3,630: The most basic number is The Man’s hit total. His passing has only elevated its mystical balance — 1,815 hits at home, 1,815 on the road. Almost 50 years after his September 1963 retirement, Musial’s hit total remains third most in the game’s history, second most in the National League and most for one team. Only one active player, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, is within 725 hits of Musial.39: Musial hit 475 career home runs without hitting 40 in a season. His most prolific season (39) occurred while winning a third MVP in 1948.Astoundingly, Musial achieved his career high after going without 20 home runs in any of his first five full major-league seasons. Musial secured his first two MVP awards after hitting 13 and 16 home runs in 1943 and 1946.3,026: Musial is one of only three players to appear in more than 3,000 games while playing for the same team throughout his career. Fellow Hall of Famers Carl Yastrzemski (3,308 with the Boston Red Sox) and Cal Ripken Jr. (3,001 with the Baltimore Orioles) represent The Man’s only company.177: Perhaps Musial’s most understated accomplishment remains his triples. He is the only player to amass more than 170 triples since Paul Waner’s retirement in 1944. Musial led the NL in the category three times, twice amassing 20 in a season. Only three National League players have accomplished the feat since Musial’s second such season in 1946. Musial finished 1943 with more triples (20) than strikeouts (18) in 700 plate appearances.429: Musial became the last man to accumulate 425 total bases in a season when he broke out for 103 extra-base hits in 1948. He is the only player to reach the threshold since 1932. Not even the Steroids Era could touch it. Only 12 players have reached 100 extra-base hits in a season a combined 15 times.6,134: Musial is one of only three players to amass 6,000 total bases. Hank Aaron eclipsed Musial’s major-league record en route to an otherworldly 6,856 bases. Mays is the third member of the club.How remarkable is Musial’s total? DiMaggio, who enjoyed a much briefer career, finished with 3,948 total bases, or 64.36 percent of what Musial compiled. Williams, who served in two wars, finished with 4,884 total bases. Only one active player, Alex Rodriguez, has more than 4,750 total bases. Musial remains one of only seven players to reach base 5,000 times. Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Mays and Williams didn’t.55: The number of league and major league records Musial held upon his retirement.1,951: Musial’s career RBI total barely clings to No. 6 all-time. Upon his return from off-season hip surgery Rodriguez needs only one RBI to match The Man’s career total. Musial stood fourth on the all-time list when he retired but since has been passed by Aaron (2,297) and Bonds (1,996). The statistic’s significance has recently taken a beating from devotees of sabermetrics, who consider RBI largely a byproduct of luck and placement within a batting order. We now know The Man must have been very lucky as well.119.8: Musial’s numbers also translate extremely well with the advanced metrics crowd. His offensive Wins Above Replacement (WAR) as calculated by Baseball Reference ranks seventh all time.Discounting 1945 when he served in the Navy, Musial led the NL in the category in eight of nine seasons from 1943-52. He also led his league in on-base-plus-slugging percentage seven times.989/868/680/305: Musial did not make more than 35 percent of his starts at any single position, perhaps partly explaining his lack of identification among fans as one of the game’s best at a set spot. Musial started more games (989) at first base than anywhere else but divided 1,853 outfield starts among left (868), right (680) and center (305). He last played center field in 1953 and worked only 29 games at first base during his final five seasons.The man St. Louis and the nation celebrated Saturday was hardly defined by numbers. Not even close.They do not begin to convey why this city held him close and he it.But for those who did not have the pleasure of coming to know Stanley Frank Musial as a man or fully appreciating his transcendence, the numbers are an easy reminder of the baseball player they were missing.
