The Cardinals Way

The Cardinals Way presents an inside look at the St. Louis Cardinals, a team that has emerged as the model organization in the MLB through developing young talent and embracing analytics. The St. Louis Cardinals have experienced the kind of success that is rare in baseball. Regarded by many as the premier organization in Major League Baseball, they not only win, but do so with an apparently bottomless pool of talent, one that is mostly homegrown. Despite years of phenomenal achievements, including going to the World Series in 2004 and again in 2006, the Cardinals reinvented themselves using the "Cardinal Way," a term that has come to represent many things to fans, media, and other organizations, from an ironclad code of conduct to the team's cutting-edge use of statistic and analytics, and a farm system that has transformed baseball. Baseball journalist Howard Megdal takes fans behind the scenes and off the field, interviewing dozens of key players within the Cardinals organization, including owner Bill DeWitt and the former general manager John Mozeliak. Megdal reveals how the players are assessed and groomed using an unrivaled player development system that has created a franchise that is the envy of the baseball world. In the spirit of Moneyball, The Cardinals Way tells an in-depth, fascinating story about a consistently good franchise, the business of sports in the twenty-first century and a team that has learned how to level the playing field, turning in season after successful season.

One Last Strike by legendary baseball manager Tony La Russa is a thrilling sports comeback story. La Russa, the winner of four Manager of the Year awards—who led his teams to six Pennant wins and three World Series crowns—chronicles one of the most exciting end-of-season runs in baseball history, revealing with fascinating behind-the-scenes details how, under his expert management, the St. Louis Cardinals emerged victorious in the 2011 World Series despite countless injuries, mishaps, and roadblocks along the way. Talking candidly about the remarkable season—and his All-Star players like Albert Pujols and David Freese—the recently retired La Russa celebrates his fifty years in baseball, his team’s amazing recovery from 10 ½ games back, and one final, unforgettable championship in a book that no true baseball fan will want to miss.

An inside look at the faith that guides the all-stars. The St. Louis Cardinals have long been one of the most successful franchises in the major leagues. They have won 11 World Series titles and some of the most famous players in the history of the game have worn the storied “Birds on the Bat” uniform. While that on-field success has been well documented, Intentional Walk is the first book which goes beyond the story of what happens on the field to take an in-depth look at the men inside the Cardinal uniforms, and examine how their strong Christian faith is one of the driving forces behind their success. Intentional Walk features the stories of Adam Wainwright, David Freese, Lance Berkman, Matt Holliday, Carlos Beltran, Jason Motte and other members of the 2012 Cardinals, written as those players and the rest of the team tried to repeat the 2011 world championship. The book talks about how they became Christians and offers their testimony about what it means for them to have God play such a prominent role in their lives. Playing for first-year manager Mike Matheny, a strong Christian as well, these men talk about their success and failure, about the challenges that come from playing baseball at the highest level, and how thankful and blessed they are to have that God-given ability. In the end, however, what is far more important to them is their life-long relationship they have established with Jesus Christ.

Written by veteran sportswriter and Cardinals insider Rob Rains, Taking Flight answers two basic questions – what makes the Cardinals different from other organizations, and why are they so successful? Perhaps the most important man in the history of the organization was George Kissell. Among the future managers who came under Kissell's tutelage were Sparky Anderson, Joe Torre, Tony La Russa and the Cardinals' current manager, Mike Matheny. Kissell's imprint is still everywhere on the Cardinals' organization, nearly five years after his death. So too is the work of longtime coach and catching instructor Dave Ricketts, the man who first trained Matheny and later, Yadier Molina. It is the men such as Kissell and Ricketts, who worked for years without fame or notoriety, who helped mold the Cardinals into the franchise it is today.

Explore over a century of Cardinals baseball in this illustrated tour of the players, teams, ballparks, and historic moments! With a legacy that goes back to the Brown Stockings of the old American Association, the St. Louis Cardinals have one of the longest and greatest traditions in the history of baseball. Winners of ten World Series titles (second only to the New York Yankees) and twenty-one pennants dating back to 1885, the Redbirds have established a dynasty across the decades—from Charlie Comiskey’s four-time AA champs, through the “Gashouse Gang” of the 1930s and the “Runnin’ Redbirds” in the 1980s, up to the 2006 World Champions. Front-office pioneers like Chris von der Ahe and Branch Rickey have put the Cardinals franchise at the forefront of innovation, while bringing in some of baseball’s greatest talent—pitchers Dizzy Dean to Bob Gibson, sluggers Johnny Mize to Mark McGwire, and all-around superstars like Rogers “Rajah” Hornsby, Stan “the Man” Musial, and Albert Pujols. Pairing historic black-and-white photos and contemporary images of the modern game, St. Louis Cardinals: Past & Present explores the ballparks and the fans, the players and the teams that have defined Cardinals baseball.

Offering readers more than just a sneak peek into the dugout, Bob Forsch's Tales from the Cardinals Dugout takes fans into the clubhouse, out to the bullpen, onto the mound, up to the batter's box, around the base paths, along for the ride to spring training, and maybe even on a fishing trip or two in this tribute to the long and storied tradition of St. Louis Cardinals baseball. In his own witty style, Bob Forsch, known to many as ?Forschie? during his playing days, has drawn from his exciting history with the Cardinals to bring fans stories that are laugh-out-loud funny.

A history of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team via a collection of rhymes, one for most letters of the alphabet.

St. Louis Cardinals 101 is required reading for every Cardinals fan! Enos Slaughter's "Mad Dash" in 1946 to the 2011 World Series Championship, you'll share all the memories with the next generation. Enjoy all the traditions of your favorite team, learn the basics about playing baseball and share your passion for America's pastime! Die cut in the shape of a baseball. Officially licensed by Major League Baseball.