Editing Stan Musial (section)

===Minor leagues===
Musial's rookie year with Williamson in 1938 was a period of adjustment both on and off the field. He began gaining more in-depth knowledge about baseball strategy<ref name="Musial2728">[[#Mus64|Musial and Broeg 1964]]: 27–28</ref> while posting a 6–6 [[Win–loss record (pitching)|win–loss record]] and a 4.66 [[earned run average]] (ERA), to go along with a .258 [[batting average (baseball)|batting average]].<ref>[[#Mus64|Musial and Broeg 1964]]: 28</ref> Off the field, he experienced feelings of [[homesickness]] while learning to live comfortably and independently on his $65-per-month salary ({{Inflation|US|65|1928|fmt=eq|r=-1}}).<ref name=Musial2728/> Musial finished his high school education before returning to Williamson in spring 1939. That season his numbers improved to a 9–2 record, a 4.30 ERA, and a .352 batting average.<ref>[[#Lan94|Lansche 1994]]: 12</ref><ref>[[#Mus64|Musial and Broeg 1964]]: 31</ref> Musial spent the 1940 season with the Cardinals' other Class D team, the [[Daytona Beach Islanders]], where he developed a lifelong friendship with manager [[Dickie Kerr]].<ref>[[#Gig01|Giglio 2001]]: 35–38</ref> His pitching skills improved under the guidance of Kerr, who also recognized his [[Hit (baseball)|hitting]] talent, playing him in the [[outfielder|outfield]] between pitching [[Starting pitcher|starts]].<ref>[[#Vec11|Vecsey 2011]]: 72–74</ref> On May 25, 1940, Musial married fellow Donora resident, Lillian "Lil" Labash, in Daytona Beach, and the couple's first child followed in August.<ref>[[#Gig01|Giglio 2001]]: 36–37</ref> During late August, Musial suffered a shoulder injury while playing in the outfield, and later made an early exit as the starting pitcher in a 12–5 playoff game loss.<ref>[[#Mus64|Musial and Broeg 1964]]: 33–35</ref> For a while Musial considered leaving baseball entirely, complaining that he could not afford to support himself and his wife on the $16 a week pay. Kerr talked him out of it, and even took the Musials into his own home to relieve the financial burden. To repay the debt, Musial bought Kerr a $20,000 ({{Inflation|US|20000|1958|fmt=eq|r=-4}}) home in Houston in 1958.<ref>Newsweek, June 2, 1958</ref> In 113 games in 1940 he hit .311, while compiling an 18–5 pitching record that included 176 strikeouts and 145 [[base on balls|walks]].<ref>[[#Mus64|Musial and Broeg 1964]]: 32</ref><ref>[[#Lan94|Lansche 1994]]: 15</ref>

Musial was assigned to the Class AA [[Columbus Red Birds]] to begin 1941, though manager [[Burt Shotton]] and Musial himself quickly realized that the previous year's injury had considerably weakened his arm.<ref>[[#Mus64|Musial and Broeg 1964]]: 37–38</ref> He was reassigned to the Class C [[Springfield Cardinals]] as a full-time outfielder, and he later credited manager [[Ollie Vanek]] for displaying confidence in his hitting ability.<ref>[[#Mus64|Musial and Broeg 1964]]: 40</ref> During 87 games with Springfield, Musial hit a league-leading .379 before being promoted to the [[Rochester Red Wings]] of the [[International League]].<ref>[[#Lan94|Lansche 1994]]: 16–17</ref> He was noted for his unique batting stance, a crouch in which his back was seemingly square to the pitcher. This stance was later described by pitcher [[Ted Lyons]] as "a kid peeking around the corner to see if the cops were coming".<ref name=espnclassic/> According to a 1950 description by author [[Tom Meany]], "The bent knees and the crouch give him the appearance of a coiled spring, although most pitchers think of him as a coiled rattlesnake."<ref>Meany, Tom, "Baseball's Greatest Hitters: Stan Musial", ''Baseball Digest'', June 1950, p. 64.</ref> Musial continued to play well in Rochester—in one three-game stretch, he had 11 hits. He was called up to the Cardinals for the last two weeks of the 1941 season.<ref>[[#Mus64|Musial and Broeg 1964]]: 43–44</ref>