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Get Up, Baby!: My Seven Decades With the St. Louis Cardinals
An unforgettable look at a lifetime of Cardinals baseball packed with Mike Shannon's passion for the game
Mike Shannon's voice served as the soundtrack of St. Louis Cardinals baseball for 50 years. Millions of fans have enjoyed his observations, insight, and magical storytelling on radio broadcasts. Now, with the help of Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel, the St. Louis native and lifelong Cards fan takes fans behind the mic, into the clubhouse, and beyond as only he can.
Shannon weaves countless unforgettable tales, from childhood memories growing up in south St. Louis to champagne-soaked World Series celebrations as a player in 1964 and 1967, plus encounters with Cardinals legends ranging from Bob Gibson and Ozzie Smith, to Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina.
This unmissable autobiography gives fans a rare seat to over six decades of Cardinals history, hijinks, and lore.
Mike Shannon's voice served as the soundtrack of St. Louis Cardinals baseball for 50 years. Millions of fans have enjoyed his observations, insight, and magical storytelling on radio broadcasts. Now, with the help of Hall of Fame baseball writer Rick Hummel, the St. Louis native and lifelong Cards fan takes fans behind the mic, into the clubhouse, and beyond as only he can.
Shannon weaves countless unforgettable tales, from childhood memories growing up in south St. Louis to champagne-soaked World Series celebrations as a player in 1964 and 1967, plus encounters with Cardinals legends ranging from Bob Gibson and Ozzie Smith, to Albert Pujols and Yadier Molina.
This unmissable autobiography gives fans a rare seat to over six decades of Cardinals history, hijinks, and lore.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published July 19, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 5, 2022
In this enjoyable book, Mike Shannon shares stories about his life as an athlete and his 50 years in the St. Louis Cardinals’ broadcast booth. The book was written with Baseball Hall of Famer Rick Hummel, who has covered baseball for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for 50 years.
Many will not know Shannon was an incredible athlete. Although he went into professional baseball, he is the only athlete to have won the best high school basketball player and best football player awards in the state of Missouri in the same year.
Shannon was an outfielder when he got to the major leagues with the Cardinals in 1962, but much of his time ended up being spent at third base. He played in three World Series, and hit a home run in each series.
Shannon had to retire as a Cardinals player at age 31 due to a serious kidney ailment (nephritis). When Harry Caray left as one of the Cardinals’ broadcasters, Shannon was hired by KMOX radio. He would remain in that position for 50 years, retiring after the 2021 season, at 82 years of age.
Shannon is known for his many “Shannonisms” He acknowledges that he’s had some “head-scratching lines” over the years, but writes that there was always a method behind his madness. The title of the book is from his call for home runs, specifically from his call on Mark McGwire’s 70th on the final day of the 1998 season. It was a line drive that barely cleared the left-field wall.
In addition to being a player and a broadcaster, Shannon has also owned a number of restaurants, including one nearby Busch Stadium II in downtown St. Louis. That was where his popular Live from Shannon’s show would be broadcast from on Friday and Saturday nights after Cardinal home games. I enjoyed listening to that show many times on the long ride home on I-55 late at night after attending a game. Shannon writes that it was those shows, along with conversations he had with people during rain delays, that are the things he most enjoyed about his 50 years in broadcasting.
Shannon is outspoken in his opinions, about major league baseball, indicating that baseball doesn’t need all the changes that are being made, and the high cost for a family to come to a game. He writes “I just tell the truth. I’ve always been me. Period. Take it or leave it. You get what you get with me. I don’t sugarcoat anything.”
I enjoyed reading about Shannon’s picks for baseball’s all-time team, as well as his all-time Cardinals team. I also enjoyed the thoughts about Shannon from others (Tony LaRussa, Tim McCarver, Joe Buck, Bob Uecker, Vin Scully and many more), that are included at the end of each chapter. Many share their desire that he be in the Baseball Hall of Fame as a broadcaster. He is a member of the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
Shannon writes about his six children, his first wife Judy, who died of brain cancer in 2007 after 48 years of marriage and his second wife Lori.
