Best Way to Honor Stan: Business as Musial

       I don’t know that there is much more to say about Stan Musial for now  – the greatest Cardinal’s funeral was Saturday, and there's little someone like me can add to something like Bob Costas' eloquent and touching tribute to Stan.  So now, at the end of this emotional week, the focus of attention will shift squarely to finding the proper way to honor The Man's legacy.

      By now, if you read this blog, you know that the effort to honor Musial by naming a bridge over the Mississippi River after him is not an idea I favor, and you can read why by scrolling down a few inches.  Adding to what I wrote last week is the fact that there is now a petition drive underway to name the new Mississippi River bridge after a construction worker who died while working on the structure.  It’s hard to take issue with that sentiment– it would certainly mean a lot to his grieving family.

     I guess nothing’s simple.

     So here is how I think we should best honor the memory of Stan Musial:  Let’s simply keep doing what we have been doing for the last century or so, shall we?
     It can start with the Cardinal organization. 

     It always seemed to me the Cardinals have in many ways been a reflection of Stan Musial himself.  Like the player, the organization probably hasn’t gotten the respect it has deserved over the years from national media representatives,or fans outside of St. Louis.  Ask most sports fans who don’t live here which Major League Baseball franchise owns the second most World Series titles behind the Yankees, and my guess is relatively few would answer, “St. Louis.”  That's how it is in flyover country, and so it was for Musial.   No one said life, or sports, was fair.

    But what the Cardinals – and Musial - lacked over the years in publicity, they more than made up for in tradition, loyalty and class. 

    Like Musial, the team has remained true to its roots.  Young prospects in the organization are taught to do it “the Cardinal Way”, placing an emphasis on the fundamentals of the game:  pitching, timely hitting, speed and airtight defense.  On the field, or off, there isn’t much room for the kind of grandstanding and showboating that apparently Musial abhorred.    When organizations like the Pirates, the Astros, Padres and Indians clad their players in garish and often nightmarish uniforms during the disco ‘70s, the Cardinals pretty much kept to tradition:  White home jerseys.  Red caps.  Birds on Bat logo.   Today’s Cardinal jerseys are as Spartan and clean as can be:  aside from the trademark logo, they’re your basic service-industry, no-frills standard issue.   On-field gimmicks at Busch Stadium have been few too:  you won’t find pre-game sausage races or disco demolition nights here. 

     In St. Louis, the game’s the thing.

     The standard of excellence ripples up from the field up into the stands, too.  Like Stan Musial, St. Louis Cardinal fans have always been noted for politeness – sometimes to a fault – in stunning contrast to some of their counterparts in bigger markets such as New York and Boston.   Cardinal fans support the team in good times and bad, and wouldn’t think of trading allegiances.  Just like Stan, who hinted at retirement once when it was rumored he was going to be traded away from St. Louis.

    Off the field, if you follow today’s Redbirds on Twitter, players like David Freese, Jason Motte and Yadier Molina leave you with that same feeling of politeness.   The social media habits of a Nyjer Morgan or Brandon Phillips wouldn’t be tolerated here.  Had social media been around in his day, could you imagine Stan Musial tweeting about how the Cards were going to “punk” their opponents that night?

    My way to honor Stan Musial?   How about this:  let’s keep the statue (or replace it with a better one). It stands in its proper place at the main entrance to Busch Stadium, welcoming millions of fans to the Capitol of Cardinal Nation.  Let’s find an on-field tribute this season.  Let’s put a commemorative patch on our players’ jerseys.

    But above all, let’s just carry ourselves in the way we always have.  In the manner of Stan – the way he did it, and the way he would have wanted it.  Class. Humility. Dignity. Sportsmanship.

   In other words, Business as Musial.

   Thanks for reading.