Editing Stan Musial (section)

===St. Louis Cardinals (1941–1944)===
[[File:Musial statue.JPG|right|thumb|upright|Musial's statue outside of [[Busch Stadium]] captures his signature batting stance.|alt=A bronze statue of baseball great Stan Musial]]
Musial made his [[Major League Baseball|major league]] debut during the second game of a [[Doubleheader (baseball)|doubleheader]] at [[Sportsman's Park]] on September 17, 1941.<ref>[[#Lan94|Lansche 1994]]: 24–25</ref> The Cardinals were in the midst of a pennant race with the [[1941 Brooklyn Dodgers season|Brooklyn Dodgers]]; in 12 games, Musial collected 20 hits for a .426 batting average.<ref>[[#Lan94|Lansche 1994]]: 19, 27</ref> Despite Musial's late contributions, the [[1941 St. Louis Cardinals season|Cardinals]] finished two and one-half games behind the 100-game-winning Dodgers.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1941/Y_1941.htm |title=The 1941 Season |access-date=March 22, 2009 |publisher=[[Retrosheet]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120911193007/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/1941/Y_1941.htm |archive-date=September 11, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Cardinals manager [[Billy Southworth]] used Musial as a [[left fielder]] to begin [[1942 St. Louis Cardinals season|1942]], sometimes lifting him for a [[pinch-hitter]] against left-handed pitching.<ref>[[#Mus64|Musial and Broeg 1964]]: 54–55</ref> Musial was hitting .315 by late June,<ref>[[#Mus64|Musial and Broeg 1964]]: 56</ref> as the Cardinals resumed battling the Dodgers for first place in the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] (NL).<ref>[[#Mus64|Musial and Broeg 1964]]: 56–57</ref> The Cardinals took sole possession of first place on September 13, and when Musial caught a fly ball to end the first game of a doubleheader on September 27 they clinched the [[List of National League pennant winners|pennant]] with their 105th win.<ref>[[#Lan94|Lansche 1994]]: 38</ref> He finished the season with a .315 batting average and 72 [[runs batted in]] (RBI) in 140 games. Musial received national publicity when he was named by ''[[St. Louis Post-Dispatch]]'' sports editor J. Roy Stockton as his choice for Rookie of the Year in a ''[[Saturday Evening Post]]'' article.<ref name=stats1/><ref>[[#Lan94|Lansche 1994]]: 40</ref>

The Cardinals played the [[American League]] champion [[1942 New York Yankees season|New York Yankees]] in the [[1942 World Series]].<ref>[[#Sch90|Schoor 1990]]: 187</ref> Representing the winning run at home plate in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1 at Sportsman's Park, Musial [[Ground out (baseball)|grounded out]] with the [[bases loaded]] to end the game.<ref>[[#Sch90|Schoor 1990]]: 188</ref> Musial's first hit of the Series was an RBI [[Single (baseball)|single]] that provided the margin of victory in Game 2, allowing the Cardinals to tie the Series.<ref>[[#Lan94|Lansche 1994]]: 41</ref> Over the next three games at [[Yankee Stadium (1923)|Yankee Stadium]], Musial had three more hits as the Cardinals defeated the Yankees in the Series four games to one.<ref>[[#Sch90|Schoor 1990]]: 190</ref> Musial batted .222 for the Series, with two [[Run (baseball)|runs scored]].<ref>[[#Sch90|Schoor 1990]]: 403</ref> Musial's [[1943 St. Louis Cardinals season|1943 season]] started with a brief contract holdout in [[spring training]].<ref name="ReferenceA">[[#Mus64|Musial and Broeg 1964]]: 74–76</ref> He made the National League All-Star team for the first time as a starting left fielder and got a [[double (baseball)|double]] in the [[1943 Major League Baseball All-Star Game|All-Star Game]] on July 13.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> He finished the season leading the major leagues in hitting with a .357 batting average and led the NL in hits (220), [[Double (baseball)|doubles]] (48), [[Triple (baseball)|triples]] (20), [[total bases]] (347), [[on-base percentage]] (.425), and [[slugging percentage]] (.562).<ref name="Giglio86">[[#Gig01|Giglio 2001]]: 86</ref> This performance earned him his first [[Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award|NL Most Valuable Player Award]], ahead of teammate and catcher [[Walker Cooper]] (.318 batting average).<ref name=Giglio86/> After romping to another NL pennant by 18 games, the Cardinals again faced the Yankees in the [[1943 World Series]].<ref name="Giglio87">[[#Gig01|Giglio 2001]]: 87</ref> Musial had a single in the Cardinals' Game 1 loss, and scored a run in a Game 2 win.<ref name=Giglio87/> The Cardinals did not win another game in the Series, but the loser's bonus share paid to each Cardinals player ($4,321.99, {{Inflation|US|4321.99|1943|fmt=eq|r=-2}}) still amounted to nearly two-thirds of Musial's regular season salary.<ref>[[#Gig01|Giglio 2001]]: 88</ref>

United States involvement in World War II began to impinge on Musial's baseball career in [[1944 St. Louis Cardinals season|1944]], as he underwent a physical examination in prelude to possible service in the armed forces.<ref>[[#Gig01|Giglio 2001]]: 89</ref> He ultimately remained with the Cardinals for the entire season, posting a .347 batting average with 197 hits.<ref>[[#Lan94|Lansche 1994]]: 60</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/Pmusis101.htm |title=Stan Musial |access-date=February 24, 2009 |publisher=[[Retrosheet]]|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120907141912/http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/M/Pmusis101.htm |archive-date=September 7, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref> The Cardinals claimed the NL pennant for the third consecutive season, and faced St. Louis's other major league team, the [[Baltimore Orioles|Browns]], in the [[1944 World Series]].<ref>[[#Lan94|Lansche 1994]]: 63–64</ref> The Browns took a 2–1 lead, while Musial hit .250 with no RBI.<ref name="Giglio93">[[#Gig01|Giglio 2001]]: 93</ref> He broke out in Game 4 with a two-run [[home run]], single, double, and a walk as part of a 5–1 Cardinals win.<ref name=Giglio93/> The Cardinals went on to defeat the Browns in six games, and Musial posted a .304 batting average for the Series.<ref>[[#Gig01|Giglio 2001]]: 93–94</ref><ref>[[#Sch90|Schoor 1990]]: 404</ref>