Shannon contracted COVID in October, 2020, and was in the hospital for 15 days. He writes that the virus has stripped him of much of his vibrancy, and he now walks with a cane.
This is a book that will be enjoyed by Cardinals fans who watched Shannon play and listened to him in the broadcast booth for 50 years.
Many will not know Shannon was an incredible athlete. Although he went into professional baseball, he is the only athlete to have won the best high school basketball player and best football player awards in the state of Missouri in the same year.
Shannon was an outfielder when he got to the major leagues with the Cardinals in 1962, but much of his time ended up being spent at third base. He played in three World Series, and hit a home run in each series.
Shannon had to retire as a Cardinals player at age 31 due to a serious kidney ailment (nephritis). When Harry Caray left as one of the Cardinals’ broadcasters, Shannon was hired by KMOX radio. He would remain in that position for 50 years, retiring after the 2021 season, at 82 years of age.
Shannon is known for his many “Shannonisms” He acknowledges that he’s had some “head-scratching lines” over the years, but writes that there was always a method behind his madness. The title of the book is from his call for home runs, specifically from his call on Mark McGwire’s 70th on the final day of the 1998 season. It was a line drive that barely cleared the left-field wall.
In addition to being a player and a broadcaster, Shannon has also owned a number of restaurants, including one nearby Busch Stadium II in downtown St. Louis. That was where his popular Live from Shannon’s show would be broadcast from on Friday and Saturday nights after Cardinal home games. I enjoyed listening to that show many times on the long ride home on I-55 late at night after attending a game. Shannon writes that it was those shows, along with conversations he had with people during rain delays, that are the things he most enjoyed about his 50 years in broadcasting.
Shannon is outspoken in his opinions, about major league baseball, indicating that baseball doesn’t need all the changes that are being made, and the high cost for a family to come to a game. He writes “I just tell the truth. I’ve always been me. Period. Take it or leave it. You get what you get with me. I don’t sugarcoat anything.”
I enjoyed reading about Shannon’s picks for baseball’s all-time team, as well as his all-time Cardinals team. I also enjoyed the thoughts about Shannon from others (Tony LaRussa, Tim McCarver, Joe Buck, Bob Uecker, Vin Scully and many more), that are included at the end of each chapter. Many share their desire that he be in the Baseball Hall of Fame as a broadcaster. He is a member of the Cardinals Hall of Fame.
Shannon writes about his six children, his first wife Judy, who died of brain cancer in 2007 after 48 years of marriage and his second wife Lori.
Shannon contracted COVID in October, 2020, and was in the hospital for 15 days. He writes that the virus has stripped him of much of his vibrancy, and he now walks with a cane.
This is a book that will be enjoyed by Cardinals fans who watched Shannon play and listened to him in the broadcast booth for 50 years.
March 15, 2023
Having lived in Arkansas for a while, I listened to Mike Shannon on the Cardinals' radio games and I really liked him. He knows his baseball and his raspy, folksy voice was addictive when listening to the games. And I've heard the "Get up, baby" on home run calls a lot, especially during Mark McGwire's era.
And, with Shannon you never knew what you were going to get. See story below after the review.
The book does convey some of that Shannon charm, but it fell short, I thought of being a really good read. Instead of a memoir, it was more of a rambling, disjointed look at things. He'd be talking about his years playing with the Cardinals and how it ended when he developed a kidney disease. Then, he suddenly vaulted off about Covid. Look, a shiny object! It did tend to run around a lot. And, as others here have reviewed, if you didn't know Shannon and his history, it may have been a bit more difficult to follow his stories. You had to know the other characters from your own experiences rather than learn who they were with this book.
