Whitey's Boys: A Celebration of the '82 Cards World Championship
The St. Louis Cardinals, winners of the 1982 World Series, hit just 67 homers during the regular season yet were one of the most exciting teams in baseball history. Fans still hear analysts discussing the importance of pitching and defense, but seldom does one experience either when watching major-league baseball. The Cards, playing on artificial turf in cavernous Busch Stadium, constructed a team of excellent fielders, steady pitchers, and productive line-drive hitters. Rains and Reid re-create the team's championship season through interviews with 17 team members, most of whom discuss how the Cards generated offensewithoutthe threat of the long ball. Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, first baseman Keith Hernandez, and center fielder Willie McGhee were the team's stars, but the catalyst was manager Whitey Herzog, who proved that his trinity of speed, defense, and pitching could win a championship. A lost era, perhaps, but fans will find themselves longing for the days when home runs were an exciting side dish, not the main course. Engaging oral history.Wes LukowskyCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved