RetroSimba

(Updated June 27, 2020)

When Lukasz Musial settled in Pennsylvania after leaving his native Poland, he enjoyed following the exploits of Babe Ruth, a symbol of all that was possible in America.

Like his father, young Stan Musial also became a fan of Ruth. He remained an admirer, even though his first encounter with Ruth left him somewhat astonished.

Imagine the significance to Musial when he broke one of Ruth’s most prominent records.

On May 8, 1963, Musial, 42, hit a home run off former teammate Bob Miller of the Dodgers, giving him 1,357 career extra-base hits and surpassing the record of 1,356 held by Ruth. Boxscore

In the 1964 book “Stan Musial: The Man’s Own Story,” Musial said, “I’m proud to have more extra-base hits than any player … but, to me, Ruth is still champ. After all, let’s face it, I went to bat some 2,500 more times than the No. 1 slugger.”

Musial was 20 and playing for the Cardinals’ farm club at Rochester, N.Y., in 1941 when he met Ruth, who came to town to put on a batting practice exhibition. In his autobiography, Musial offered a compelling description of that encounter, with help from the book’s contributor, St. Louis journalist Bob Broeg:

“The Babe was 47 then, heavy-bellied and out of competition for six years,” Musial recalled. “His timing was way off, but finally he connected with a pitch … and lifted it far out of the ballpark. I got a big thrill out of watching (him) demonstrate why my father thought there was only one Bambino. Pop was so right.

“I confess, though, that I was awed _ and maybe a little disillusioned _ when Ruth sat on our bench during the game, pulled out a pint of whiskey from his pocket and emptied it.”

Twenty-two years later, shortly after Musial broke Ruth’s extra-base hits record, a memo sheet posted on the Cardinals’ clubhouse bulletin board asked players whether they had participated in Babe Ruth League baseball. On the bottom of the sheet, The Sporting News reported, Musial wrote, “I played with Babe Ruth.”

In his book, Musial opened a chapter with this paragraph: “I believe Babe Ruth was the greatest who ever played because he was an outstanding pitcher and good outfielder who best combined the abilities to hit for great power and high average. Imagine, while hitting 714 homers, he struck out more than 1,300 times and still averaged .342 for his career.”

A couple of weeks after Musial set the extra-base hits mark, he was profiled in The Saturday Evening Post. “I’ll hit until I’m 50,” Musial said.

Asked by the publication for a set of guidelines he’d recommend a young player to follow in seeking a long big-league career, Musial offered six tips:

_ Keep your weight down.

_ Run a mile a day.

_ Get eight hours of sleep regularly.

_ If you must smoke, try lightweight cigars. They cut down on inhaling.

_ Take vitamins as recommended by a doctor.

_ Make it a point to bat .300.

The extra-base hits category (total of doubles, triples and home runs hit) is one of the most underrated in baseball. Musial eventually was surpassed by two others. The top seven in career extra-base hits are:

_ Hank Aaron, 1,477

_ Barry Bonds, 1,440

_ Stan Musial, 1,377

_ Babe Ruth, 1,356

_ Albert Pujols 1,333

_ Willie Mays, 1,323

_ Alex Rodriguez, 1,275

Previously: Total bases tell story of a total player: Stan Musial