Stan The Man, Inc. Review

In these times of drug abuse, steroids, etc. among our nations "athletes", it's nice to reminisce of days gone by.  Make no doubt about it...I have met this man; I have talked with him; I have shaken his hand...he is a true "gentleman".  Can you say that about today's baseball players?  Some yes, some no.  Several years ago I heard on the radio that it was his birthday. (November 21, 1920) I couldn't pass this up...  I got on my PC, looked up his web site, found a FAX number, and faxed him a Happy Birthday wish.  About a week went by when the mailman knocked on my door with a large envelope.  All over the outside it said, "Do Not Bend or Fold".  Inside I found an autographed 8X10.  This was not a "stamped out" autograph, but one written directly to me.  It has been appraised at a starting price of $200.  I'm NOT selling it.  

How many of today's athletes give away autographed 8 X 10's?  He didn't have to do it...he just felt like doing it.  Stan Musial is now pushing 88 years of age.  Only God knows how much longer he'll be around.  He is a St. Louis and Baseball treasure.  I remember my Dad took me to his last game played in 1963.  Some fast facts about Stan "The Man" Musial...

He won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 1943, 1946, and 1948, and in 1957, received Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsman of the Year" award. He is one of only two players to hit five home runs in one day - Musial did it in a doubleheader against the New York Giants in 1954.  His 3,630 career hits made him the NL's all-time leader on that list at the time he retired, and second in the major leagues to Ty Cobb. He still ranks fourth all-time, behind Pete Rose, Cobb and Hank Aaron. Musial's 3,630th and final hit was a single beyond the reach of Rose, then a rookie second baseman. 

Musial's career was perhaps most notable for its consistency. His .331 career batting average ranks 30th; he batted .336 at home and .326 on the road. Amazingly, Musial had 1,815 hits at home, and 1,815 on the road. He batted .340 in day games and .320 at night. In his September 1941 debut, Musial had two hits; after he got two hits in his final game, 22 years later, a sportswriter jokingly wrote, "He hasn't improved at all."  At the time of his retirement in 1963, Musial held 17 major league, 29 National League, and 9 All-Star game records. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1969.

My Little League coach always tried to change my batting stance.  He'd say, "You can't hit like that.  You look like a right-handed Stan Musial."  http://www.stan-the-man.com/