Editing Stan Musial (section)

{{short description|American baseball player (1920–2013)}}
{{other uses|Stan Musial (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect|Stan the Man|other people with the same nickname|Stan the Man (nickname)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Stan Musial
|position=[[Outfielder]] / [[First baseman]]
|image=Stan Musial 1953.jpg
|alt=A playing-age Stan Musial in his baseball uniform, looking to the left and smiling
|caption=Musial in 1953
|bats=Left
|throws=Left
|birth_date={{birth date|mf=yes|1920|11|21}}
|birth_place=[[Donora, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
|death_date={{Death date and age|mf=yes|2013|01|19|1920|11|21}}
|death_place=[[Ladue, Missouri]], U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 17
|debutyear=1941
|debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=September 29
|finalyear=1963
|finalteam=St. Louis Cardinals
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[[Batting average (baseball)|Batting average]]
|stat1value=.331
|stat2label=[[Hit (baseball)|Hits]]
|stat2value=3,630
|stat3label=[[Home run]]s
|stat3value=475
|stat4label=[[Run batted in|Runs batted in]]
|stat4value=1,951
|teams=
* [[St. Louis Cardinals]] ({{mlby|1941}}–{{mlby|1944}}, {{mlby|1946}}–{{mlby|1963}})
|highlights=
* 24× <!-- NOTE: Major League Baseball held TWO All-Star Games from 1959 to 1962. As a result, Musial appeared in 24 All-Star Games. --> [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star]] ([[1943 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1943]], [[1944 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1944]], [[1946 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1946]]–[[1963 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|1963]])
* 3× [[World Series champion]] ({{wsy|1942}}, {{wsy|1944}}, {{wsy|1946}})
* 3× [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|NL MVP]] (1943, 1946, 1948)
* 7× [[List of Major League Baseball batting champions|NL batting champion]] (1943, 1946, 1948, 1950–1952, 1957)
* 2× [[List of Major League Baseball annual runs batted in leaders|NL RBI leader]] (1948, 1956)
* [[St. Louis Cardinals#Retired numbers|St. Louis Cardinals No. 6]] retired
* [[St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum|St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame]]
* [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]]
|hoflink = National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
|hoftype = National
|hofdate=[[1969 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1969]]
|hofvote=93.2% (first ballot)
}}

'''Stanley Frank Musial''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|juː|z|i|ə|l|,_|-|ʒ|əl}}; born '''Stanislaw Franciszek Musial'''; November 21, 1920 – January 19, 2013), nicknamed "'''Stan the Man'''", was an American [[baseball]] [[outfielder]] and [[first baseman]]. Widely considered to be one of the greatest and most consistent hitters in baseball history, Musial spent 22 seasons in [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB), playing for the [[St. Louis Cardinals]] from 1941 to 1944 and from 1946 to 1963. He was inducted into the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] in [[1969 Baseball Hall of Fame balloting|1969]] in his first year of eligibility.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/2142e2e5 |publisher=[[Society for American Baseball Research]] |title=Stan Musial (SABR BioProject)}}</ref>

Musial was born in [[Donora, Pennsylvania]], where he frequently played baseball informally and in organized settings and eventually played on the baseball team at [[Ringgold High School (Pennsylvania)|Donora High School]]. Signed to a professional contract by the St. Louis Cardinals as a [[pitcher]] in 1938, Musial was converted into an outfielder and made his major league debut in 1941. Noted for his unique batting stance, he quickly established himself as a consistent and productive hitter. In his first full season, 1942, the Cardinals won the [[1942 World Series|World Series]]. The following year, Musial led the NL in six different offensive categories and earned his first MVP award. He was also named to the NL All-Star squad for the first time; he appeared in every All-Star game in every subsequent season he played. Musial won his second World Series championship in [[1944 World Series|1944]], then missed the 1945 season while serving in the [[United States Navy|Navy]]. After completing his military service, Musial returned to baseball in 1946 and resumed his consistent hitting. That year, he earned his second MVP award and his third World Series title. His third MVP award came in 1948, when he finished one home run short of winning baseball's [[Major League Baseball Triple Crown|Triple Crown]]. After struggling offensively in 1959, Musial used a personal trainer to help maintain his productivity until he retired in 1963.

Over the course of his career, Musial [[batting average (baseball)|batted]] .331 and set [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (NL) records for career [[hit (baseball)|hits]] (3,630) (1,815 each at home and on the road), [[run batted in|runs batted in]] (1,951), games played (3,026), [[at bat]]s (10,972), [[run (baseball)|runs scored]] (1,949) and [[double (baseball)|doubles]] (725). His 475 career [[home run]]s then ranked second in NL history behind [[Mel Ott]]'s total of 511. A seven-time batting champion, he was named the [[National League (baseball)|National League]]'s (NL) [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|Most Valuable Player]] (MVP) three times and was a member of three [[World Series]] championship teams. At the time of his retirement, he held or shared 17 major league records and 29 National League records. He also shares the major league record for the most [[Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]]s played (24) with [[Hank Aaron]] and [[Willie Mays]].{{efn|Major League Baseball held two All-Star Games for the years from 1959 to 1962.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/sports/baseball/15sandomir.html?ref=sports |title=When Midsummer Had Two Classics |author=Sandomir, Richard|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 15, 2008}}</ref>}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Miscellaneous All-Star Game Records |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/rb_asm.shtml |publisher=[[Baseball Almanac]]}}</ref>

In addition to overseeing personal businesses during and after his playing career, Musial served as the Cardinals' [[General manager (baseball)|general manager]] in 1967. The team won the pennant and the [[1967 World Series]], and Musial then resigned his position. Musial was selected for the [[Major League Baseball All-Century Team]] in 1999. In February 2011, President [[Barack Obama]] presented Musial with the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], the highest [[Awards and decorations of the United States government|civilian award]] that can be bestowed on a person by the [[United States government]].