Author Howard Megdal peels away the layers surrounding the long-standing mystique of the St. Louis Cardinals system of player development in his new book, “The Cardinals Way.” Detailing the history of the storied franchise that has garnered 11 World Series Championships, Megdal connects the dots from over a century of innovation that started with the legendary Branch Rickey and continues today under the watchful eyes of general manager John Mozeliak and owner Bill DeWitt Jr.
Baseball franchises have been historically resistant to changing the status quo; however, the St. Louis Cardinals, beginning with Rickey pioneering the concept of the farm system, were able to fast track their players on a pipeline to the major leagues armed with a blueprint for success. The residue of Rickey’s design was passed down through the teachings of George Kissell, who spent almost 70 years with the franchise as a player and coach. As much as Rickey set the standard, it was Kissell’s lessons which are expertly illustrated by the author, that created the glue that held constant the missions of the franchise to develop their players with the habits that were later dubbed, “The Cardinals Way.”
As the Cardinals emerged into the 21st century, Megdal demonstrates how St. Louis continued to be trendsetters through the advanced statistical methods employed by Sig Mejdal and Jeff Luhnow. Their methods of analysis led the Cardinals to have tremendous success in the Major League draft, as they sent more homegrown players to the big leagues than any other franchise in a seven-year period of Mejdal’s employment.
The Cardinals remain perennial contenders due to their seemingly endless supply of talent from their minor league system. With DeWitt Jr. serving as one of the last living links to Mr. Rickey, and Mozeliak embracing the modern-era application of analytics to on-field performance, “The Cardinals Way,” has evolved into the 21st as a blueprint that other franchises have tried hard to study, but can’t come close to duplicating
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| The Cardinals Way / Thomas Dunne Books |
Baseball franchises have been historically resistant to changing the status quo; however, the St. Louis Cardinals, beginning with Rickey pioneering the concept of the farm system, were able to fast track their players on a pipeline to the major leagues armed with a blueprint for success. The residue of Rickey’s design was passed down through the teachings of George Kissell, who spent almost 70 years with the franchise as a player and coach. As much as Rickey set the standard, it was Kissell’s lessons which are expertly illustrated by the author, that created the glue that held constant the missions of the franchise to develop their players with the habits that were later dubbed, “The Cardinals Way.”
As the Cardinals emerged into the 21st century, Megdal demonstrates how St. Louis continued to be trendsetters through the advanced statistical methods employed by Sig Mejdal and Jeff Luhnow. Their methods of analysis led the Cardinals to have tremendous success in the Major League draft, as they sent more homegrown players to the big leagues than any other franchise in a seven-year period of Mejdal’s employment.
The Cardinals remain perennial contenders due to their seemingly endless supply of talent from their minor league system. With DeWitt Jr. serving as one of the last living links to Mr. Rickey, and Mozeliak embracing the modern-era application of analytics to on-field performance, “The Cardinals Way,” has evolved into the 21st as a blueprint that other franchises have tried hard to study, but can’t come close to duplicating