Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} One Last Strike by One Last Strike. One Last Strike by legendary Tony La Russa is a thrilling sports comeback story. La Russa, the winner of four Manager of the Year awards—who led his teams to six Pennant wins and three crowns—chronicles one of the most exciting end-of-season runs in baseball history, revealing with fascinating behind-the-scenes details how, under his expert management, the St. Louis Cardinals emerged victorious in the despite countless injuries, mishaps, and roadblocks along the way. Talking candidly about the remarkable season—and his All-Star players like and —the recently retired La Russa celebrates his fifty years in baseball, his team’s amazing recovery from 10 ½ games back, and one final, unforgettable championship in a book that no true baseball fan will want to miss. From the Back Cover: The team that refused to give up their manager in his final season A comeback that changed baseball. After thirty-three seasons managing in , Tony La Russa thought he had seen it all—that is, until the 2011 Cardinals. Down ten and a half games with little more than a month to play, the Cardinals had long been ruled out as serious postseason contenders. Yet in the face of those steep odds, this team mounted one of the most dramatic and impressive comebacks in baseball history, making the playoffs on the night of the final game of the season and going on to win the World Series despite being down to their last strike—twice. Now La Russa gives the inside story behind this astonishing comeback and his remarkable career, explaining how a team with so much against it was able to succeed on baseball's biggest stage. Opening up about the devastating injuries, the bullpen struggles, the crucial games, and the players who made it all possible, he reveals how the team's character shaped its accomplishments, demonstrating how this group came together in good times and in bad to become that rarest of things: a team that actually enjoyed it when the odds were against them. But this story is much more than that of a single season. As La Russa, the third-winningest manager in baseball history, explains, their season was the culmination of a lifetime spent studying the game. Laying bare his often scrutinized and frequently misunderstood approach to managing, he explains his counterintuitive belief in process over result, present moments over statistics, and team unity over individual talent. Along the way he shares the stories from throughout his career that shaped his outlook—from his first days managing the to his championship years with the Oakland A's, to his triumphant tenure as St. Louis's longest-serving manager. Setting the record straight on his famously intense style, he explores the vital yet overlooked role that his personal relationships with his players have contributed to his victories, ultimately showing how, in a sport often governed by cold, hard numbers, the secret to his success has been surprisingly human. Speaking candidly about his decision to retire, La Russa discusses the changes that he'd observed both in the game and in himself that told him, despite his success, it was time to hang up his spikes. The end result is a passionate, insightful, and remarkable look at our national pastime that takes you behind the scenes of the comeback that no one thought possible and inside the mind of one of the game's greatest managers. 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Fans in Minnesota witnessed a total disaster Monday night as the White Sox took home a 16-4 win. Things got so bad that Willians Astudillo had to come in and pitch. At one point he threw a total meatball to Yermin Mercedes just to get a strike. Naturally, Mercedes sent the pitch to the moon for an easy home . For some reason this enraged those raving about "unwritten" rules. Tony La Russa seems to be in that camp as he made it clear Mercedes would be punished. Tony La Russa was 'upset' that Yermin Mercedes a on a 3-0 count last night in a blowout win. "He made a mistake. There will be a consequence he has to endure here within our family." — Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) May 18, 2021. Tony La Russa punishing Yermin Mercedes is an absolute joke. Talk about a great way to alienate yourself from a clubhouse of players. La Russa is mad at Mercedes for doing his job? The Twins are a team the last time we checked and the White Sox batters are not supposed to take it easy on them. La Russa even saying anything negative proves he remains a problem. That whole mindset of not playing hard the entire game needs to go away. He should be rewarding Mercedes for continuing to play hard at a time when the game is already over. Also, hitting a home run is much different than stealing a base when up 10 runs. La Russa is trying to be a tough guy, but it appears Mercedes is still in the lineup Tuesday. Also should be noted Mercedes is in the lineup tonight. https://t.co/8MPGGhMXLh — Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) May 18, 2021. The Twins are an absolute mess and that is not anyone in Chicago's problem. Mercedes is also a player who worked hard to land this role with the White Sox. Asking him to slow down and let opposing position players get easy strikes is such a backward way of thinking it hurts. What I’m Reading: “One Last Strike” by Tony La Russa with Rick Hummel. In “One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season,” Tony La Russa looks back at what he believed would be his final season as a major-league manager. The 2011 Cardinals team was, of course, a great team to write a book about, with strong personalities and an incredible story to tell. The book is at its best when it’s sharing stories about the players. La Russa’s obvious affection for role players like and provides a bright spot, and Raphael Furcal’s despondency following