The Cardinals Way: How One Team Embraced Tradition and Moneyball at the Same Time

by Howard Megdal

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.

Genres: Baseball, Sports, Nonfiction, Business

304 pages, Hardcover

First published February 23, 2016

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book much more than I did, as I'm a die-hard Cardinals fan and was very invested in the team by blogging about them from 2011 through 2015. (Even edited a couple of post-season publications by the Cardinals blogger group.) While there were good insights here and there, my goodness -- this needed an editor to help focus it and keep it on track sticking to the main points. Page after page after page of insights from a scout than included every "um" and "uh" he uttered does not interesting reading make. The same could be said for some of the sections on the prospects. Enlightening tidbits in it here and there, especially about George Kissell's impact, but that was about it.

[Bradley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am fairly OCD and cannot put a book down in the middle no matter how unenjoyable it is. I did so today. I am a huge Cardinals and baseball history fan and this read like the scribbled, rambling and incoherent notes of a bunch of interviews that really don't tie in to an overall theme other than "here are some innocuous details about some of the people running the Cardinals."

Example: (An interview with a scout): "I'd spend the whole summer in San Diego one summer. I went and saved up money working all year, surfing, going to school, da da da da. And we went out and spent the whole summer out there in San Diego one summer." Sounds painful right?

This book was abyssmal.

[Don Gorman · Rating 1 out of 5]

(1 1/2). Even for a die hard baseball nut this book is awfully dry. Yes, there is some interesting information in here about the changes in projecting future successful MLB players, and there are some interesting vignettes on players, scouts and execs as well, but there are so many statistics being quoted it is numbing. Too many bit players to follow and too much information on them as well. The idea for this book looked good to someone, but it is for inside zealots only.

[Simon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a huge Cardinals fan, but this book could have used an editor and some polishing.

[Robert · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting but very poorly written and edited. It's filled with lengthy quotes from players, coaches, execcs, etc. that are rambling and incoherent with no apparent purpose for being in the text. And much of the author's own text is sub-par.

[Phil Hardin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book does not exactly make the running of the Cardinal organization look all that great. The fact that the Cardinals have missed the playoffs three years running gives further proof.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

In some eyes this could be considered the sequel to Michael Lewis book Moneyball. Moneyball is referenced several times in this book. The only difference is that no major trade secrets are revealed in the Cardinals ways of developing players, coaches, and an organization as a whole. So if you're looking for new ways to show off around the water cooler this probably won't help you very much.

If you're a fan of getting to know the key people behind the scenes in the front office from the owners all the way down to the scouts and computer analyst this is a book you will enjoy. It revolves entirely around baseball operations and player development. You learn the history of how the farm system and minor league teams actually originated. You will learn about George Kissell who was a major factor of teaching players the right way to play baseball for the majority of his life. You'll learn how Branch Rickey will always be connected to the Cardinals.

While the investigation behind the hacking incident involving Chris Correa is still pending, the author does touch on the subject. He also touches on the friction between past front office personnel. I believe Howard Megdal does a great job telling the stories of people as well as giving the facts and statistics. I didn't come away from this book thinking anyone was a villain or portrayed poorly.

As someone who was already familiar with prospects in the system and has followed the Cardinals draft throughout the years the book read a lot easier for me. For the more casual fan you might have to reread or stop to look up things in the notes or online to gain a better understanding. This book does not bombard you with statistics if that was a concern you might of had while reading Moneyball.

Overall I read the book in a week. If that doesn't give you enough indication that this book will grab your attention and take you for a baseball ride I don't know what will. The book isn't overly long (274 pages) if you're looking for a quick read before the start of the 2016 season.

[Zac Johnson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Damn, I wanted to love this book. I wanted to love it so much. It's just not great though.

Another review said that this book suffered from an editor not helping reign in the author's ideas, I will agree whole-heartedly. (I've got a first edition and there are typos and typesetting issues throughout (there's even at least one grammatical mistake). Also, somewhere towards to be back there are two commas in a row... come on, just generally shows a lack of respect and care toward the reader). I know my prose may not be error free, but I'm also not getting paid.

Megdal does a poor job laying out his central thesis early on - leaving the reader wondering what's he actually going to write about for the the next 200 pages. Additionally, each chapter rambles and meanders in a way that makes it difficult to follow. There's a ton of great information in this book and serious Cardinals fans will enjoy it (I admit I enjoyed it), but it could have been so much better.

Recommend only for the serious Cardinal fans and diligent readers.

[Chad · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been looking forward to this book since the author noted he was working on the book many months ago. It didn't disappoint.

