St. Louis Cardinals History: Stan Musial Takes the Mound

Stan Musial was known as a great hitter during his career with the St. Louis Cardinals. On this day in 1952, Musial made his only major league appearance on the mound.

Stan Musial was, without question, one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. A St. Louis Cardinals legend, he was a 24 time All Star and a three time MVP, winning those awards in a six year span. Musial won seven batting titles, led the league in doubles eight times, and in triples five times, while producing six seasons with 30 or more homers. There may not have been a more complete hitter in the National League during his heyday.

However, the greatest hitter in the history of the Cardinals did not come to their attention as an outfielder. Musial had originally been a pitcher, and was exclusively used on the mound in his first two professional seasons. While he showed some promise, particularly in 1940, his excellent bat and a sore arm led to a fateful position change.

Even after his success as a hitter, Musial still wanted to make a major league appearance on the mound. That moment happened on his day in 1952, when Musial was brought into the Cardinals game against the Chicago Cubs. Harvey Haddix started, and walked Tommy Brown to start the game.

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Then Musial came in to face Frank Baumholtz. Haddix moved to right field, with Hal Rice moving over to Musial’s place in center. Interestingly, Baumholtz was second behind the Cardinals outfielder in the batting race, although Musial was comfortably ahead. Baumholtz hit a hard grounder to third that Solly Hemus was unable to handle, and was ruled an error.

That would mark the end of Musial’s pitching career. Haddix returned to the mound, Rice went to right, and Musial headed back to center field. Baumholz was erased on a run scoring double play, leaving Musial off the hook for a run. For his part, Baumholtz maintained that his hard smash should have been a hit, thinking that Musial received a friendly call from the Cardinals scorer.

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Originally a pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals legend Stan Musial made major league debut on the mound on this day in 1952. His pitching career lasted for one batter, before he returned to his normal spot in the outfield.