Titles by Rob Rains

<div>Written by veteran sportswriter and Cardinals insider Rob Rains, <em>Taking Flight</em> answers two basic questions – what makes the Cardinals different from other organizations, and why are they so successful?  Perhaps the most important man in the history of the organization was George Kissell. Among the future managers who came under Kissell’s tutelage were Sparky Anderson, Joe Torre, Tony La Russa and the Cardinals’ current manager, Mike Matheny. Kissell’s imprint is still everywhere on the Cardinals’ organization, nearly five years after his death. So too is the work of longtime coach and catching instructor Dave Ricketts, the man who first trained Matheny and later, Yadier Molina. It is the men such as Kissell and Ricketts, who worked for years without fame or notoriety, who helped mold the Cardinals into the franchise it is today. </div>

<P style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt" class=MsoNormal>Every fan old enough to punch out the space next to his name on the All-Star ballot can tell you that Albert Pujols is a one in a generation hitter and the only player in baseball history to hit .300, hit 30 or more home runs and drive in 100 or more runs in his first eight seasons in the majors. <I>Albert Pujols: Simply the Best </I>offers a compelling portrait of this superstar's life and prolific career.

The complete story of the Cardinals’ unexpected run to the 2011 World Series title is captured in this action-packed commemorative volume. Profiles of the team’s stars, complete recaps of every postseason game, and stunning photography make this book a must-have keepsake for every St. Louis baseball fan.

Players and fans love him or hate him, so it's surprising that people know very little about St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa's life; this biography goes behind the scenes of one of the most iconic figures in baseball today to show the influences behind his intensity and uncompromising focus, why winning every game possible is important to him, and why he often puts the game ahead of his private and personal life. Including interviews with past and current players, managers, executives, and even La Russa himself and intensive research from newspapers, magazines, and other archive material, the book reconstructs La Russa's life from his days as a young boy growing up in Tampa, where he spoke Spanish before he learned English, to his standing as the third-winningest manager in baseball history.

Former MLB umpire Dave Phillips was at the center of some of baseball's most unforgettable moments—Comiskey's infamous Disco Demolition Night, Gaylord Perry's spitball ejection, Albert Belle's confiscated corked bat and George Brett's pine tar bat debacle—and he shares with baseball fans the untold stories behind those incidents and many others, giving baseball fans a complete perspective on the life of an umpire.