I was very impressed with range of interviews both inside and outside the organization. After reading this book, it becomes clear how fortunate the Cards are to have Bill DeWitt as the owner who had the foresight to change things up when the going was good.

The other thing that struck me is how much the Cardinals have lost after the renaissance, starting with Luhnow and everyone he took to the Astros, Correa's idiotic decision to hack, etc.

[Norman Styers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any Cardinals fan will want to devour this book. Fans of other major league teams should read it just to see what they're missing out on. My only qualm is that the author, through extensive quotes, duplicates the actual speech patterns of the person he's interviewing, with all the interrupted sentences and sometimes not quite coherent statements. A little bit of this to convey a sense of who the person is works fine, but it goes on and on. Still, a very interesting and insightful look into the inner workings of a major league club.

[Doubledf99.99 · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fast paced story provides an inside snapshot of a team's draft process, the three person team that was assembled, scouting, coaching, and the organizational culture from the baseball field to the front office.
The only complaint I have is the book was to short, before you know it you finished reading it, wish it was a longer read.

[William · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes, I am a huge Cardinals fan. After stumbling across this book at the local library, I had to give it a try. Unfortunately, while OK, it did not meet my expectations.

The narrative is rambling throughout. The information disseminated is not cohesive. There is too much reliance on quoting others. At times, it is difficult to determine which voice is speaking.

I did appreciate gaining a better understanding of just how important George Kissell was to the team for nearly seventy years. It was also interesting to discover how John Mozeliak managed to remain with the club; surviving all of the changes and adapting to work with everyone.

I was hoping for additional details regarding how the past manager, Tony La Russa, and the current manager, Mike Matheny, felt about weighting traditional scouting and data analytics. As someone passionate about analytics, I was also wishing for more content here as well.

With better editing I believe this book could have been more enjoyable.

[Jim Gallen · Rating 4 out of 5]

“the Cardinals Way” is a 2016 reflection on the practices by which the St. Louis Cardinals have crafted a tradition of success surpassing that of most major league baseball teams. Author Howard Megdal summons the legends of Cardinals front office and player development lore, Branch Rickey, George Kissel and more modern practitioners, prominently general managers Walt Jockey and John Mozaliek and current managing owner, Bill Dewitt, Jr.

The text explores the Cardinals’ integration of statistical analysis with scouts’ judgements and the inside proponents of each approach.

I enjoyed this book for the relatively recent history of the Cardinals’ organization and reminders of the trades and signings that worked out well and not-so-well, although at times I felt overwhelmed by statistics. I recommend this to any Cardinals’ fan seeking insights into their historic success and who hopes the team finds the path back to “the Cardinals Way.”

[Kyle · Rating 4 out of 5]

At the time of reading this, the Cardinals are coming off their first losing season since 2007 and many place the blame squarely with the front office, notably John Mozeliak - President of Baseball Operations. So the author’s gushing praise of Mo, the DeWitts, and the overall Cardinals system is at time hard to stomach, but also a reminder of where things were a decade ago.

It was fun to walk through memory lane with the names of Cardinals prospects who later turned into big league stars. Was also reminded of Oscar Taveras, projected as the next Pujols who passed away in the 2014 offseason… where would he have fit into the plans in the years that followed? Interesting what-ifs.

While at times hard to piece together, the book was well researched and contains insights from many Cardinals greats so I’m moving this from 3 stars to 4 stars. Bring on baseball… #12in24!

[Andrew · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the first half of this book. Megdal provides great insight into the depths of who the Cardinals are. From Branch Rickey to George Kissell to Jeff Luhnow, the Cardinals are who they are because of such a rich history. I also found it incredibly interesting to see the evolution of the DeWitt family from the early 2000s to the present day. Once at the cutting edge of analytics and player development, the Cardinals are now fighting to keep their heads above water in 2025 even though front office leadership has remained relatively unchanged.

The second half of the book fell off for me. Megdal takes a deep dive into the draft process of 2014 and follows minor league players who ultimately never contributed in St. Louis. I think the book could have wrapped up when Luhnow takes the job in Houston.

[Tony · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book talked about various people and what they did but not who they were, what motivated them, and their personal arcs. It has little personality and is very academic. The book read more like a corporate history with discussion of personal resumes and tactics and did not fully explain how each of the modern Cardinals teams were built.

I learned more about the "cardinal" way in the book 1964 - which did a spectacular job of explaining how that great 1960's team came together. i was hoping to see a similar discussion around the 80's and 2000's team builds. Instead it focused more on Luhnow's resume (who cares that we worked at petstore.com) and less on his personal interactions with the deals that made the cards winners.

