"Stan the Man" Musial Dead at 92

[pdiddy]

RIP Stan.

Wasn't Musial pretty much acknowledged as the "Greatest Living Ballplayer"? Who is that now? Hank?

[Justinlstn]

best pure hitter of the NL, and a great guy. World was lucky to have had him for 92 years.

[weams]

Probably Willie Mays.

He was the best before Stan passed.

[Il BuonO]

What a last 24 hours in baseball. Two baseball legends, Earl Weaver and now Stan

'The Man" Musial are gone. Both were St. Louis based. Earl was born there, and Stan

played his entire career there. I think Stan couldve been the most amiable person I

ever knew outside of Brooks Robinson. He was a remarkable hitter, fielder and

gentleman. Stan mightve been the most complete player in his generation outside of

Willie Mays. 36 hundred hits and all 22 seasons(like Earl's 17) were spent toiling for

the same team. If you ever met Stan you knew how friendly he was. I dont think he

had an enemy in the game or in life. He always had a smile on his face. What a

ballplayer. What a man

St. Louis mournns two favorite sons; Earl Weaver and now Stan Musial.

Baseball lost a lot this weekend.

My Dad's favorite player. EVER. He tells the story of meeting him as a boy and getting his autograph and then seeing him the following season for some tips on hitting. He said he stood endlessly signing and talking to kids after games. A true gentleman.

I talked to my Dad and there was sadness in his voice. He had wanted to get back to St. Louis to thank him and tell him how much he had helped him.

[pdiddy]

He was the best before Stan passed.

Hmm. I can see that.

Are you saying defense put him ahead? Can't say I've seen much of Stan's D. His hitting stats stacked up well.

[mrbig1]

With apologies to Ted Williams, I consider Stan the Man the greatest left fielder who ever lived. What an awesome man he was!

I agree. R.I.P. Stan the Man.

[Blizzard1090]

Baseball lost two great men today and the world is darker for it.

[DrungoHazewood]

With apologies to Ted Williams, I consider Stan the Man the greatest left fielder who ever lived. What an awesome man he was!

I think that's going a little bit too far, but Musial was a no-doubt, inner-circle HOFer. I'm not sure he really gets the recognition he deserves. He's right there with Mantle, Mays, DiMaggio, Williams, Bonds, Gehrig, etc. But he's probably post-WWII inner circle guy most likely to be left off a list of all time greats. 120 rWAR. Basically, if you took Tim Raines' career and added on Manny Ramirez', that's Stan Musial. Plus, he missed 1945 to serve his country, and that was sandwiched between two 1.000ish-OPS seasons.

[Tx Oriole]

RIP Stan.

Wasn't Musial pretty much acknowledged as the "Greatest Living Ballplayer"? Who is that now? Hank?

Or Willie.

[Tx Oriole]

My Dad's favorite player. EVER. He tells the story of meeting him as a boy and getting his autograph and then seeing him the following season for some tips on hitting. He said he stood endlessly signing and talking to kids after games. A true gentleman.

I talked to my Dad and there was sadness in his voice. He had wanted to get back to St. Louis to thank him and tell him how much he had helped him.

My friend told me about the time when Stan found out some child was in the hospital he went by to see the child. The mother had

just asked him to sign a baseball. You just don't hear about players doing that nowadays. Great player. But greater man.

[Rake]

Think Brooklyn Dodger fans gave him his nickname. He just obliterated them during his career and they would say something like here comes that man again when he went up to bat. Also remember reading that Preacher Roe jokingly said to pitch to him he would throw four balls and then hope to pick him off.

[cindyluvsbrady]

i am soooo tiierd of death!!!

It makes my heart hurt

[Moose Milligan]

I agree with those who say I don't think Stan got his due. Awesome ballplayer.

One of my fav stats is that he got the exact same amount of hits on the road as he did at home.

RIP Stan The Man Musial.

[Migrant Redbird]

My Dad's favorite player. EVER. He tells the story of meeting him as a boy and getting his autograph and then seeing him the following season for some tips on hitting. He said he stood endlessly signing and talking to kids after games. A true gentleman.

