Cards dedicate Musial Drive
The St. Louis Cardinals dedicated Stan Musial Drive on Sunday, renaming the street in front of Busch Stadium in honor of the franchise’s greatest player.
Musial, 87, has been in ill health and arrived at the pre-game dedication ceremony in a golf cart wearing a red jacket and Cardinals cap while his wife, Lillian, sat in a wheelchair. He felt well enough to make a few remarks, thanking the team’s owners and “the greatest fans around” and also joked that the reason for the golf cart was too much wear and tear on his legs from running the bases so much.
“The other thing I wanted to say is the reason I have a bad knee, I hit too many triples,” Musial joked.
Musial, who played his entire 22-year career in St. Louis while batting .331 with 3,630 hits, closed his time at the microphone by modeling his left-handed swing, long a signature move. There are two Musial statues outside the stadium.
A video montage paid tribute on the 50th anniversary of Musial’s 3,000th career hit, a pinch-hit double on May 13, 1958 at Wrigley Field off the Cubs’ Moe Drabowsky. A huge number 6, Musial’s retired jersey number, was cut in the grass just beyond the center field wall.
Several Cardinals and Tampa Bay Rays players lined the foul lines to watch the video honoring the player introduced as the “greatest living hitter.”
A-Rod rehab on target
Alex Rodriguez remains on target to rejoin the New York Yankees on Tuesday.
The third baseman, out since April 28 with a strained right quadriceps, hit a grand slam to center field during his 15 at-bats in a simulated game in Tampa, Fla.
He is scheduled to play in an extended spring training game Monday against Philadelphia minor leaguers before returning to New York.
Clearing the bases
San Diego ace Jake Peavy will miss his scheduled start tonight against St. Louis with a sore pitching elbow. Wilfredo Ledezma will get the start. … Hank Blalock will move to first base for Texas when he returns from the disabled list. The third baseman has been out since April 26 with a torn left hamstring.