a key late-season was a detail I hadn’t heard before. It also was interesting to read about the discussions taking place between La Russa and his staff and as the trade deadline approached. La Russa doesn’t get into many specifics about the trade of Colby Rasmus to the Blue Jays, but he does discuss the question the team confronted as the trade deadline approached – if the Cardinals traded Rasmus for role players who could help them that season, did the team have enough talent to compete for a championship? Ultimately, La Russa and his staff believed that they did, and the rest was history. La Russa’s personality is evident throughout the book, so your mileage may vary. It’s his book, of course, so he addresses issues and controversies in his own way. If you feel that La Russa was condescending during his postgame press conferences, this book won’t change your mind. At times, he’s a bit curmudgeonly and defensive. He says that fatigue of dealing with the media was a major part of his decision to retire. He takes a brief segue to rehash his longstanding dispute with Ozzie Smith, going out of the way to point out that Ozzie’s final season became a farewell tour after he announced his retirement, while La Russa kept his retirement a secret to keep it from becoming a distraction. He also defends himself from the common critique that he doesn’t particularly like using young players, and defends his relationship with Rasmus by pointing out that he asked the team’s veterans to take Rasmus under their wing. La Russa’s defense of his first DUI (much like his initial defense of the second) is particularly uninspiring, as he recounts that police officers had found him stopped at a red light, asleep. “Evidently, I’d had too much wine and failed the breath test.” Evidently, indeed. With the recent news of another DUI, La Russa’s careful framing to avoid responsibility is grating. As a manager, he obviously looks at the game with a unique perspective, plotting out potential moves well in advance, and he brings that thought process to recounting the 2011 season. At times, it brings a unique dynamic to his descriptions of the games. At other times, such as when recounting David Freese’s World Series Game 6 home run, it comes off as dry and uninspired. In all, “One Last Strike” is worth reading for fans of the 2011 Cardinals, especially as La Russa prepares to return to the dugout as the new manager of the White Sox. The La Russa era in St. Louis was a period of great success, and the tone he set continues to have an impact on the team’s approach to the game and its perception within the league. Unfortunately, in writing this book La Russa often feels a bit too guarded. He is perfectly content to discuss managerial strategy, but everything else remains close to the vest. For some, that will be enough. For most readers, however, I would recommend “3 Nights in August” by Buzz Bissinger first. Some of my favorite stories from the book: La Russa recounts an interleague game against Detroit that the Cardinals lost 10-1. Afterwards, La Russa lit into his team about its effort and locked the doors to the room where the team’s spread was laid out, telling them that if they weren’t going to put in the effort, they wouldn’t get to eat. The next day, Eric Davis brought a paper bag to the clubhouse. When La Russa asked him about it, Davis told him it contained a sandwich. The veteran knew he wasn’t scheduled to play that day, but this time he was prepared in case his teammates played with the same effort. La Russa mentions an August 22 game against the Dodgers in which he came out to the mound in the ninth inning of a 1-0 game to pull from the game. After calling for Rhodes from the bullpen, he asked Carpenter to wait for Rhodes to arrive and take the ball so that La Russ and Carpenter could walk off the field together. Instead, Carpenter walked away, telling La Russa, “I’ll take the applause. You get the boos all to yourself.” Sure enough, the crowd booed La Russa, especially after the Dodgers scored two runs to win the game. After hit his ninth-inning home run against the Mets in the 2006 NLCS, he always objected when La Russa suggested he might take a day off in New York. No. No,” he would say. “Before or after New York. I like to hear them boo me.” Before the 2011 World Series, the Rangers wanted to change the Cardinals’ workout time at the Ballpark in Arlington. When Major League Baseball called to tell La Russa, he objected, explaining that the Cardinals had moved up their flight to appear at their scheduled workout time. “Tell them no way,” La Russa said. “And tell Nolan Ryan that I’m not Robin Ventura either.” Enjoy this story? Enter your email below to get new posts sent directly to your inbox or follow Remember Your Redbirds on ! One Last Strike (Enhanced Edition) Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio. Here is a link to download the audio instead. : Volume Number. : Volume Number. One Last Strike (Enhanced Edition) Spend $49 on print products and get FREE shipping at HC.com. E-book Enhanced Edition (2012) [9780062231895] E-book Enhanced Edition (2012) [9780062231901] One Last Strike by legendary baseball manager Tony La Russa is a thrilling sports comeback story. La Russa, the winner of four Manager of the Year awards—who led his teams to six Pennant wins and three World Series crowns—chronicles one of the most exciting end-of-season runs in baseball history, revealing with fascinating behind-the-scenes details how, under his expert management, the St. Louis Cardinals emerged victorious in the 2011 World Series despite countless injuries, mishaps, and roadblocks along the way. Talking candidly about the remarkable season—and his All-Star players like Albert Pujols and David Freese—the recently retired La Russa celebrates his fifty years in baseball, his team’s amazing recovery from 10 ½ games back, and one