| Whitey's Boys is a 20th anniversary celebration of a remarkable team and a memorable season -- the 1982 world championship of the St. Louis Cardinals. More than just a collection of memories, however, it also tells the story of what has happened to those players since that magical summer, updating their fans on where they live, what they're doing, and what's happened to them in the intervening years. It seems hard to believe that it has been 20 years since the St. Louis Cardinals last celebrated a World Series championship, but that two-decade span has not diminished the love fans have for that special team and its players. In Whitey's Boys, a celebration of the 1982 world championship Cardinals, those fans are reunited with their heroes, bringing back vivid memories of the pennant race, the playoffs against the Atlanta Braves, and the World Series against the Milwaukee Brewers. The book does more than recount that splendid season, however; it brings fans up to date about what has happened to their heroes' lives during the past 20 years. Fans will be able to go inside the players' lives as they are today, away from the bright stadium lights and the roar of the crowd. All of their stories are included, as well as profiles of fan favorites such as Dave LaPoint, Bruce Sutter, Darrell Porter, Ken Oberkfell, George Hendrick, and the newest member of baseball's Hall of Fame, Ozzie Smith. Whitey's Boys explores the lives of those players who have remained in the game they love, those working in the minor leagues, and those who have moved on to a new phase in their lives -- and their difficult transitions to life after baseball. Other players featured in the book include Bob Forsch, David Green, Dane Iorg, Tito Landrum, Mike Ramsey, and Willie McGee. And the team's famous manager, Whitey Herzog, offers his own thoughts and opinions about his only world championship team and the individual players who made it great. Even though the 1982 championship was achieved in a single season, Whitey's Boys is actually a story about more than one year. In fact, 1982 marked the beginning of an era in St. Louis baseball that had its own name, "Whiteyball," and that featured two more pennants and near-World Series triumphs in 1985 and 1987. Many of these players were also part of those successful teams, and they talk about what it meant to them to experience that level of success in St. Louis, the best baseball town in America. Winning a world championship is always a special moment, and recalling that team, that era, and those players through Whitey's Boys will bring many happy moments to Cardinals fans everywhere. |
