MVP Profile: Stan Musial, 1946

First Baseman/Outfielder, St. Louis Cardinals

Age:  25

4^th season with Cardinals

Bats – Left, Throws – Left

Height: 6’0”    Weight: 175 

Prior to 1946:

A native of Donora, Pennsylvania, the sports-minded Musial excelled in basketball, as well as baseball, in his youth, where his pleasant personality and friendly disposition were first on display as well. Signed by the Cardinals against his immigrant father’s wishes, he started out as a pitcher. With Williamson of the Class D Mountain State League in 1938, the 17-year-old southpaw went 6-6 with a 4.66 ERA in 20 appearances. Returning to Williamson in 1939 he produced a 9-2 tally and 4.30 ERA while issuing 85 walks in 92 innings. Playing in the outfield between starts he batted .352. Sent to Daytona Beach of the Class D Florida State League in 1940, his record improved to 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA, although he still walked 145 batters over the course of 223 innings. He also batted .311. While playing center field in an August game, Musial attempted to make a diving catch and landed on his left shoulder, causing an injury that finished his pitching career and turned him into a full-time outfielder, although he never regained full strength in his throwing arm. Moving on to Springfield of the Class C Western Association in 1941, he hit .379 with 26 home runs as a full-time outfielder before advancing to Rochester of the International League where he batted .326 in 54 games. The Cardinals, who were battling Brooklyn for the NL pennant, called Musial up in September and, appearing in 12 games in place of injured right fielder Enos Slaughter, he hit .426 with a home run and 7 RBIs. Moving into the St. Louis lineup in left field in 1942, he batted .315 with 32 doubles, 10 triples, 10 home runs, and 72 RBIs. The Cardinals won 106 games and the pennant and World Series, and the 21-year-old rookie placed twelfth in league MVP voting. Musial had an unusual, closed batting stance in which he started out crouched in the back of the batter’s box from which he uncoiled to powerfully hit line drives to all fields while rarely striking out. With excellent speed on the bases and in the outfield, he compensated for his weakened throwing arm by getting rid of the ball quickly and accurately. St. Louis again won the NL pennant in 1943 and Musial led the league in batting (.357), on-base percentage (.425), slugging (.562), hits (220), doubles (48), triples (20), and total bases (347) while also contributing 13 home runs and 81 RBIs. He was chosen league MVP. The Cards lost the World Series rematch with the Yankees in which Musial hit .278 with no extra base hits. In the offseason, Musial returned to Donora to do war industry work at the American Steel & Wire Company. The Cardinals won a third straight pennant in 1944 and “the Donora Greyhound” batted .347 while leading the NL in hits (197), doubles (51), OBP (.440), and slugging (.549). He also collected 14 doubles, 12 home runs, 94 RBIs, and drew 90 walks. The Cards defeated the St. Louis Browns, who they shared Sportsman’s Park with, in six games with Musial hitting .304 and slugging a key home run. He also finished fourth in league MVP balloting. Musial joined the Navy in 1945 and spent most of the year playing service baseball. Discharged early in 1946, he was tempted by an offer from the Mexican League, which was attempting to buy up major league players and offered him $50,000. Remaining with the Cardinals, he was shifted to first base early in the season.

1946 Season Summary

Appeared in 156 games

1B – 114, LF – 42

[Bracketed numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]

Batting

Plate Appearances – 702 [1]

At Bats – 624 [1]

Runs – 124 [1]

Hits – 228 [1]

Doubles – 50 [1]

Triples – 20 [1]

Home Runs – 16 [5, tied with Ron Northey]

RBI – 103 [3]

Bases on Balls – 73 [7]

Int. BB – 9 [11, tied with Bill Nicholson & Ferrell Anderson]

Strikeouts – 31

Stolen Bases – 7 [17, tied with seven others]

Caught Stealing – 9 [6, tied with Red Schoendienst, Dick Culler & Andy Seminick]

Average - .365 [1]

OBP - .434 [2]

Slugging Pct. - .587 [1]

Total Bases – 366 [1]

