In Major League Baseball 3,000 hits is a benchmark of greatness, if you are able to amass 3,000 hits then your spot in Cooperstown is almost guaranteed. 32 players have amassed 3,000 hits in their career and out of those 32 only six players are not in the hall of fame.
Six may seem like a high number for that kind of achievement but when you dig deeper you find that three of these six are not even eligible for induction yet. The three who are eligible for induction have had some sort of scandal happened that may stop them from ever gaining entry, but the bottom line is that 3,000 hits virtually guarantees you a spot in Cooperstown, a place to be immortalized.
That is exactly where one of the greatest Cardinals hitters of all-time is, Stan “The Man” Musial. Musial is 4th on the all-time hit list with 3,630 hits in his career and on this day in 1958 at the age of 37 Musial became the eighth member of the 3,000-hit club.
Interestingly enough when this day started for the future Hall of Famer there was no thought that today was going to be the day, he joined the club. Coming into the game Musial was on fire batting .489 with a .558 OBP and a 1.353 OPS while only being one hit away from 3,000, however, today was supposed to be an off day for him so he would be able to make history in front of the home crowd.
Plans changed entering the sixth inning, the Cardinals were behind 3-1 with 7-8-9 coming up in the inning, a perfect time to pinch hit for the pitcher. After the first batter got on with a double the next batter grounded out and the decision was made to pinch hit Musial with a runner on second.
Pinch hitting was not a situation that Musial normally found himself in, he was an everyday player since his second season in the league, never playing in less than 134 games. But this time Musial was called upon to spark a rally and that was exactly what he did.
Moe Drabowsky was on the mound for the Cubs and had been pitching pretty well before facing Musial only allowing five hit and one unearned run, things would change after Musial stepped up.
Musial blasted the ball off the left field wall for a double that brought in a run which then sparked a four-run rally that inning for the Red Birds. The Cardinals ended up winning that game 5-3 but the big story was that Musial got his 3,000th hit.
The train ride back to St. Louis was one filled with unexpected stops so that people could congratulate Musial on the accomplishment he had.
The next day Musial was back in the starting lineup, starting at first base and he put on a show for the home crowd. Musial was unable to get his 3,000th hit in front of the home crowd but he was able to get his 3,001st, 3,002nd, and 3,003rd in front of the home crowd the day after hitting his 3,000th.
Musial would go on the rest of the season and finish with an all-star appearance and a .337 average with a .950 OPS. Over the last five seasons of his career Musial would get 514 hits while being named an all-star in each season. Overall, Musial was a 20-time all-star in his 22-year career while being fourth in all-time hits and a three-time MVP winner. Musial was a great ballplayer and became a first ballot hall of famer in 1969 with 93.2% of the vote.