A piece of St. Louis died this weekend. While some would look at Stan Musial as a very good baseball player, “great” would better describe him as a player and person. Stan Musial holds many if not most Cardinal records when it comes to a hitter, and for 50 years few have come close to his accomplishments.
Yes it was 50 years ago this season, and Stan is still The Man. He is the first name that comes out of many mouths when the question arises of who is the greatest Cardinal of them all. The odd thing about that is many who say that never saw him play.
For Musial, the numbers don’t lie. Musial had a total of 3,630 hits in his Major League career. Musial had 1,815 hits at home and 1,815 hits on the road. I could give you stat after stat that would make your head spin with awe.
This year, American League MVP and triple crown winner Miguel Cabrera had a total of 98 strikeouts in an incredible season. In his entire career, the most strikeouts Musial ever had in a season was 46. Yes, 46. In one season that saw Musial have 700 at bats, The Man only struck out 18 times. Today we have some that can do that in a week.
Stan Musial was one of the last superstars who had no stain, nor whisper, when his name came up. Different era? Perhaps, but after 50 years of retirement he kept an impeccable image intact to the day he died.
Musial was always considered one of the nicest people in sports. Former Cardinal Joe McGrane recently said that “Stan Musial has signed more free autographs than anyone in the entire world.” Had he ever charged for every time he signed, the national debt could have been resolved in a week.
As for Musial’s politics, they were simple. During the integration of baseball, Musial wanted to play with and against the best players, with color not being a detractor. When some Cardinal players wanted to stage a boycott instead of play against the likes of Jackie Robinson, Musial elected not to participate. Kind of hard to have a boycott when the team’s best player says he wanted no part of it. Hall of Famers Willie Mays and Henry Aaron have said Musial was helpful to them upon on their arrival to the majors. Musial’s embrace of black players made the road a little easier considering the status he had at the time.
All Musial wanted to do was play, and play he did. Musial was proud of the fact that in his 22-year career he played for only one team, the St. Louis Cardinals. Managing partner Bill Dewitt Jr. was asked how would he pay Stan if he was in his prime. Dewitt replied, “I would give him the checkbook and have him fill in the number because I knew he would be fair.” That is what Stan Musial was all about, and that is why Cardinal Nation is what it is because they only admire the real players who handle themselves on and off the field in the Cardinal way – or, should I say, the Musial way.
Not For Long
Former NFL head coach Jerry Glanville once said the NFL really stood for Not For Long if you do not get the job done when it came to coaching in the league. I guess that means double for coaches of color in the NFL.
With eight vacancies, no coaches of color were hired in the NFL and yet the league is made of 74 percent of minority players. Comedian Chris Rock asked the right question recently in a tweet. Rock noted that former Philadelphia Eagle coach Andy Reid was fired after winning just four games this season. His team was in shambles in every element. Lovie Smith won 10 games, finished one game from making the playoffs and can’t get a job?
The media is playing along nicely. On the local front, where have you read, heard or saw anyone talk about this matter? NO ONE can ask what’s up here? On the national front, I wonder where the big mouths in the morning are on this one?
Has there been a published list of minority candidates who were interviewed by these teams in search of a coach? The league issued a statement that they are concerned and will expand the hiring criteria to general mangers. Gee, thanks.
The most insulting element here is the way Ray Horton, former defensive coordinator of the Arizona Cardinals, was handled. Horton was interviewed twice for the job before it was handed over to Bruce Arians. After they told him thanks but no thanks to the head job, they had the nerve to offer him another coordinator position. Horton was so upset he demanded his release from his contract. It did not take long for the Cleveland Browns to hire him as their defensive coordinator.
The lip service on several matters within this league is embarrassing. This one should not go away.