GDP – 7

Hit by Pitches – 3 [10, tied with fourteen others]

Sac Hits – 2

Sac Flies – N/A

League-leading plate appearances were +17 ahead of runner-up Enos Slaughter

League-leading at bats were +15 ahead of runner-up Enos Slaughter

League-leading runs scored were +24 ahead of runner-up Enos Slaughter

League-leading hits were +44 ahead of runner-up Dixie Walker

League-leading doubles were +15 ahead of runner-up Tommy Holmes

League-leading triples were +10 ahead of runners-up Phil Cavarretta & Pee Wee Reese

League-leading batting average was +.032 ahead of runner-up Johnny Hopp

League-leading slugging percentage was +.102 ahead of runner-up Del Ennis

League-leading total bases were +83 ahead of runner-up Enos Slaughter

Midseason snapshot: 2B – 24, 3B – 7, HR - 6, RBI - 55, AVG - .350, SLG - .537, OBP – .411

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Most hits, game – 5 (in 5 AB) at Bos. Braves 9/19

Longest hitting streak – 14 games

HR at home – 10

HR on road – 6

Most home runs, game – 1 on sixteen occasions

Multi-HR games – 0

Most RBIs, game – 3 on six occasions

Pinch-hitting – No appearances

Fielding (1B)

Chances – 1134

Put Outs – 1056

Assists – 65

Errors – 13

DP – 119

Pct. - .989 

Postseason Batting: 7 G (World Series vs. Bos. Red Sox)

PA – 31, AB – 27, R – 3, H – 6, 2B – 4,3B – 1, HR – 0, RBI – 4, BB – 4, IBB – 0, SO – 2, SB – 1, CS – 0, AVG - .222, OBP - .323, SLG - .444, TB – 12, GDP – 0, HBP – 0, SH – 0, SF – N/A

Awards & Honors:

NL MVP: BBWAA

MLB Player of the Year: Sporting News

All-Star (Started for NL in LF)

Top 5 in NL MVP Voting:

Stan Musial, StLC: 319 points - 22 of 24 first place votes, 95% share

Dixie Walker, Brook.: 159 points – 47% share

Enos Slaughter, StLC: 144 points – 2 first place votes, 43% share

Howie Pollet, StLC: 116 points – 35% share

Johnny Sain, BosB: 95 points – 28% share

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Cardinals went 96-58 to finish tied for first in the NL with the Brooklyn Dodgers, which necessitated a season-extending best-of-3 playoff. The Cardinals won the first two games to clinch the NL pennant with a final record of 98-58. The Cardinals led the league in runs scored (712), hits (1426), doubles (265), RBIs (665), batting (.265), slugging (.381) & total bases (2046). Under new manager Eddie Dyer, the Cards started fast but were 2.5 games behind the Dodgers on May 26 as the league lead switched between the two clubs throughout May. St. Louis fell 7.5 games back on July 2 but clawed back into contention. Going 31-14 from August 18 to the end of the schedule allowed the Cardinals to end up tied with the Dodgers, forcing the playoff. Won World Series over the Boston Red Sox, 4 games to 3. St. Louis won Game 7 thanks to the baserunning heroics of RF Enos Slaughter and relief pitching of LHP Harry Brecheen. The highly anticipated matchup between Musial and Boston slugger Ted Williams failed to meet expectations as Musial hit .222 with five extra-base hits and four RBIs and Williams was hindered by an elbow injury and facing a defensive shift by the Cards batted .200 with one RBI.

