#235 Stan the Man

This weekend, baseball lost one of its greatest legends with the passing of Stan Musial.  I had the privilege of seeing Stan the Man in person at several St. Louis Cardinals Opening Day and World Series festivities, and I can attest that the man was revered in his adopted hometown.  

For those of you not indoctrinated into "Cardinals Nation", Mr. Musial played for the Cardinals for his entire 22-year baseball career.  He was on the All-Star teams 24 times (there were two games/year for a few seasons).  When he retired in 1963, he held 55 major league records.  But beyond his baseball legacy, Stan the Man spent the 50 years since his retirement as a model citizen.

Stan's passing is a loss of one of the remaining reminders of what major league sports used to represent.  No more do players stay with the same franchise for their entire career.  Barely do they manage to go through their tenure without scandal or disgrace.  Stan Musial was an exception, and exceptional.  He was someone that little kids should look up to and want to be like when they grow up.

It is not likely that any of us will have even one, like Stan's two, statues erected in our honor outside of our former place of employment.  But we can work and play as if that were possible.  Try to give the effort and enthusiasm to your day that Stan Musial gave to his effort on and off the field.  And then repeat for all 92 of your years.

-- beth triplett
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