18B • THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL
MONDAY,AUGUST 19,2002
Baseball fans still see Musial as 'The Man'
The Associated Press
ST. LOUIS — Wearing his Cardinal red sports jacket and flashing an ever-present smile, Stan Musial is still "The Man" in St. Louis.
These days, Musial walks a little slower. He's slightly bent over. His hearing isn't as keen. He had successful surgery for prostate cancer in 1989 and has had no recurrence.
"Well, I'm hanging in there," Musial said "You know when you get to be 81, every day is a blessing and every year is a blessing. I'm feeling pretty good."
But it has been a melancholy time for
mussel, who has seen three close friends die in recent months: Longtime Cardinals broadcaster Jack Buck in June, Ted Williams in July and former teammate Enos "Country" Slaughter earlier this week.
Musial and Williams were contemporaries, arguably the best players in their respective leagues through much of the 1940s and '50s. Later, they worked together on the Hall of Fame veterans committee.
"Ted was a great student of baseball," Musial said. "He was the greatest bitter of our era."
Better than Musial himself?
"When I get asked about Ted Williams, I always say, "He was good, too." Musial loked.
Williams' death spurred debate about who is the greatest living hitter. Some say Willie Mays or Hank Aaron. In St. Louis, the debate begins and ends with Stan The Man, a nickname coined by longtime Post-Dispatch writer Bob Broeg who heard Brooklyn Dodgers fans lamenting "Here comes that man," when Musial would stride to the plate.
in 22 seasons, all with the Cardinals, Musial hit .331 with 475 homers and 3,630 hits. He won five batting titles and led the league in hits six times, doubles eight times, triples five times, runs five times. He retired in 1963 and was elected to the Hall of Fame on the first ballot.
Musial served as the Cardinals' general manager in 1967, the year they beat the Boston Red Sox in the World Series. He co-owned a restaurant here for many years and has been involved in other ventures. Now, he owns Stan the Man Inc., which specializes in merchandise autographed by Musial. He still goes to the office a couple of times a week.
And he's still a fixture at Busch Stadium always wearing one of three bright red sports jackets he keeps just for the ballpark. Often, he'll pull a harmonica from the pocket, sometimes to play "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" for the crowd.
He's still an important presence. He spoke eloquently at a memorial service for Buck at the
stadium, and was there in Cooperstown, N.Y. when Ozzie Smith was inducted into the Hall of Fame last month.
Musial, a Polish-American originally from the steel mill town Donora, Pa., recently attended a state dinner at the White House at the behest of President Bush. Musial's friend, Poland president Aleksander Kwasniewski, was in the country on a state visit.
"Bush is a great baseball fan," Musial said.
On Sunday, Musial was at the unveiling of Smith's statue at Busch Stadium. In typical fashion, as Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr. recited Smith's many accomplishments, Musial reached over and grabbed Smith's knee.
"Did you really do all of that?" Musial teased.
"Did you really do all of that? Musial teased. Musial's own statue, the oldest and largest among a dozen now outside of Busch, is posed in his famed crouched batting position. Engraved on it are these words: "Here stands baseball's perfect warrior. Here stands baseball's perfect knight."
"What I enjoyed was being a big-league ballplayer and putting on a Cardinals uniform every day and having fun," Musial said.
That sort of attitude still endears him to baseball-loving St. Louis, and people associated with the Cardinals.
"Everybody's a Musial fan," said former manager White Herzog.
Even other Cardinals' Hall-of-Famers go up to Muslou. Lou Brock called him "my idol."
Red Seboondienst. Musial's longtime teammate and roommate, said, "They don't call him Stan The Man" for nothing."
Before a recent game, Musial meandered around the team's clubhouse. He spied newcomer Scott Rolen, acquired at the trade deadline from Philadelphia.
Musial keeps close tabs on the game. Ever optimistic, he believes a strike will be avoided.
"I have a good feeling a strike isn't going to happen," Musial said. "I think both sides know a strike doesn't help anybody out."
"Look at today." Cardinals manager LaRussa said. "Rolen met Stan Musial for the first time today and they talked about what its like in spring training. Just two ballplayers talking."
He appreciates Barry Bonds, whose 73 homers last season topped the record of 70 set just four years ago by Cardinals first baseman Mark McGwire. Bonds recently hit his 600th homer and has a legitimate shot at Aaron's career record of 755.
"Barry's gotten better as the years have gone on." Musial said. "He's got a good, level swing. He's a credit to the game hitting all those home runs."
"The thing about golf with me is this: I wish that ball was about a foot higher and moving." Musial said. "I'd tell you about what to do with it."
Even on the golf course, Musial still thinks like a hitter.
Players union sets strike date for Aug.30
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Just two weeks remain for baseball to save its season and perhaps even its status as the national pastime.
Players set an Aug. 30 strike date Friday, moving the sport closer to its ninth work stoppage in three decades and angering fans sick of money squabbles.
The executive board of the players association voted 57-0 for the deadline, just four days after raising hopes for a deal by delaying a decision.
Players were upset by management's lack of movement on the key issue of a luxury tax on high-payroll teams, but owners accused the union of refusing to agree to more compromises.
Players are reluctant to have rules that would reduce salary increases.