final, unforgettable championship in a book that no true baseball fan will want to miss. Book Review: One Last Strike by Tony La Russa. Many reports, stories, and books have been written about the 2011 St. Louis Cardinals’ magical run to their franchise’s 11th World Series title. Even looking back now, I find it hard to believe how that club got through everything that it did. In the face of unbelievable adversity, this team continued to outdo themselves on their way to making baseball history. Trailblazing that path was legendary manager Tony La Russa. Renowned for being one of the most intense and cerebral managers in the modern era, La Russa made an unbelievably high amount of crucial decisions that helped the Cardinals make that thrilling ride. One Last Strike chronicles the time period from the disappointing end of the Cardinals’ 2010 season, all the way through the 2011 World Series celebration parade. La Russa goes in-depth on all of the important games and decisions during that ride, and it really gives the reader important insights as to how La Russa thought and managed his team. Personalization and Relationships. In everything that the Cardinals coaching staff did, they tried to do it by personalization. They focused in on each and every player’s individual needs. His stories on personalization spanned from how they helped certain players buy into the “Cardinal Way” during to how they assisted each player in dealing with the death of Darryl Kile in 2002. Furthermore, towards the end of the book, he takes a shot at defining his own legacy. He defines his legacy in two ways: 1. How we competed, 2. Developing close relationships along the way. He is very proud of the fact that he developed and maintained relationships with almost every coach and player that ever worked for him. Decision-making. La Russa went into great detail in describing the situations and scenarios before, during, and after games where he and his staff had to make important decisions. He also talked about the scrutiny that managers face in the media and the public eye when it comes to their decisions. He said that baseball pundits and fans are bolder with their criticisms because they think baseball is easier to define what is going on as opposed to other popular team sports. He has a great quote here when he states, “As a decision maker, I always viewed questioning as an opportunity to explain what my process was.” La Russa’s in-depth descriptions of his decision-making was incredibly interesting to read. Overcoming Adversity. The 2011 Cardinals’ plight is well chronicled at this point. Pretty much all of their important players, including La Russa and pitching coach , spent time away from the ballclub due to injuries, sickness, or family concerns. The book discusses how this team came together to overcome all of the injuries and erased a 10.5 game deficit in a little over one month. Amongst other things, La Russa discusses the importance of the “win this series” and the “happy flight” themes that defined this club down the stretch. “Our side. Their side. Keep score.” With overcoming adversity, there is an important need to maintain focus and keep things as simple as possible. LaRussa said that the modern game has so many distractions with contracts, agents, the media, etc. He and his staff did all that they could to keep the players focused on the task at hand and the only scenario that they needed to be worried about: Our side. Their side. Keep score. Favorite Chapter: 22 – You Had to See It for Yourself. This chapter describes every unbelievable facet to what many believe is one of if not the single greatest World Series game ever: Game 6. Many people, including Cardinals fans, default to the dramatics that David Freese provided in the 9th and 11th innings, but they forget about everything that led to that point. From Berkman’s early blast to ’s seemingly meaningless solo homerun in the 8th, La Russa delves into every tantalizing moment that led to Freese’s and Berkman’s clutch, late/extra-inning performances. Favorite Quote: “The Miracle on Ice was an inspirational victory, but it wasn’t for the gold medal.” People will be talking about Game 6 forever, but what if the Rangers came back to win Game 7? That would have surely tainted the Cardinals’ Game 6 performance because they would not have sealed the deal. La Russa was keenly aware of that, and he made a point to deliver that message to the players before Game 7. He did not want the club to be “hung over” from the previous night’s game. He used the “Miracle on Ice” example because many people forget that when the USA team beat the Soviets in that game that it was only the semi-final. After winning that game, if they had dropped the gold medal game to Finland, it would have made “the miracle” less miraculous, overall. Luckily for La Russa and , the team put Game 6 in their rearview and played their way to an improbable World Series title. Who Should Read This Book. Yes, this book has a great deal to do with baseball and the strategy therein, but it will become a bestseller because it spans several genres. One Last Strike will be palatable to those that are fans of leadership, management, decision-making, strategy, motivation, organization, and teambuilding literature. If your interests fall into any of those categories, go buy this book right now. All bias aside, this is one of the greatest books that I have ever read. Of all of the categories that I listed above, I happen to have interest in all of those genres. Very few times have I been unable to put a book down, and this one was the perfect mixture of storytelling and analysis. For Cardinals fans, tthere is no better book that can help you relive the amazing 2011 season than One Last Strike. For baseball fans in general, take this opportunity to rummage through the mind of one of the greatest baseball thinkers and managers of all time.