[RedsBaron]

For a player who was properly appreciated while he was playing, Musial was underrated in retirement. In fan voting for the All Century Team Musial was left off and had to be later added by the Commissioner. Hey I grew up rooting for Pete Rose and I liked Ken Griffey Jr., but voting Rose and Junior to the team and leaving off Stan the Man was crazy.
Musial just seemed to be largely forgotten outside of St. Louis. Ted Williams had the outsize personality, Simon & Garfunkel sang of Joe DiMaggio, and Aaron, Mantle and Mays remained in the public memory, but Stan was an afterthought too often.
In the words of Bill James decades ago- Stan Musial was a ballplayer. He didn't marry Marilyn Monroe (he married his high school sweetheart, a marriage ended by her death 70+ years later), he didn't feud with sports writers or fans, he didn't battle alcohol, his cap stayed on his head--he just showed up and played at an extremely high level everyday and got along with everyone. He won 3 MVP awards and should have had at least a couple of more. He was simply a terrific player and an even better person. R.I.P.