St. Louis Cardinals: New Baseball Books To Read

Two books came out this past month that related to the St. Louis Cardinals that Cardinal Nation will appreciate.

Published by Triumph Books, If These Walls Could Talk: St. Louis Cardinals: Stories from the St. Louis Cardinals Dugout, Locker Room, and Press Box is written by Fox Sports Midwest’s Stan McNeal with a foreword by broadcaster Dan McLaughin.

McNeal’s book takes a look at the 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011 seasons in that order with a fifth part taking a look at the Cardinals Legends. By being a sportswriter who covers the Cardinals, McNeal has access to the team that normal fans just don’t have. It’s one of the perks of being a baseball fan that gets to work in this great game every day. We get an insider’s account, McLaughlin argues in the foreward, of the St. Louis Cardinals team that we wouldn’t be able to get in the news media.

From Simon and Schuster, Molina: The Story of the Father Who Raised an Unlikely Baseball Dynasty is penned by former Cardinals assistant hitting coach Bengie Molina with Joan Ryan. Molina’s memoir is that about a father and his three sons who would grow up to be catchers across Major League Baseball. A poor Puerto Rican factory worker, Benjamin Molina Santana had a passion for the game of baseball and he made sure to share that passion with his children. Though he has passed away, how many fathers are able to say that three children combined for six World Series rings? The Molina brothers only have one set of rivals in baseball when it comes to their accomplishments: Vince DiMaggio, Joe DiMaggio and Dom DiMaggio.

This story is a sports classic. One can put it up there with Field of Dreams and Friday Night Lights when it comes to stories about fathers and sons. It’s about success and setbacks, their love for each other and the game of baseball. Bengie Molina is the older brother of Yadier Molina and Jose Molina.

Molina will be having a Q&A and signing on Monday, June 1 at the St. Louis Country Library. On Wednesday, June 3, Molina will be signing at Left Bank Books.

Published by Nebraska Press, In Pursuit of Pennants: Baseball Operations from Deadball to Moneyball is written by Mark L. Armour and Daniel R. Levitt. This is a different kind of book. The authors examined and analyzed a number of championship teams from the last century of baseball with a focus on the decision-making that went into just how these teams were put together. It should come as no surprise that the Cardinals are a big focus–heck, the cover is from the 2013 National League Championship Series trophy presentation.

Areas examined include scouting, integration, instruction, expansion, free agency, and how the management was structured. Armour and Levitt show us how the teams didn’t just rely on the players in the field but also on the team in the front office. It’s a must-own for those baseball fans interested in how the front office works.