00:00Well, Cliff, as you will notice, this bat has a good balance.
00:04I like a bat with good balance because you can handle it fine.
00:08And as you might notice, my hands aren't real big, and naturally, I like a thin handle.
00:15And with the thin handle, it gives me room for good wrist action.
00:23And as you might notice, this bat is not real big.
00:28It's 33 ounces and 34 1⁄2 inches long.
00:32But I have a good enough, a large enough hitting surface, whereas if I hit the ball at this area,
00:38why, it gives me enough area there to be able to hit the ball there.
00:45This is the barrel here, right?
00:47Right.
00:48And this is where you try to get most of your hits in this little area, would you say, Stan?
00:52Or would you show us where?
00:53That's right, right in this area here.
00:55It's about an area of about 6 inches, right in there.
00:58And I generally hit the ball in that area.
01:01As you will notice, as the time goes on with batting, why, the bats form a mark there.
01:07And most of my bats, you'll see, have this mark right in this area, of course.
01:11When you're hitting the ball, the secret of hitting is meeting the ball squarely.
01:15And, of course, if you hit the ball here, in this area, well, you know you're meeting the ball squarely,
01:21and you're hitting the ball hard, and the hits will fall.
01:23Would you show us your stance in the batter's box?
01:27You've been described as being like a coiled spring.
01:30Your knees are slightly bent, and your body is twisted away from the pitcher,
01:35and the bat is motionless, and your eyes are over your right shoulder.
01:38You never blink.
01:39Now, how did you achieve this unusual batting stance?
01:42How did you decide on this as your stance?
01:44Well, although my stance is very unorthodox, I feel very comfortable at the plate.
01:51I first came to this stance when I came to the big leagues.
01:56I wanted to guard the plate and the strike zone, so I crouched over somewhat.
02:03And the stance felt good to me.
02:05I always wanted to hit 300 in the big leagues, and I used to crouch over and guard the plate,
02:10and that's how the stance came about, more or less.
02:14Stan Mezio came from Donora, Pennsylvania, but he belonged to St. Louis.
02:19In time, he would pile up dozens of National League records,
02:23and in 17 seasons, Mezio would bat higher than 300.
02:27He won seven batting titles and three MVPs.
02:32Frustrated Dodger pitcher, Preacher Rowe, claimed he knew how to get Mezio out.
02:37I'd throw him four wide ones, and then I'd try to pick him off first base.
02:44Even in the All-Star game, pitchers moaned, here comes the man again.
02:50Sullivan's first pitch to stand, it's one run as it drives back to the right field.
02:53A long run, the ball game is over.
02:57This 12th inning, Homer won the 55 All-Star game and marked Mezio's greatest All-Star moment.
03:03Even in a game that had no bearing on the pennant race, Mezio hated to make an out,
03:08for at all times, he was a study in concentration.
03:14If he got a hit his first time up, he had to get a hit his second time up.
03:18And if he got two hits the third time, he just knew he was going to get a hit.
03:23And if he got three hits, he hardly talked to anybody because he wanted that fourth hit.
03:28And if he got the fourth hit, he'd be just like a tiger pacing,
03:33almost waiting to get up for that fifth time.
03:35Stan Musial of the Cardinals, playing in his 12th All-Star game, stepped in.
03:40And there's your ball game.
03:41A circuit cloud by Stan the Man, giving the National League its fifth All-Star victory in the last six
03:46years.
03:47One of baseball's great stars wins the All-Star game with a sudden death flourish.
03:51Stan the Man Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals will guard the initial sack for the senior circuit stars.
03:58Stan set a record last year when he clouded his fifth All-Star home run.
04:02Stan is the only player who survived the big Cincinnati landslide, a real tribute to his nationwide popularity.
04:17Stan Musial of the St. Louis Cardinals.
04:20With his unorthodox stance, Musial hits to all fields.
04:24He has played the most consecutive games in the National League, has won its batting title seven times,
04:30and on May 13th, 1958, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, Stan the Man came off the bench as a pinch
04:37hitter.
04:39Whacked a double into left field to become the eighth player in Major League history to get 3,000 base
04:45hits.
04:48Manager Freddie Hutchinson came out to congratulate Stan while photographers recorded this memorable event.
04:54Stan, what kind of a pitch did you hit?
04:58Well, it was a curve ball, and I was just trying to meet the ball.
05:03He had two strikes on me, and I was just trying to meet the ball and get a hit there
05:08somewhere.
05:09Here's the pitch.
05:10Ranger, there it is!
05:12Into left field!
05:13Hit number 3,000!
05:15A run is scored!
05:16Musial ran first!
05:17On his way to second with a double!
05:19Do you have any other goals set for yourself?
05:23Well, of course, this was a big one.
05:25Of course, I just want to keep playing now, and I don't have too many other goals.
05:31Although I would like to finish my National League career as one player who had more hits than anybody else
05:38in the National League,
05:39so it's going to take another couple of years.
05:41The pitch to Musial.
05:43A hot shot on the ground, into right field, a base hit!
05:46He's thrown around third!
05:47Here's a no-throw of the Cardinals lead!
05:49One to nothing!
05:50Listen to the crowd!
05:54Now listen, Gary Cobb is going to replace Musial.
06:01There he goes!
06:03The end of a game!
06:04And the long, brilliant career of Stan Musial came to an end.
06:09He came as close as a ball player can to making a clean sweep in all the batting departments.
06:19He finished first in hitting, he finished first in runs scored, base hits, doubles, triples, total bases, and runs batted
06:27in.
06:28He holds the record for five home runs in a doubleheader.
06:35He has hit more extra-based hits than anybody in the history of baseball.
06:45He has achieved, in his playing career, more total bases than anybody in the history of baseball.
06:57The man.
07:00St. Louis Cardinals, 1941-1963.
07:06Stan Musial.
07:08St. Louis Cardinals, 1941-1963.
07:14St. Louis Cardinals, 1941-1963.
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