[Dane Nealson · Rating 3 out of 5]

A look at the front office in St. Louis largely since the mid-90s when Bill DeWitt, Jr. took over as owner, and the meshing of the ways of George Kissell (the old) and stats-driven analytics (the new). I gave it three stars. At times, the author gave paragraphs of unedited quotes that frankly gave me a headache, but the book definitely had its moments. The book was released just after the FBI investigation on Chris Correa hacking into Luhnow’s computers in Houston, so it glosses over that in the closing pages. Overall, an interesting look into the creation of the system that brought the Cardinals young players like Taveras, Wacha, Flaherty, Piscotty, and many others in the 2010s.

[Daniel Scottow · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m not inventing the wheel with this review, but this book could have been 100 pages less and would have benefited from having a consistent form.

You start out with history of the team and how the farm club became great, wonderful stuff. And the formation of the management team that drove that transformation. But you can’t have an 80 PAGE chapter in the middle that skips around every which way.

I love the Cardinals and the way the ball club develops great ball players, but this book is not the way to experience it. Just watch David Freese hit that Game 6 bomb and be happy with the best team in baseball. Go Cards!

[SBrucher · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a lifelong Cubs fan, I was curious to read a book about how the Cardinals are such a successful baseball franchise. As a baseball fan, I enjoyed reading this book. However, what I most enjoyed was pairing this story with that of “Astroball” and the evolution of Jeff Luhnow- especially now in light of the Astros cheating scandal. The biggest drawback to this book is the editing- there are spelling and grammatical errors throughout the book which detracts from it enjoyment - hence the 3 stars.

[Trae Mitten · Rating 2 out of 5]

A nice, technical review of how the Cardinals integrated analytics into their draft and player development process. However, this hardly encapsulates what the "Cardinal Way" truly is. Megan comes off more as a Jeff Luhnow bootlicker than someone who understands the Cardinals. He touches, tangentially, on what George Kissel means to the Cardinals development system, but ignore WHY the Kissel way has been perpetuated up to present day. Medal is way more focused on analytics than tradition, even demonizing Walt Jocketty as too "old fashioned" to remain with the team.

[Colin Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

A wanna-be Moneyball about a baseball team figuring out how to value analytics in player development. But unlike in Moneyball, the same thing was happening on every other team simultaneously and is not all that interesting. The writing and structure is trying so hard to be like Michael Lewis. If you’re a Cardinals fan there’s some interesting stuff here and there. If you’re not, there’s not. And the last 50% of the book is an endless and flat retelling of the 2014 draft with absolutely zero substance.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

For Cardinal Fans Only

As someone who grew up in the Midwest and watched the Cardinals at both the old and new Busch Stadiums, I thought this book would help explain the history of the Cardinals and their success. Sadly it does not. It is a rambling collection of interviews. I had to force myself to finish it. I have read many other books about baseball teams that were much better written. This was as bad as a self published fan book.

[Sean Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

A love story to St. Louis Cardinals fans, this book by Howard Megdal was a fun easy read for baseball fans who like to know about the inner workings of a baseball franchise. This story chronicles the evolution of the St. Louis Cardinals from a very traditionally managed franchise to one which heavily uses analytics to help make decisions with player selection. Megdal’s style is extremely readable, if a bit dense at times. Lots of names, lots of jumping around, so pay attention.

[Brodie Barrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book I've had on my list to get for a long time and I am glad I finally got around to reading it. It was cool to read this account of what the Cardinals have been able to build and how they were able to maintain their historical tradition while also buying in to the new age of baseball. It's interesting how some of the people involved went on to other organizations to see how they developed those ones as well.

[Adam Klusky · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a fan of how the Cardinals run their organization, but this book was so slow, I couldn't wait to finish just so I could go to a new book. There are so many better books on similar topics, I'd recommend Big Data Baseball as a more enjoyable read.

[Eric Eckhoff · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cool look at the inner workings of a basement team. Took me a long time to read. Chapters were incredibly long. Final chapter (100 pages) could have been its own book. Loved seeing the names and stories from my favorite team but book was a little disorganized overall.

[Eli Gray · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not one of the better Baseball books I've read. Drones on at times, and not much actual behind the scenes of what The Cardinals Way is, rather a constant refrain that there is one is the theme throughout the book

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of the book was the best part - the early history of the Cardinals, George Kissell and Branch Rickey, etc. The description of the scouting system and utilizing data analytics was thorough but sometimes became too full of jargon and was hard to read.

[Matthew Wright · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful book. Pointless rambling and disorganization for 274 straight pages. Terribly boring. I was forced to read it by my employer, otherwise I wouldn’t have.

[John Streit · Rating 3 out of 5]

A reminder of what used to be. Sadly, Mo and Dewitt have lost their way.