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from STL Post Dispatch.................................. by Rick Hummel
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Stan Musial, the greatest Cardinal of them all, met up with Albert Pujols, the
greatest Cardinal of now and perhaps of a very long time, for an All-Star photo
session one day recently.

Between the photo clicks, the picture that emerged was one of two St. Louis
baseball icons from different eras with an admiration for each other. They
traded tips on hitting, joked about their salaries and golf games and showed
appreciation for a baseball bat as only two sluggers of their stature could.

Musial, who appeared in 24 All-Star Games and is expected to play a key role in
Tuesday's pre-game ceremony, was asked point-blank if Pujols was the greatest
Cardinal since himself.

"Sure," he said.

Musial, a few months shy of 89 years old now, went on to point out that Rogers
Hornsby, who played a couple of decades ahead of Musial, would have to be
considered on the all-time Cardinals list. "He hit .400 three times," said
Musial.

But since Musial retired in 1963, he said, the best Cardinal he has seen is
Pujols.

"He has a lot of power," said Musial. "He can hit home runs over the
right-field wall or the left-field wall or to center field. It doesn't matter.
He'll have a lot of records."

Pujols, for instance, could soar past Musial's 475 home runs as a Cardinal. But
one mark he or anyone else isn't likely to match is Musial's achievement of
having 1,815 hits on the road and 1,815 hits at home.

"That's impressive," said Pujols, smiling. "I wonder if he meant to do that."

"Well, I got two hits at home in my last game," said Musial, also smiling.

As they sat together, holding one of Pujols' bats, they agreed that they had
used the same length of bat (34½ inches) and the same weight (33 ounces) at one
time; but Pujols, in deference to the occasional flare-up of his left elbow
problem, has dropped to 32 ounces this year.

"I don't like the bat to be too heavy," said Pujols. "I'm looking for more
balance."

About the only difference in their bats was that Pujols' is cupped at the end
and Musial's wasn't.

But there was a considerable difference in the two men's playing weights.

Musial, flexing Pujols' right arm, asked Pujols what he weighed, and Pujols
responded, "240 pounds. What did you weigh?"

The Man answered, "About 175 pounds."

Musial's corkscrew stance was and is unique in the game.

"I don't think I've got the strength to do that," said Pujols.

In turn, Musial admires Pujols' wide stance.

"His left foot doesn't leave its mark," said Musial. "He doesn't overstride."

Trying to take advantage of the rare meeting with Musial, Pujols asked Stan
what his approach with two strikes in the count was.

"What I try to do is let the ball get deep as much as I can," said Pujols. "Do
you have anything to help me out?"

Musial replied, simply, "Know the strike zone."

But, Pujols then asked, "What if you have a bad umpire?"

Musial had a quick retort. "If they called a bad strike on me, I would give him
a mean look," said Musial, who really doesn't have a mean look.

Although Pujols told Musial that manager Tony La Russa sometimes chided Pujols
for not swinging at more first pitches, Musial and Pujols agreed that on their
first at-bat in a game, they liked to work long counts. "I didn't like to swing
at the first pitch," said Musial. "I liked to see what the pitcher was
throwing."

And Pujols said to Musial, "If I can see six or seven pitches in an at-bat,
that's good. Let's say a guy has a good change-up or a good breaking ball. Now
I have an idea of what he'll throw when men are in scoring position. I know how
the breaking ball moves, and I know how the change-up breaks. So he can't trick
me later on."

But Pujols acknowledged, "I may only get one pitch to hit in a game."

Ever the Cardinals fan, Musial asked Pujols about his contract status. "A
couple of more years," said Pujols, referring to the expiration (with the
option) of his contract in 2011.

"Can I borrow a couple of hundred thousand?" cracked Musial.

At this, Pujols laughed and said, "I know you would pay me back. Don't you wish
you were playing in this era?"

Musial said, "Oh, yeah. I spent 22 years in the big leagues, and all the
salaries I got through the years combined was $1,250,000."

"Wow," said Pujols. "For all those years? My Lord. Believe me, if you were
playing in this era, you would probably make that in one day."

Musial, upon hearing that Pujols lived reasonably near Spirit of St. Louis
Airport, said, "Do you fly your own plane?"

"Not yet," said Pujols. "I don't think the contract allows that."

A golfer himself at one time, Musial asked if Pujols played, and the latter
answered that he was a 10-handicap.

Musial announced that he was a 3-handicap.

"Three?" said Pujols, incredulously.

"Yeah," said Musial. "Woods, irons and putter."

Pujols roared. "That's a good one," he said. "I'm going to steal that from
you."

At this point, Pujols was about to take his leave to get ready for the game
that night. "Thank you for taking the time," Pujols said, sincerely, to Musial.

Was it only coincidence that Pujols would hit two home runs that night after
sharing a bat and advice with Musial? Maybe not.

"Next time, you come around, I want to talk hitting," said Pujols. "I want to
pick your brain."

Musial said, "You ever talk to Red Schoendienst?"

"I talk to him a lot in the clubhouse," said Pujols, "and he said, 'I'm not
anything. You need to talk to The Man. He's the one you need to talk to.'"

Musial clearly enjoyed the visit of batting kings from different eras but with
so many similarities.

"You know what Pujols does when he sees me?" said Musial. "He did it, when he
first came up as a rookie. When he sees me, he gives me a hug and a kiss on my
forehead."

Said Pujols, "He's the man."