Aftermath of 1946:

In 1947 Musial was hindered by an inflamed appendix that was removed following the season and he batted .312 with 30 doubles, 13 triples, 19 home runs, and 95 RBIs. A player who took offseason conditioning very seriously, he rebounded in 1948 by hitting a league-leading (and career-best) .376 while also topping the NL in runs scored (135), hits (230), doubles (46), triples (18), RBIs (131), OBP (.450), slugging percentage (.702), and total bases (429). His 39 home runs were just one behind league-co-leaders Johnny Mize of the Giants and Ralph Kiner of Pittsburgh, depriving him of the batting Triple Crown. He was still the NL MVP for the third time with the second-place Cardinals (they would not win another pennant during his long tenure with the club). Dubbed “Stan the Man” by New York fans and sportswriters due to his superlative performances at Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds (he was regularly referred to as “that man” for the way he dominated the Dodgers and Giants), Musial, who returned to the outfield in ’48, continued his outstanding play in 1949 by batting .338 and leading the NL in hits (207), doubles (41), triples (13), OBP (.438), and total bases (429). He further compiled 36 home runs and 123 RBIs while drawing 107 walks. He finished second in the NL MVP race. His outstanding hitting continued in 1950, ’51, and ’52. Musial won three straight batting titles and led the NL in runs scored, slugging, and total bases twice and hits once. He also placed second in league MVP voting in 1950 and ’51, so that over the course of four consecutive years he either received the MVP award or finished second. “Stan the Man” also split his time between first base and the outfield, with satisfactory results. In 1953 he placed eighth in NL MVP voting, leading the league in doubles (53), walks drawn (105), and OBP (.437) while batting .337 with 200 hits, 9 doubles, 30 home runs, and 113 RBIs, while striking out just 32 times. In 1954 against the Giants at home in Busch Stadium (the renamed Sportsman’s Park), Musial set a record with five home runs in a doubleheader. The Cardinals were a mediocre, seventh-place club in 1955 but Musial kept up his steady batting production by hitting .319 with 33 home runs and 108 RBIs. His twelfth-inning home run in the All-Star Game propelled the National League to a 6-5 win. “Stan the Man” led the NL with 109 RBIs in 1956 while also batting .310 with 33 doubles, 27 home runs, and a .522 slugging percentage. In 1957, his consecutive game streak dating back to 1952 ended at 895 due to torn shoulder ligaments, but he still won his seventh league batting title by hitting .351 and finished second in MVP voting. By 1958 he was 37 and making $100,000 per year and piling up significant career statistics. He reached 3000 hits in a May game at Chicago’s Wrigley Field on his way to batting .337 with 17 home runs and 62 RBIs. Despite his excellent conditioning, age appeared to be catching up to Musial in 1959 as his average plummeted to .255 along with 14 home runs and 44 RBIs. He rebounded somewhat in 1960 by hitting .275 with 17 home runs and 63 RBIs. In the spring of 1961, the Cardinals rented an entire motel in segregated St. Petersburg, Florida, so the entire team, white and black, could live together with their families. Musial, who typically rented a house for his family, stayed at the motel in his role as an esteemed team leader who supported the club’s action. He went on to hit .288 in 1961 and contended for another batting championship in 1962 at age 41 as he finished at .330 with 19 home runs and 82 RBIs. Musial played one last season in 1963 and batted .255 with 12 home runs and 58 RBIs. For his major league career, spent entirely with the Cardinals, “Stan the Man” batted .331 with 3630 hits that included 725 doubles, 177 triples, and 475 home runs. He scored 1949 runs and further compiled 1951 RBIs along with a .417 OBP and .559 slugging percentage. Appearing in 23 World Series games, he hit .256 with a home run and 8 RBIs. A 24-time All-Star, Musial hit a record six home runs in All-Star play. He finished in the top 10 in NL MVP voting 14 times, winning three times. The Cardinals retired his #6 and he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. Esteemed for his dignity and class, both on and off the field he was never ejected from a game during his major league career. Personable and popular, Musial operated a restaurant in St. Louis and remained in the public eye long after his playing career ended. He also served the Cardinals as a vice-president and was general manager during the 1967 season that concluded with a World Series title. President Lyndon B. Johnson’s advisor on physical fitness, he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 by President Barack Obama. The Cardinals erected a statue of Musial outside Busch Stadium in his honor. Musial died in 2013 at the age of 92.

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MVP Profiles feature players in the National or American leagues who were winners of the Chalmers Award (1911-14), League Award (1922-29), or Baseball Writers’ Association of America Award (1931 to present) as Most Valuable Player.