The 100 Greatest in 100 Days: #19 Stan Musial

Swattin’ into the list at #19 is Cardinals legend Stan “The Man” Musial. Musial’s career was magnificent for a number of reasons but the most remarkable is his presence on the all-time leaderboard in virtually every major offensive statistic. Musial is second all-time in total bases, third in runs created, doubles and intentional walks, 4th in hits, 7th in offensive WAR, 8th in RBIs, 10th in runs, 13th in OPS and walks, 16th in slugging percentage, 19th in triples, 23rd in on-base percentage, 30th in batting average and 32nd in home runs. He is the only player in history in the top-35 of each category. Musial’s hit/power tool and plate discipline are arguably the best ever as he is the only player in history with 3,600 career hits and a .559 slugging %. He’s also the only player in history with more than 1,500 career walks and fewer than 700 strikeouts. Stan “The Man” led the league in runs created nine times, doubles eight times, and extra-base hits seven times; all are the most in history. Musial had five seasons of at least 80 walks, 40 or fewer strikeouts, and at least 30 home runs which are the most in history. He’s the only player in history with 420 total bases and fewer than 35 strikeouts in the same season.  Stan’s three MVPs are tied for the 2nd most all-time as are his seven top-2 MVP finishes. Musial led the Cardinals to three World Series titles and four appearances.  

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Hi (hopefully) awesome reader! I welcome your comments. However, please be aware that I make all of my arguments using facts, statistics, and logic. Unfortunately, the average comment on a top-100 list goes something like this:

"UR StooPid. (Insert player) is trash. I've watched (pick a sport) for (pick a number of years) and (pick a player) is better than everyone. UR DUMB. HAHA6969."

–Some Jabroni

As cognitively stimulating as this species of comment is, it ends up being a missed opportunity to share a nuanced perspective. I reply to all comments that show even the most basic levels of thought and humility. The people who make the comments like the example above are under the assumption that the three seconds of thought that popped into their brains after reading the list is more than the 1000s of hours that I put into creating and maintaining the lists. I would be happy to defend any placement, or make an adjustment if one is warranted. If you are a jabroni, like the one above, then your comment will die in the lonely void of the unpublished comments section.

For everyone else, I look forward to your comments!

P.S. The theme of this site and the top-100 lists is that athletes from previous generations have historically been grossly overrated by sports publications in a way that is statistically improbable. Click on the "About" dropdown menu to see just how badly the average top-100 list disproportionately favors athletes from older generations when leagues were smaller, race quotas existed, and globalization wasn't a thing. Also, please consider reading "The History" section of the sport you are commenting on.

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