"The baseball owners and baseball players must understand if there is a work stoppage, a lot of fans are going to be furious, and I'm one of them," said President Bush, former owner of the Texas Rangers.
i any argue the luxury tax, when combined with additional revenue sharing, would act as a salary cap.
"Clearly, the luxury tax is a major obstacle that has to be resolved before we're going to get an agreement," union head Donald Fehr said. "I think an agreement can be reached."
Baseball has a perfect record in labor talks, with eight stoppages in eight negotiations since 1972. The disruptions were caused primarily by management's attempts to slow salaries in the free-agent era, which began in 1976.
The last strike began Aug. 12, 1994,
dragged on for 232 days and wiped
out the World Series for the first time
in 90 years. Average attendance
dropped 20 percent the following season
and still hasn't fully recovered
"It's ridiculous," Brian Ordoff, a 24-year-old locksmith, said at Baltimore's Camden Yards. "Most of the players make over $1 million a year. School teachers make it on 30 grand. What do they have to complain about? If they get what they want, ticket prices will go up. I'm not paying to watch million-dollar crybabies."
The sport generated $3.5 billion in revenue in 2001, and the average salary rose to a record $2.38 million at the start of this season.
The last contract expired Nov. 7, and owners chose not to lock out the players after the World Series or before this season. Players fear owners would lock them out or change work rules if this season ends without a deal, and the union would rather threaten a strike heading into the final stages of playoff races, when the owners have more money to lose.
Chicago Cubs chief executive officer Andy MacPhail called the union's relegation "regrettable," and Bob DuPuy, baseball's chief operating officer, was "disappointed." Commissioner Bud Selig did not comment.
"If you take a step back, it seems to me there's been considerable progress made." MacPhail said. "It seems to me we have one more hurdle to overcome."
If players walk out on the Friday of Labor Day weekend and the season is not completed, they would lose 16 9 percent of their base salaries. Texas
shorstop Alex Rodriguez stands to lose the most, nearly $3.6 million of his $21 million salary this year. A player at the $200,000 minimum would lose about $34,000.
"The average fan has already gone to other sports: soccer, golf and hockey." Rodriguez said. "That's sad. I just want to see us stop losing our fans."
A strike would take valuable time away from 38-year-old Barry Bonds, who just hit career home No. 600 and needs another 156 to break Hank Aaron's record.
The walkout also would spoil a dream season for the AL. Centraleading Minnesota Twins, a team baseball wanted to fold over the winter but is now headed for its first postseason appearance since 1991.
The St. Louis Cardinals' game at the Chicago Cubs on Aug. 30 would be the first affected by a strike. Fourteen games are scheduled for that night.
"Sept. 11 is a huge issue," Minnesota's Denny Hocking said. "If there is no baseball on 9-11, it would be a slap in the face to all those people who went through 9-11 firsthand."
Players don't want to go on strike especially because of the first anniver sary of the terrorist attacks.
"If nothing gets done," he said, "I think that means owners don't want to get something done."
Arizona's Mark Grace hopes "owners will realize that, Gosh, the players have given a lot."
Management disputed that assessment, saying it was willing to bargain and the union walked away from talks Thursday.
"We made the last proposal! They said no more proposals. They set a strike date." DuPay said.
In their latest proposal, owners asked for a 50 percent tax on the portions of payrolls over $102 million next year (including 40-man rosters and benefits), a level that six or seven teams will be above this year. They believe that tax would increase competitive balance.
The union, according to management, offered a tax that would start at $130 million next year.
Devil Rays' pitcher ends streak
The Associated Press
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Tangan Sturzer snapped his ninegame winless streak and Aubrey Huff homered and drove in three runs as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays beat the Kansas City Royals 8-6 on Sunday.
Sturtze (2-13) allowed four runs and five hits over seven innings for his foot vine since beating Toronto on
June 26. The right-hander, who was 0-5 during the skid, struck out seven and walked five.
Wilson
Alvarez fanned
four in two
innings of relief,
allowing a two-
run homer to
Mike Sweeney in the ninth.
Huff hit his team-leading 16th homer in the first and added a two-run single off reliever Ryan Bulkvich for a 5-4 lead in the sixth. Huff went 3-for-5 and has 48 hits in his past 29 games.
Toby Hall hit an RBI double, and Brent Anberathy had a run-scoring single during a three-run seventh to put the Devil Rays ahead 8-4.
Jeff Suppan (8-13) lost his sixth straight start, allowing five runs and eight hits in 5 1-3 innings. The right-hander, who hasn't won since beating the Chicago White Sox on July 17, struck out five, walked four and had three wild pitches.
Suppan has given up 53 hits in his last 35 2-3 innings.
Shortstop Andy Sheets injured his leg in the ninth while chasing Carlos Beltran's bloop single to center. He collided with second baseman Abernathy and was helped from the field by two trainers.
Sweeney went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. He is hitting 355 and has homered in consecutive games.
Sweeney hit an RBI double during a four-run third that gave the Royals a 4-3 lead. Kit Pellow had a run-scoring single for his first major league hit before Luis Alicea and A.J. Hinch walked with the bases loaded on 3-2 pies with two outs