PART 5: Major League Baseball - St. Louis Cardinals in 2011
World Series win
Much has been written about the Cardinals’ victory in the World Series against the Texas Rangers. The best-of-seven-series was inarguably one of the best played in the history of baseball where new records were set.
The Cardinals like they did on previous occasions, came back from behind to win the World Series as well. They were down 3-2 in the Series when they bounced back to win Game 6 and the Game 7 to win the series by 4-3.
From David Freese who won the Most Valuable Player Award to Albert Pujols, every player had an invaluable contribution to make. No one seemed willing to remain behind in this race which aimed at bringing more acclaim and glory for the Cardinals.
After the St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series for the 11th time in their history, two significant developments took place. Within a week, the Cardinals manager Tony La Russa, much to the surprise and disappointment of the fans, announced
his retirement.
“I think this just feels like it’s time to end it,” Tony La Russa said when he came up with the surprise news of his retirement. “When I look in the mirror, I know I’d come back for the wrong reasons, and I didn’t want to do that.”
Tony La Russa has the distinction of winning three World Series during his managerial career. From Oakland Athletics in 1989 to the 2006 and 2011 championship of the St. Louis Cardinals, with his career regular season-record of 2,728-2,365, his achievements
are indeed too many to count.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” said pitcher Chris Carpenter, who himself played a key role in the victories of the Cardinals. “I think we all figured it was just going to be like, ‘Thataway guys. Great year. Way to battle!’ Instead, he dropped that on
us. I think everybody was caught off-guard.”
If that alone was not enough for the St. Louis Cardinals, one more surprising news was in the offing. Reports came that the free-agent slugger Albert Pujols too was leaving. He was reportedly in talks with several teams for the move, but it was hoped the
Cardinals would have the final bid in it.
That did not transpire. Instead what happened was that the player signed a mega-deal with the Los Angeles Angels of $254 million for ten years. After the departure of Tony La Russa, this was another big blow to the Cardinals. Nonetheless, the team had garnered
bigger glories to continue the journey.
In retrospect, the achievements and all subsequent developments for the St. Louis Cardinals this year would prove to be too much for the club to forget.
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