near the top of baseball's all-time lists in almost every batting category. The former pitcher was transformed into a slugging outfielder who topped the .300 mark 17 times and won seven National League batting titles with his famed corkscrew stance and ringing line drives. A three-time MVP, he played in 24 All-Star games.
While his name doesn't grace as many backs as others around Busch, there is still only one "Man".
"Nobody like the man," says one Cardinal fan.
"You got to love Stan," says another.
"When you are coming down to the ball park and you are meeting someone," tells Cards fan Ryan Jennings, "you say I will meet you at The Man."
Musial is immortalized in bronze outside the main entrance to Busch Stadium but "The Man" is much more than just a meeting place.
"I've just always considered him to the best Cardinal," says yet another member of the Cardinal faithful.
Noticeably missing from the red carpet parade down Stan Musial Drive prior to the big game was Stan Musial himself. After the modern day legends rolled in and the red carpet was rolled up, "The Man" had his own parade. In the red golf cart the short drive down Stan Musial Drive was an impromptu appearance in the shadow of his statue, wowing most of the fans that stood in awe on the street that bears his name.
"He drove around for five seconds and everybody that was around here just gravitated toward this guy," says Jennings. "There is no way he has lost this generation of players people know him as the man."
The Man also had his moment on the field handing a baseball to President Obama who threw the first pitch, a moment not as special as some would have liked, but a special moment none the less.
"You think about his accomplishments not just on the field but in the community," says Cardinal Vice President and Cardinal owner's son Bill DeWitt III. "What better way that to give him a fitting tribute than to have everybody on their feet when Stan enters the building tonight."
"It's almost as if we take him for granted," says St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. "He is really an incredible icon not only in baseball but also as a human being."
"He will always be a classic," says a Cardinal Fan, "nobody like the man."
Musial Remains Gold Standard For Cards Baseball
By R.B. FALLSTROM AP Sports Writer
If he'd played in Boston, he would've been Ted Williams. In New York, maybe Joe DiMaggio. In Brooklyn, who knows what song they might've written about him? Instead, Stan Musial spent his entire career in the Midwest. Far from the famed East Coast ballparks that made up baseball's epicenter in the 1940s and 1950s, Musial simply wailed away on his harmonica and overmatched pitchers to build a legacy in St. Louis.
Stan the Man.
There's a reason there are not one, but two statues of Musial outside Busch Stadium, and why Tuesday night's All-Star Game hosted by the Cardinals is a natural tribute to the man himself.
"He was known as the best player in the National League, the same way Ted Williams was the best hitter in the American League and Joe DiMaggio was the best player overall," 90-year-old Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller said. "He was a very good hitter, very good base runner, team leader. One of the best players in the history of the game."
A fixture in St. Louis long before the Gateway Arch, he hit a record six home runs in a whopping 24 All-Star games. A three-time MVP with seven batting titles, he held the NL record for career hits when he became a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1969 with 93 percent of the vote. A decade after his retirement, he would show up at Old-timers games and still line shots to the wall.
While his name doesn't grace as many backs as others around Busch, there is still only one "Man".
"Nobody like the man," says one Cardinal fan.
"You got to love Stan," says another.
"When you are coming down to the ball park and you are meeting someone," tells Cards fan Ryan Jennings, "you say I will meet you at The Man."
Musial is immortalized in bronze outside the main entrance to Busch Stadium but "The Man" is much more than just a meeting place.
"I've just always considered him to the best Cardinal," says yet another member of the Cardinal faithful.
Noticeably missing from the red carpet parade down Stan Musial Drive prior to the big game was Stan Musial himself. After the modern day legends rolled in and the red carpet was rolled up, "The Man" had his own parade. In the red golf cart the short drive down Stan Musial Drive was an impromptu appearance in the shadow of his statue, wowing most of the fans that stood in awe on the street that bears his name.
"He drove around for five seconds and everybody that was around here just gravitated toward this guy," says Jennings. "There is no way he has lost this generation of players people know him as the man."
The Man also had his moment on the field handing a baseball to President Obama who threw the first pitch, a moment not as special as some would have liked, but a special moment none the less.
"You think about his accomplishments not just on the field but in the community," says Cardinal Vice President and Cardinal owner's son Bill DeWitt III. "What better way that to give him a fitting tribute than to have everybody on their feet when Stan enters the building tonight."
"It's almost as if we take him for granted," says St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay. "He is really an incredible icon not only in baseball but also as a human being."
"He will always be a classic," says a Cardinal Fan, "nobody like the man."
Musial Remains Gold Standard For Cards Baseball
By R.B. FALLSTROM AP Sports Writer
If he'd played in Boston, he would've been Ted Williams. In New York, maybe Joe DiMaggio. In Brooklyn, who knows what song they might've written about him? Instead, Stan Musial spent his entire career in the Midwest. Far from the famed East Coast ballparks that made up baseball's epicenter in the 1940s and 1950s, Musial simply wailed away on his harmonica and overmatched pitchers to build a legacy in St. Louis.
Stan the Man.
There's a reason there are not one, but two statues of Musial outside Busch Stadium, and why Tuesday night's All-Star Game hosted by the Cardinals is a natural tribute to the man himself.
"He was known as the best player in the National League, the same way Ted Williams was the best hitter in the American League and Joe DiMaggio was the best player overall," 90-year-old Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller said. "He was a very good hitter, very good base runner, team leader. One of the best players in the history of the game."
A fixture in St. Louis long before the Gateway Arch, he hit a record six home runs in a whopping 24 All-Star games. A three-time MVP with seven batting titles, he held the NL record for career hits when he became a first-ballot Hall of Famer in 1969 with 93 percent of the vote. A decade after his retirement, he would show up at Old-timers games and still line shots to the wall.