I read a similar item about Cal once. The O's had a road game that was rained out and Cal signed autographs for opposing fans for 2 hours afterward. I've always grouped Cal with Stan as two of the true gentlemen of the game.

You would probably have to go to a minor league game to see anything like that now. I attended an Arkansas Travelers (AA) game several years ago and Jack Wilson had an exceptional night at the plate, something like 4/6 plus getting on base a 5th time on an error. He needed a triple for the cycle. After the game, Jack stood at the corner of the dugout and signed autographs for the kids until they literally turned the stadium lights out. I visited with him while he signed autographs, since these were little kids who didn't want to chat -- just get the signature.

Musial was a smoker earlier in his career and he used to hide under stairwells when he had a smoke because he didn't want any kids to see his bad example. Later, he gave up the habit completely.

I know a lady who grew up in the St. Louis neighborhood where Stan and Lillian lived. One day, she and her friends rode their bikes past Stan's house and he was out in the front yard mowing his grass. He invited the kids up on the porch to sit and Lillian brought them out cookies and lemonade. Imagine a star doing that today. Again, I think of Cal and the time he found a naked man, victim of a carjacking/mugging, on his doorstep.

I'm in Missouri this weekend. My brother turned 75 on Saturday and his kids threw him a surprise birthday party. All 4 of his kids, plus our sister and I, showed up for the event. We learned of Stan's death that afternoon.

I'm saddened by the news, but it wasn't unexpected. Stan had been getting more and more feeble and we knew the end was near for him. The next famous Cardinal to pass will probably be Stan's old teammate and fellow Hall of Famer, Red Schoendienst. Red is 90, but he might hang on several more years. Red always attends the Cardinals spring training as a special coach and usually hits fungoes at some of the outfield practices. I think Red still gets around fairly well.

[Migrant Redbird]

Bernie Miklacz, St. Louis Post Dispatch

... There has never been a more perfect union, a relationship between an athlete and a town, than Stan Musial and St. Louis.

... With no disrespect to Cal Ripken and Baltimore, Tony Gwynn and San Diego, Ernie Banks in Chicago, Robin Yount in Milwaukee and George Brett and Kansas City, there has never been a better fit than Musial and St. Louis. His personality was the ideal match. His unpretentious style reflected the St. Louis ethos.

New York sports journalist George Vecsey, who wrote a superb Musial biography, is one who gets it.

?He was a family man who put up his own Christmas lights on his ranch house in a modest neighborhood,? Vecsey wrote in the New York Times. ?A friend of mine recalled going to a department store and seeing Stan and (wife) Lil testing the mattresses, bouncing up and down. They were regular citizens in a town that prized approachability.?

... Did Musial ever speak the word ?no? when approached by a bashful stranger who wanted a signature, a photo or a handshake?

Did he ever let anyone down?

How many people leave a life without a single enemy?

Musial retired, from life, as baseball?s career leader in kindness.

... Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Joe Black, an African-American, told a story of being racially taunted by players in the St. Louis dugout during a game. Musial, batting at the time, stepped out and angrily kicked the dirt to convey his disapproval. Stan waited for Black after the game, shook his hand and said, ?I?m sorry that happened. But don?t you worry about it. You?re a great pitcher. You will win a lot of games.? Black said Musial?s support helped him gain the confidence he needed to become a top pitcher.

Legendary center fielder Willie Mays frequently praised Musial for befriending African-American players during the tense, post-integration period of baseball history. At an All-Star Game in the late 1950s the National League squad included seven black players.

?We were in the back of the clubhouse playing poker and none of the white guys had come back or said, ?Hi,? or ?How?s it going?? or ?How you guys doing?? or ?Welcome to the All-Star Game.? Nothing,? Mays said. ?We?re playing poker and all of a sudden I look up and here comes Stan toward us. He grabs a chair, sits down and starts playing cards with us. And Stan didn?t know how to play poker! But that was his way of welcoming us, of making us feel a part of it. I never forgot that. We never forgot that.?

... This may be the best Musial stat of them all: [he and his high school sweetheart] were married for 71 years, four months and two days until Lil?s death May 3.