Page "Stan Musial" Paragraph 34

Musial signed one of the first $ 100, 000 contracts in NL history on January 29, 1958.

( According to Baseball Almanac, Hank Greenberg was the first with Pittsburgh in 1947.

) Approaching the 3, 000-hit milestone in his major league career, he expressed a desire to record the hit in St. Louis.

He ultimately reached the mark with a pinch-hit, sixth inning RBI double at Chicago's Wrigley Field on May 13.

The eighth major league player to reach 3, 000 hits, and the first to reach the milestone with an extra-base hit, Musial was greeted at St. Louis Union Station that evening by roughly 1, 000 fans.

Finishing the season in sixth place, the Cardinals embarked on an exhibition tour of Japan, winning 14 of 16 games against top players from the Central and Pacific Japanese Leagues.