Tribute to Musial left some fans wanting more

By Ann Rubin

KSDK -- By all accounts, the All-Star Game was a big success and St. Louis is getting a lot of positive national press, but not everybody is happy, especially fans of St. Louis Cardinal legend Stan "The Man" Musial.

The concern was that in a pre-game show devoted to "All-Stars Among Us" and a pitch from the president, perhaps not enough was done to honor Musial.

At KFNS, it was all the talk on sports radio.

"I just feel like on a national stage, they could have paid a little more tribute to Stan," said one caller.

Another caller added, "I think Major League Baseball dropped the ball."

The tribute itself was brief: fans on their feet as Musial rode out in a golf cart. The culmination was when he handed President Barack Obama the ball he'd use for the first pitch.

The trouble with all this was the lingering image of another tribute, that of Ted Williams in 1999. In that case, other legendary players rushed the field to shake his hand. Some said it was both longer and more emotional.

Sources tell NewsChannel 5 the Musial family was disappointed by Tuesday night's events and that several weeks ago, before the presidential pitch was announced, they'd been counting on a more elaborate display.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch baseball columnist Rick Hummel said he would have liked to see more.

"You wish more people had been around him celebrating him and his career," Hummel said. "But they had other stuff they were getting on to with the president coming out there and that's pretty much what happened. It could have been better, but I don't think it was awful."

A spokesman for Major League Baseball said with the president on the field, there was less room for spontaneity from the players, and that the tribute went off exactly as scripted.

He added that there "Isn't a bigger tribute than handing a ball to the president."

At J. Buck's Restaurant, some fans agreed.

"Having the president go over and say hi to him, everybody that I was sitting around thought this was just fabulous for Stan," said Rick Smith, who was in attendance at the All-Star Game.

Former Detroit Tigers pitcher John Warden, who was also at the restaurant, said the tribute was not enough.

"I thought they'd drive him out to the mound and the players would gather around and everyone would shake Stan's hand," he said. "I mean, this guy is one of the greatest hitters to ever live. And it's a shame he didn't get just a little more than they gave him."

A spokesman for Major League Baseball said another factor in their planning was Musial's comfort. He said they wanted to make sure they didn't place any undue stress on him.