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One More for the White Rat: The 1987 St. Louis Cardinals Chase the Pennant
Doug Feldmann chronicles the Cardinals’ 1987 season under manager Whitey Herzog in their pursuit of redemption—and the 1987 World Series championship—after a disastrous 1986 season.
- GenresBaseball
232 pages, Hardcover
Published April 1, 2025
About the author
Doug Feldmann
18 books7 followersDoug Feldmann is an American author of thirteen books, focusing mainly upon baseball history and the sport's sociological impact on urban and small-town America. His work has been recognized in multiple-time nominations for the Casey Award and the Seymour Medal from the Society for American Baseball Research. He is a professor in the College of Education at Northern Kentucky University and a former baseball scout for the Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, and San Diego Padres. He completed his Ph.D. in Curriculum Studies at Indiana University (1999), his master's degree in Secondary Education at Rockford University (1995), and his bachelor's degree in English and History at Northern Illinois University (1992), where he was an outfielder on the baseball team and a walk-on punter on the football team.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
April 6, 2025
The St. Louis Cardinals are one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball. They have won the World Series 11 times, second only to the New York Yankees. They have won the National League (NL) title a total of 19 times, third behind the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers and New York/San Francisco Giants. One of those years that they won the NL pennant but not the World Series was 1987 and their season that year is captured in this book by Doug Feldman.
Sometimes a book that describes one particular year or season for a sports team will not only discuss the team and its play on the field, but will also discuss political and social issues of that year. Sometimes that enhances the book’s theme, sometimes it will distract the reader from it. In the case of this book, it’s neither – Feldman very rarely mentions anything aside from baseball. If there is something aside from the Cardinals, their players or their opponents, it’s very brief. An example is the stock market crash of October 19 of that year. Feldman just wrote about it in one sentence, then went back to the main subject, that year’s World Series between the Cardinals and the Minnesota Twins.
Sticking with baseball information throughout the book was a good decision by Feldman as his writing about the Cardinals was excellent. A reader will learn about just about every player on that team. While it would be expected to have information on stars like Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee and John Tudor, it was also very good to read about younger players who were up and coming such as Danny Cox or veterans who were important to the team but didn’t get a lot of playing time such as Tom Lawless. Name just about any player on that Cardinals team and chances are a reader will find something about him.
Of course, given the nickname of the team’s manager, Whitey Herzog, is in the title of the book (“the White Rat”) there is plenty to learn about him as well. Herzog had the reputation of having the Cardinals play “small ball” and steal a lot of bases, after having previously been the manager of the Texas Rangers, California Angels, and Kansas City Royals. It was the latter team where he had his first taste of success, but Herzog’s story in the book really begins not when he started with the Cardinals, but when the lost to Herzog’s former team (Royals) in the 1985 World Series. This shows how focused the book is on the 1987 team as that is when the drive for their 1987 success started.
While overall the book is excellent and I enjoyed the whole story, I should add a disclaimer that as a Twins fan, my favorite chapter was about the 1987 World Series, where the Twins defeated the Cardinals 4 games to 3 – it was the first World Series in which the home team won every game.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a review copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
Sometimes a book that describes one particular year or season for a sports team will not only discuss the team and its play on the field, but will also discuss political and social issues of that year. Sometimes that enhances the book’s theme, sometimes it will distract the reader from it. In the case of this book, it’s neither – Feldman very rarely mentions anything aside from baseball. If there is something aside from the Cardinals, their players or their opponents, it’s very brief. An example is the stock market crash of October 19 of that year. Feldman just wrote about it in one sentence, then went back to the main subject, that year’s World Series between the Cardinals and the Minnesota Twins.
Sticking with baseball information throughout the book was a good decision by Feldman as his writing about the Cardinals was excellent. A reader will learn about just about every player on that team. While it would be expected to have information on stars like Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee and John Tudor, it was also very good to read about younger players who were up and coming such as Danny Cox or veterans who were important to the team but didn’t get a lot of playing time such as Tom Lawless. Name just about any player on that Cardinals team and chances are a reader will find something about him.
Of course, given the nickname of the team’s manager, Whitey Herzog, is in the title of the book (“the White Rat”) there is plenty to learn about him as well. Herzog had the reputation of having the Cardinals play “small ball” and steal a lot of bases, after having previously been the manager of the Texas Rangers, California Angels, and Kansas City Royals. It was the latter team where he had his first taste of success, but Herzog’s story in the book really begins not when he started with the Cardinals, but when the lost to Herzog’s former team (Royals) in the 1985 World Series. This shows how focused the book is on the 1987 team as that is when the drive for their 1987 success started.
While overall the book is excellent and I enjoyed the whole story, I should add a disclaimer that as a Twins fan, my favorite chapter was about the 1987 World Series, where the Twins defeated the Cardinals 4 games to 3 – it was the first World Series in which the home team won every game.
I wish to thank University of Nebraska Press for providing a review copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
September 5, 2025
In the 1980s, there didn’t seem to be one baseball team that was more successful than the others. Many different teams appeared in the playoffs and World Series, even the smaller-market teams. The St. Louis Cardinals, however, were a competitive team throughout the decade. Much of the credit for this must go to their legendary manager, Whitey Herzog, who was known by the nickname The White Rat.
One More for the White Rat chronicles the St. Louis Cardinals’ 1987 season. It wasn’t the last season Whitey would manage the Cardinals, but it was the last time they would appear in the postseason under his reign. He played a different kind of baseball, focusing more on the basics and getting runs through hits and stolen bases rather than splashy home runs.
