Stan Musial

JohnnyJay · Post by **JohnnyJay** » April 1 07, 9:33 pm

I just thought that Mr. Musial deserved a thread here.

24 All-Star Games...
Three MVP Awards...
475 Homers...
331 Batting Average...
3,630 Hits...
1,949 Runs Scored...
Three World Series Rings...
1,951 RBIs...
3,026 Games...
Seven Batting Titles...
A plaque in Cooperstown...

They called him "The Man". He was and is the definition of baseball.

I have to admit, it kind of brought a tear to my eye tonight. He rode in on a golf cart, and yet even at his age of 86, he managed to pull himself up to stand. And with no break in his stride, he gave the crowd "the swing". It's not a routine. Not to him. Great players can do it with no effort. It's in their blood. Mr. Musial is baseball. It comes so naturally for him, that it is, to this day, very hard to understand.

The entire time he graced our presence tonight, the theme song for "The Natural" was playing. It gave me chills. Because we are witnessing a living legend. Not just a legend, but quite possibly the very man that made Cardinal Nation what it is today.

"He didn't hit a homer in his last at-bat; he hit a single. He didn't hit in 56 straight games. He married his high school sweetheart and stayed married to her, never married a Marilyn Monroe. He didn't play with the sheer joy and style that goes alongside Willie Mays' name. None of those easy things are there to associate with Stan Musial. All Musial represents is more than two decades of sustained excellence and complete decency as a human being." -Bob Costas

The Tycoon by Ogden Nash:

"The business life of Mr. Musial
is, to say the least, unusual.
First base, outfield, restaurant, bank,
All are home to Stanley Frank.
One moment, slugger of lethal liners,
The next, mine host to hungry diners,
And, between the slugging and the greeting,
To the bank for a directors' meeting.
Yet no one grudges success to Stan,
Good citizen and family man,
Though I would love to have his job —
One half tycoon, one half Ty Cobb."

Phyrkrakr · Post by **Phyrkrakr** » April 1 07, 9:36 pm

I must say, seeing Stan coming out for opening day, at opening day for the 7th time after the Cards have won a World Series is perfect. He is Cardinals Baseball.

TimeForGuinness · Post by **TimeForGuinness** » April 1 07, 10:10 pm

Stan looked really old tonight (he's 86)

Red looked in good shape, though (he's 84)

maddash · Post by **maddash** » April 1 07, 10:33 pm

TimeForGuinness wrote:Stan looked really old tonight (he's 86)

Red looked in good shape, though (he's 84)

It's weird, Stan looked old as hell tonight... my gramps is 92 and looks like he could run circles around The Man. Strange how people age in different ways.

Still. GREAT to see Billy Bob introduce Stan.

Post by **heyzeus** » April 2 07, 7:57 am

Wasn't Stan sick at opening day last year? I was happy to see him there tonight, for sure.

fanforever · Post by **fanforever** » April 2 07, 8:05 am

Can anyone give a Breakdown of Stan Musial's Stats when he he was over 40 years old? I believe he is still the best Statistically of players who have played with their ages over 40 years old.

I'll bet it is interesting

Popeye_Card · Post by **Popeye_Card** » April 2 07, 8:07 am

TimeForGuinness wrote:Stan looked really old tonight (he's 86)

Red looked in good shape, though (he's 84)

I think it was more strange that the '82 team all looked older than their '67 counterparts.

I also thought the absence of Ozzie and Willie was a bit strange (well, I can understand Ozzie because of the LaRussa thing).

Finally, I wondered if last night was Stan's final opening day. If it was, it was a great one (outside of the game).

--P--