Stan the Man Musial Number 6
LF/1B St. Louis
One of the most recognizable batting stances in the history of baseball.
- Great hitter who was overshadowed by Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio during his time
- Originally worked primarily as a pitcher in the Cardinals farm system, going 18-4 for Daytona Beach of the Florida State League. However, he injured his shoulder that season making a shoestring catch and the pitcher plan was ditched next spring training after he served up two long home runs to Hall of Famer Johnny Mize and Terry Moore. He was nearly released from the organization but batted .379 with 26 HR for Springfield in 87 games. During his intial cup-of-coffee, Musial batted .426 in 47 at-bats with the Cardinals and the rest was history.
-He got his nickname during a 1946 series in Brooklyn. The Brooklyn fans chanted "Here comes the man...here comes the man" whenever Musial walked towards the plate. St. Louis baseball writer Bob Broeg wrote a story about it in the newspaper and the "Stan the Man" nickname stuck.