Author Doug Feldmann appears to be a Cardinals fan. He’s written about a dozen books about baseball, most of them about the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1980s. I was moving into adulthood during this decade and can remember Whitey Herzog as a legendary manager, right up there with Tommy Lasorda and several others who seemed to be able to field competitive teams annually without breaking the bank on free agents.
With the 1987 season coming on the heels of the 1986 Mets World Series victory, there’s a lot about the Mets in One More for the White Rat. At the time, many people thought the Mets were going to be a dynasty. That didn’t quite happen. However, the author talks quite a bit about the Mets in the context of the Cardinals’ run for the pennant in 1987, and that made this Mets fan very happy. I especially enjoyed the charged moments between Herzog and Mets third baseman Howard Johnson, whom he repeatedly accused of corking his bat. Sorry, Whitey, HoJo was just that good.
To read my complete review please go to One More for the White Rat: The 1987 St. Louis Cardinals Chase the Pennant by Doug Feldmann – Exploring the 1987 St. Louis Cardinals’ Historic Season
One More for the White Rat chronicles the St. Louis Cardinals’ 1987 season. It wasn’t the last season Whitey would manage the Cardinals, but it was the last time they would appear in the postseason under his reign. He played a different kind of baseball, focusing more on the basics and getting runs through hits and stolen bases rather than splashy home runs.
Author Doug Feldmann appears to be a Cardinals fan. He’s written about a dozen books about baseball, most of them about the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1980s. I was moving into adulthood during this decade and can remember Whitey Herzog as a legendary manager, right up there with Tommy Lasorda and several others who seemed to be able to field competitive teams annually without breaking the bank on free agents.
With the 1987 season coming on the heels of the 1986 Mets World Series victory, there’s a lot about the Mets in One More for the White Rat. At the time, many people thought the Mets were going to be a dynasty. That didn’t quite happen. However, the author talks quite a bit about the Mets in the context of the Cardinals’ run for the pennant in 1987, and that made this Mets fan very happy. I especially enjoyed the charged moments between Herzog and Mets third baseman Howard Johnson, whom he repeatedly accused of corking his bat. Sorry, Whitey, HoJo was just that good.
To read my complete review please go to One More for the White Rat: The 1987 St. Louis Cardinals Chase the Pennant by Doug Feldmann – Exploring the 1987 St. Louis Cardinals’ Historic Season
December 7, 2024
You can also see this review, along with others I have written, at Mr. Book's Book Reviews.
Thank you, University Of Nebraska Press, for providing this book for review consideration in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Mr. Book just finished One More For The White Rat: The 1987 St. Louis Cardinals Chase The Pennant, by Doug Feldmann.
This book will be published on April 1, 2025.
This was a very good look at the 1987 Cardinals, who won their third National League pennant in six seasons before losing to the Twins in the World Series. The book thoroughly covered the 1987 Cardinals season, with all key moments and series, along with their race in the NL East against the Mets. The book then provided full coverage of the postseason—both their NLCS win against the Giants and World Series loss.
Where the book fell short was in backgrounds about players and didn’t have much on the rest of baseball, other than the Mets.
I give this book a B+. It is the eighth book that I have read by this author, with him getting 3 A’s, 2 B+’s and 3 B’s.
Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B+ equates to 4 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at Goodreads and Mr. Book’s Book Reviews
Mr. Book finished reading this on December 7, 2024.
Thank you, University Of Nebraska Press, for providing this book for review consideration in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
Mr. Book just finished One More For The White Rat: The 1987 St. Louis Cardinals Chase The Pennant, by Doug Feldmann.
This book will be published on April 1, 2025.
This was a very good look at the 1987 Cardinals, who won their third National League pennant in six seasons before losing to the Twins in the World Series. The book thoroughly covered the 1987 Cardinals season, with all key moments and series, along with their race in the NL East against the Mets. The book then provided full coverage of the postseason—both their NLCS win against the Giants and World Series loss.
Where the book fell short was in backgrounds about players and didn’t have much on the rest of baseball, other than the Mets.
I give this book a B+. It is the eighth book that I have read by this author, with him getting 3 A’s, 2 B+’s and 3 B’s.
Goodreads requires grades on a 1-5 star system. In my personal conversion system, a B+ equates to 4 stars. (A or A+: 5 stars, B+: 4 stars, B: 3 stars, C: 2 stars, D or F: 1 star).
This review has been posted at Goodreads and Mr. Book’s Book Reviews
Mr. Book finished reading this on December 7, 2024.
June 14, 2026
A fun quick book to read on the 1987 Cardinals, who were the NL champs during the first year I can really remember loving baseball for a whole season. The Cardinals had speedsters like Vince Coleman, Willie McGee and Ozzie Smith, as well as slugger Jack Clark and stellar hitters like Tommy Herr and Terry Pendelton and Tony Pena. Also had some good pitchers such as John Tudor, Joe Magrane, Bob Forcsh and Danny Cox coupled with good relievers like Todd Worrell and Ken Dayley. I wish this book was a little longer, maybe with interviews from a few more players but overall it was close to perfect for me. Well done and I look forward to reading more books by Feldmann.
June 2, 2025
Excellent narrative bout the 1987 St Louis Cardinals. As someone who wasn’t alive during this time, this book was a fun detailed look back at that season and gave me an appreciation for Whitey Ball. Victor Scott III would’ve fit right in on those 1980s Cardinals teams.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews