Stan The Man – How Great He Was…

Posted by Steve L. on January 19th, 2013 · Comments (9)

When he retired from the game, he was the second greatest player in National League history (at that time). And, he was a tick away from being the best.

Spanning Multiple Seasons or entire Careers, Playing in the NL, From 1901 to 1963, sorted by greatest WAR Position Players

Rk	Player	WAR/pos	From	To	Age	G	PA	R	H	HR	RBI	BB	BA	OBP	SLG
1	Rogers Hornsby	124.0	1915	1933	19-37	2192	9343	1566	2895	298	1555	1018	.359	.434	.578
2	Stan Musial	123.4	1941	1963	20-42	3026	12717	1949	3630	475	1951	1599	.331	.417	.559
3	Honus Wagner	110.0	1901	1917	27-43	2298	9640	1414	2766	78	1375	836	.325	.392	.462
4	Mel Ott	104.0	1926	1947	17-38	2730	11348	1859	2876	511	1860	1708	.304	.414	.533
5	Willie Mays	94.5	1951	1963	20-32	1691	7337	1258	2033	406	1179	791	.315	.389	.588
6	Eddie Mathews	78.4	1952	1963	20-31	1792	7799	1220	1834	422	1166	1155	.280	.387	.535
7	Hank Aaron	70.6	1954	1963	20-29	1511	6582	1077	1898	342	1121	541	.320	.375	.572
8	Arky Vaughan	70.5	1932	1948	20-36	1817	7722	1173	2103	96	926	937	.318	.406	.453
9	Paul Waner	69.8	1926	1944	23-41	2540	10756	1626	3151	113	1308	1088	.333	.404	.474
10	Frankie Frisch	68.0	1919	1937	20-38	2311	10099	1532	2880	105	1244	728	.316	.369	.432
11	Johnny Mize	64.4	1936	1949	23-36	1508	6396	1019	1781	315	1158	764	.320	.405	.577
12	Duke Snider	63.8	1947	1963	20-36	2052	8048	1243	2081	403	1316	949	.298	.382	.545
13	Pee Wee Reese	63.1	1940	1958	21-39	2166	9470	1338	2170	126	885	1210	.269	.366	.377
14	Richie Ashburn	60.2	1948	1962	21-35	2189	9736	1322	2574	29	586	1198	.308	.396	.382
15	Jackie Robinson	58.7	1947	1956	28-37	1382	5804	947	1518	137	734	740	.311	.409	.474
16	Zack Wheat	56.5	1909	1926	21-38	2322	9721	1255	2804	131	1210	632	.317	.367	.452
17	Sherry Magee	55.8	1904	1919	19-34	2087	8545	1112	2169	83	1176	736	.291	.364	.427
18	Ernie Banks	54.4	1953	1963	22-32	1500	6346	879	1617	353	1026	521	.283	.344	.535
19	Billy Herman	52.5	1931	1947	21-37	1922	8639	1163	2345	47	839	737	.304	.367	.407
20	Joe Medwick	52.4	1932	1948	20-36	1984	8143	1198	2471	205	1383	437	.324	.362	.505
21	Bill Terry	52.1	1923	1936	24-37	1720	7108	1120	2193	154	1078	537	.341	.393	.506

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Play Index Tool Used
Generated 1/19/2013.

Filed under Baseball History,Season Finders · ·

Comments on Stan The Man – How Great He Was…

Raf

January 19th, 2013 | 10:40 pm

Jeez. Not a good start to 2013 for MLB.
KPOcala

January 19th, 2013 | 11:10 pm

Amazing, playing that many years, hitting with power and average. Almost unreal. I’m thinking that only Ted Williams was in his class, having long careers, high batting averages, with boom-boom power…..
Ricketson

January 19th, 2013 | 11:34 pm

If I had a few dollars for every time I heard Bill White say that Stan Musial was the best hitter he had ever seen as I watched Yankees games growing up…
Evan3457

January 20th, 2013 | 1:48 am

KPOcala wrote:

Amazing, playing that many years, hitting with power and average. Almost unreal. I’m thinking that only Ted Williams was in his class, having long careers, high batting averages, with boom-boom power…..

Bill James comparing Musial to Williams in his first Historical Baseball Abstract:
“If I had to choose between the two of them, I’d take Musial in left field, Musial on the base paths, Musial in the clubhouse, and Williams only with the wood in his hand. And Stan Musial could hit a little, too.”
Evan3457

January 20th, 2013 | 1:51 am

WAR rates Hornsby as a tick better than Musial, but Hornsby was a crappy teammate and a general horse’s ass, so I’d take Musial over Hornsby any day of the week. He was the all-time MLB leader in MVP Award Shares until Barry Bonds’ needle came along.

In my mind, Musial is the greatest player in NL history until at least the advent of Willie Mays.
KPOcala

January 20th, 2013 | 12:28 pm

@ Evan3457: I still have that book, thanks for jogging the memory! Great book!
77yankees

January 20th, 2013 | 3:38 pm

Remember watching one of those Cardinal playoff games at Busch Stadium in the mid-80s on TV with my father, and someone hit a foul that bounced into the seats down the 3B line that was caught by Musial in the front row, who held it up to a loud cheer, and then tossed it 20 rows up into the crowd, and remember how Vin Scully remarked how Stan “just made someone’s day”.

In a time where it seems mandatory to have to be hated by someone, it’s sad to see legends pass on who seemingly were hated by no one. RIP, Stan.
Raf

January 20th, 2013 | 6:06 pm

77yankees wrote:

In a time where it seems mandatory to have to be hated by someone, it’s sad to see legends pass on who seemingly were hated by no one. RIP, Stan.

Excellent point.
danb

January 21st, 2013 | 1:13 am

@ 77yankees:
Right on, hated by no one, My Dad watched him play against our Tigers, and he always told me that Stan Musial was the greatest and nicest man he ever saw play. And I would say, “what about Hank Greenberg or Al Kaline or Charlie Gehringer or Ty Cobb” I’d always try to put a Great Tiger ahead of Stan Musial. And, my Dad is a Tiger fan all the way. And, he’s in Florida for the winter(Mi. snowbird) And, you know what, he’s absolutely right. Stan “The Man” Musial is the greatest post Babe Ruth. My father saw Greenberg, said he was great but Stan was the best, his favorite ball player. So I called him, he is in the hospital recovering from dehydration from the flu. And you know what he tells me in a very hoarse voice before I had the chance to say anything, he says Stan Musial just passed, he was tearing, I said I was tearing also and told him he was right, Stan was the Greatest. Player and Man. R.I.P. Stan Musial!