And, it tends to drift around and repeat itself. How many times did he need to say Covid not only affected him, but messed with baseball? It seemed as if full paragraphs were repeated later in the book. That's where decent editing is needed.
His take on the changes in baseball is worth the read. And he, like I, blames Tony LaRussa for pitch counts, changing pitchers constantly and making games longer because of all that. He also puts the time of games on umpires who have shrunk the strike zone quite a bit.
I'd rather have read more about his broadcasting experiences and how he got the job, more on the people he worked with and more anecdotes that seemed coherent with the story he was telling at the time.
Still, this will be a fun read for longtime Cardinal fans.
The story now: In 1987, the year the Cardinals went to the World Series and lost to my Minnesota Twins, I worked at a local cable station putting Cardinal games on air. I'd flash up a bumper saying "Stay tune for Cardinal baseball" on the station maybe 15 minutes before air time to let viewers know. I'd set the studio monitor on so I could check audio levels. Unfortunately, when I first did it, I didn't know the difference between studio and air monitors and played live audio over the bumper feed on air. Shannon was doing microphone checks in a game in Montreal by telling the camera operators to zoom in on particularly well endowed women. "Look at the rack on that Canuck," he'd say. "She put the can cans in Canada.." Stuff like that. It sounded like he was already 3 or 4 Buds into the day. Needless to say, I discovered the difference between studio and air monitors.
And, with Shannon you never knew what you were going to get. See story below after the review.
The book does convey some of that Shannon charm, but it fell short, I thought of being a really good read. Instead of a memoir, it was more of a rambling, disjointed look at things. He'd be talking about his years playing with the Cardinals and how it ended when he developed a kidney disease. Then, he suddenly vaulted off about Covid. Look, a shiny object! It did tend to run around a lot. And, as others here have reviewed, if you didn't know Shannon and his history, it may have been a bit more difficult to follow his stories. You had to know the other characters from your own experiences rather than learn who they were with this book.
And, it tends to drift around and repeat itself. How many times did he need to say Covid not only affected him, but messed with baseball? It seemed as if full paragraphs were repeated later in the book. That's where decent editing is needed.
His take on the changes in baseball is worth the read. And he, like I, blames Tony LaRussa for pitch counts, changing pitchers constantly and making games longer because of all that. He also puts the time of games on umpires who have shrunk the strike zone quite a bit.
I'd rather have read more about his broadcasting experiences and how he got the job, more on the people he worked with and more anecdotes that seemed coherent with the story he was telling at the time.
Still, this will be a fun read for longtime Cardinal fans.
The story now: In 1987, the year the Cardinals went to the World Series and lost to my Minnesota Twins, I worked at a local cable station putting Cardinal games on air. I'd flash up a bumper saying "Stay tune for Cardinal baseball" on the station maybe 15 minutes before air time to let viewers know. I'd set the studio monitor on so I could check audio levels. Unfortunately, when I first did it, I didn't know the difference between studio and air monitors and played live audio over the bumper feed on air. Shannon was doing microphone checks in a game in Montreal by telling the camera operators to zoom in on particularly well endowed women. "Look at the rack on that Canuck," he'd say. "She put the can cans in Canada.." Stuff like that. It sounded like he was already 3 or 4 Buds into the day. Needless to say, I discovered the difference between studio and air monitors.
September 4, 2022
First, let me say that I like and highly respect Mike Shannon. The Cardinal radio broadcasts just don't have the same panache with him no longer in the booth.
THAT SAID, this book was a mistake as written and published. Keep in mind that I like Mike Shannon, but this book, especially the first half, come across is disconnected meanderings of an old, pickled brain with several sections repeated and often not connected to the chapter topic.
The man certainly knows baseball, and anyone who does ANYthing for fifty years with the same company had to be doing some things, many things correctly.
This book was just not one of them.
THAT SAID, this book was a mistake as written and published. Keep in mind that I like Mike Shannon, but this book, especially the first half, come across is disconnected meanderings of an old, pickled brain with several sections repeated and often not connected to the chapter topic.
