Today marks the 63rd anniversary of Stan “The Man” Musial winning his 3rd, National League Most Valuable Player award. You might ask why the 3rd MVP award was so special. The answer to that question is that the award capped off what is one of the greatest offensive seasons in baseball history. Take a look at how Musial’s 1948 offensive season compares to the last 2 National League MVPs:
|
Statistic
|
Stan Musial
|
Ryan Braun
|
Joey Votto
|
|
Runs
|
135
|
109
|
106
|
|
Hits
|
230
|
187
|
177
|
|
Doubles
|
46
|
38
|
36
|
|
Triples
|
18
|
6
|
3
|
|
HRs
|
39
|
33
|
37
|
|
RBIs
|
131
|
111
|
113
|
|
BA
|
.365
|
.332
|
.324
|
|
OBP
|
.434
|
.397
|
.424
|
|
SLG
|
.587
|
.597
|
.600
|
|
OPS
|
1.021
|
.994
|
1.024
|
|
Stan Wins
|
|
9 of 10
|
8 of 10
|
That is some serious production. Musial finished the ’48 season leading the league in batting average, hits, doubles, triples, total bases and slugging percentage. He won the batting title by 43 points and was one home run shy of winning the triple crown. To make things worse, Musial actually hit an additional home run, but the game ended up being called due to weather and the home run was erased from the record books. His 3rd NL MVP award would be a record at the time (it has since been passed by Barry Bonds, who won 7 NL MVPs, including 4 straight from ’01-‘04). Happy Anniversary to “The Man.”
