Stan the hitting machine

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - Stan Musial got his 3,000th hit on this date in 1958, a double off the Chicago Cubs' Moe Drabowky at Wrigley Field. At the time only seven players in history had reached 3,000 hits; Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, Honus Wagner, Eddie Collins, Cap Anson, Paul Waner and Nap Lajoie, quite a list.

Stanley Frank Musial ended up with 3,630 hits in a career that spanned 22 years. As of this writing, he is fourth on the all-time career hits list. Only Hank Aaron, Ty Cobb and Pete Rose have more.

Musial was born in Donora, Pennsylvania near Pittsburgh on November 21, 1920. He played mostly outfield, but also over a thousand games at first base. He was a great hitter with amazing consistency.

lifetime batting average: 331 (.336 at home and .336 on the road)
National League MVP: 1943, 1946, 1948

Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine once said, "I've had pretty good success with Stan by throwing him my best pitch and backing up third." Musial spent his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals.

CONTRIBUTING SOURCES:
Major League MVP's
Stan Musial

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