The man certainly knows baseball, and anyone who does ANYthing for fifty years with the same company had to be doing some things, many things correctly.
This book was just not one of them.
September 19, 2022
This book is for any Cardinal or Mike Shannon fan for sure! It is filled with wonderful stories and background to the St. Louis Cardinals as well as Shannon’s life. Now, if you prefer organized books that flow, this might be an annoying read at times 🤣 Some parts of the book were so random it made no sense to me how they fit certain stories into certain places. However, I don’t regret reading it all and taking it all in! It’s just not very well written in terms of organization and order. It bounces back and forth a lot, but like I said, if you’re a STL Cardinal fan and/or Shannon fan, it’s definitely worth the read!
June 18, 2023
I bought this book last year and decided to read it after both Mike Shannon and Rick Hummel had unfortunately passed away this year. I grew up listening to Mike and Jack Buck on my little transistor radio in my bedroom in Davenport, Iowa. The book, like Mike, is a bit all over the place...despite I'm sure Rick Hummel trying to organize it. But that was Mike. I probably wouldn't recommend the book to a non-Cardinals fan, but it's definitely a good read if you are a Cards fan and particularly if you grew up listening to Mike and/or remember him playing. He clearly led a good life and made those around him enjoy life as well. RIP Mike and Rick...
May 15, 2024
I’m a slow reader but I somehow read it in one day at the beach. It reads like a Mike Shannon broadcast: rambling, a bit wacky, and utterly delightful. Jack Buck and Mike Shannon were the voices I grew up listening to every evening from April through October. Mike was very much the Moon Man and we loved him for it. The Commish was the perfect cowriter. He is in pantheon of great Post-Dispatch baseball writers with the legendary Broeg and the incomparable Gould. Shannon’s voice and Hummel’s writing filled summers for my entire life as a baseball fan. To have lost them both is inconceivable but I’m thankful to have this final treasure as a reminder of what they gave us.
September 24, 2022
If you’re a St. Louis Cardinal fan, Mike Shannon is a local legend. Hearing him call a Cards’ game has been a ritual of summer for 50 years. If you liked Mike on the radio, you’ll love this book. It’s just like his commentary—rambling, sometimes repetitive, but funny as heck & full of a deep knowledge of the game. I miss Mike on Cardinal Radio Network & while this could have probably done with a little more heavy -handed editing, it was a great dose of Shannon-isms!
December 10, 2022
As a lifelong baseball fan it was great to read a book about my all-time favorite player Mike Shannon. I am sure that I listen to him at least once on chemo works radio for everyone of his 50 years as a broadcaster. It was so much fun to listen to my favorite all-time baseball player on the radio for so many cardinal broadcast.
August 19, 2024
I'm a lifelong St Louis Cardinal fan who grew up listening to Jack Buck and Mike Shannon call the Cardinal games on the radio in the 1970's and 80's. I was expecting a tremendous read from this book which was co-authored by Hall of Fame writer Rick Hummel. It was OK but I was expecting it to be better.
January 6, 2023
I could hear Shannon’s voice as I read this book. As someone who grew up listening to Shannon, this book was a complement to all those night’s listening to Cardinals baseball. I miss Shannon. He was one of a kind.
April 24, 2025
If you have grown up with Mike Shannon as a soundtrack for your life, this book is for you.
If you consider yourself a Cardinals fan, this book is for you.
If you consider yourself a student of baseball, this book is for you.
But I might be biased.
If you consider yourself a Cardinals fan, this book is for you.
If you consider yourself a student of baseball, this book is for you.
But I might be biased.
December 14, 2022
I absolutely loved this book about the life and legacy of Mike Shannon!!!
April 2, 2024
Mike Shannon. Legend.
August 9, 2025
I grew up with baseball in the 60s.I enjoyed this book very much.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews