Monday, May 31, 2010

A Salute to the 15 Greatest U.S. Armed Forces Veteran MLB Players


Memorial Day Weekend Series- Part 12 of 16


No. 5 Stan Musial


"Stan the Man" Musial earned his famous nickname through 22 years of excellence with the St. Louis Cardinals. Despite being one of the all-time greats, Musial was known throughout baseball for his modesty and excellent sportsmanship.


His stature was further increased when he left his Hall of Fame career to join the U.S. Navy during World War II. Just one campaign removed from winning the N.L. MVP Award, Musial missed all of the 1945 season to serve his country before getting an honorable discharge.


Clearly his time away did not diminish his tremendous skills as he claimed his second MVP trophy when he returned to action in 1946. He lead the league in 12 offensive categories, inclduing batting (.365), doubles (50), triples (20), runs (124), and slugging (.587.)


Two years later, Stan the Man was at it again with perhaps his best campaign, this time leading the league in 11 categories. Musial hit a career high .376 along with a phenomenal .702 slugging percentage— and missed a Triple Crown by one home run. He was recognized with his third MVP Award.


The outfielder/ first baseman was elected to 24 All-Star games (baseball had two in a few seasons) and places high in many all-time rankings. Some of those include batting average .331 (32nd), on base percentage .417 (23rd), slugging .559 (20th), hits 3,630 (4th), runs 1,949 (9th), total bases 6,134 (2nd), doubles 725 (3rd), triples 177 (19th), HRs 475 (28th), and RBI 1,951 (6th.)


Musial's exploits helped the Cardinals win three World Series Championships during his career.


AB R H HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG

10972 1949 3630 475 1951 78 .331 .417 .559


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