“Here stands baseball’s perfect warrior. Here stands baseball’s perfect knight.”

“Here stands baseball’s perfect warrior. Here stands baseball’s perfect knight.”
- Ford C. Frick

On Saturday January, 19, 2013, I lost my hero. I never met him. I was never in the same place as him. But that doesn’t matter. The impact of Stanley Frank Musial on this seventeen-year old’s life goes beyond words. His legacy will forever live on in my life and the others in which he touched.

I have studied baseball my entire life. I understand how to recognize greatness. I became a St. Louis Cardinals fan in the summer of 2003. When I made the decision to become a part of Cardinal Nation, I came to the conclusion that I must know everything I possibly can about the Birds on the Bat. This led me to studying Stan Musial. Right off the bat (pardon the pun), he became my hero. The definition of hero is different for everyone. For me, a hero is someone in whom you look up to and cherish who they are. The way Stan Musial went about his life: always having a smile on his face, signing every autograph, working hard to achieve his best, being triumphant in the face of adversity. That is greatness. That is somebody worth looking up to.     

From 1941 to 1963, Stan Musial delivered. He played every single game of his storied, 22-year career with the Cardinals. In his first game, on September 17, 1941, the 20-year-old Musial got two base hits in a 3-2 Cards win. In his last game, on September 29, 1963, the 42-year-old Musial got two base hits in a 3-2 Cards win. Musial won three MVP awards, led the league in hitting seven times, and won three World Series titles. He played in 24 All-Star games, tied for the most ever, and was selected as an All-Star in 20 consecutive seasons. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame on his first ballot and was named to MLB’s All-Century team in 1999. ESPN recently ranked him the sixth-best baseball player of all time in their Hall of 100. All of this while missing his entire age-24 season due to military service in 1945. What is most notable about Musial is just how underrated of a legend he was. He does not hold any of the high-profile career or single-season records. He didn’t hit home runs like Babe Ruth or Hank Aaron, he never hit .400 like Ted Williams, and he didn’t have more hits than Pete Rose,. Looking at any one leaderboard fails to describe Musial’s greatness. His true value comes when looking across categories and realizing that he’s near the top of everything. He hit for average and power, he had peak and longevity. He was – without question – one of the best to ever play the game. Here are his career totals:

 
Games – 3,026 (6th all-time)
Hits – 3,630 (4th)
Doubles – 725 (3rd)
Triples – 177 (19th)
Home Runs – 475 (28th)
Total Bases – 6,134 (2nd)
Runs – 1,949 (9th)
Runs Batted In – 1,949 (6th)
Walks – 1,599 (13th)
Batting Average – .331 (30th)
Slugging Percentage – .559 (19th)

The stats cannot pay justice to Stan Musial. Stan Musial changed the game of baseball in St. Louis forever. He was humble and he was real. Musial embodied the humble, Midwestern ideals of the city where he spent his entire career. Has there ever been a man more perfectly suited to be the icon of a city? Of a region? Of a tribe scattered across the heartland, all of whom buy t-shirts and jerseys and hats with little red birds on them and make their pilgrimages to the holy land, the one named after a beer baron?

I wrote this on April 14, 2012. I believe it speaks volumes now after we have lost ‘The Man’:

“Stan ‘The Man’ Musial means more to the Cardinals organization than any player will ever mean to any franchise. As Stan gets older, the amount of his public showings get shorter and shorter. That's why we must cherish the opportunity for the chance to see one of the best men in history. Cherish the chance to see Stan show off that corkscrew batting stance that made him such a great hitter. Cherish the chance to see him make 47,000 Cardinals fans rise to their feet knowing they are in the presence of a hero. Cherish the tears you shed when you see him. Just remember how great the life of Stan Musial has been and resemble the life he lived. Treat others with the respect they deserve and give them the chance to remember something forever. The legend of Stan Musial goes beyond the baseball field. It takes more than talent to be a successful ballplayer. One must have strong character and strong demeanor. Stan has that. The Presidential Medal of Freedom only added to the greatness of a boy from Donora, Pennsylvania. Remember Stan Musial for more than who he was on the baseball field. Stan Musial. More than a name. A hero. A legend. Stan Musial is Cardinals Baseball and Cardinals Nation needs to take advantage of having such a prestigious man in the history of their organization.”

Tim Kurkjian put it this way: “Baseball history tends to forget Musial's stunning greatness because he was in the Midwest and played at the same time as Williams and Joe DiMaggio and at the beginning of the careers of Willie Mays and Aaron. But there's no denying Musial's place in history, an outfielder/first baseman with an unorthodox swing and a smile that could light up a ballpark. In retirement, whenever he made an appearance at a Cardinals game, the fans couldn't get enough of him. It can be argued that no player in the game's glorious history was more important to his franchise, or more beloved in his town, than Musial was in St. Louis.”

As I walk into my room, I see a picture of Stan. I see him smiling playing the game that shapes my life. And I begin to cry. Heroes aren’t supposed to die. It doesn’t seem right know he’s gone. Opening Day will never be the same. We lost a legend. A legend that changed so many lives. Stan Musial. He was, and will always be, Stan the Man.