Rains - Intentional walk: an inside look at the faith that drives the St. Louis Cardinals

PRAISE FOR INTENTIONAL WALK

Most times, all fans get to see of the teams they root for is what happens on the field. But IntentionalWalk goes behind the scenes and gives an intimate look on how members of the Cardinals organization deal with the ups and downs of everyday life. In my time with the Cardinals, Ive seen numerous examples of guys leaning on their faith. I hope this book will give fans a little bit of insight into how these guys relate to each other and to God.

John Mozeliak, general manager of
the St. Louis Cardinals

Baseball players are typically defined by what they do on the mound, in the field, or at the plate. However, this doesnt always accurately define who these men really are. IntentionalWalk does a wonderful job of painting a picture of members of the Cardinals organization and what they want to define them. As fans enjoy this book, I hope they take notice of the priority these men place on their relationship with Jesus Christ.

Andy Benes, fourteen-year Major
League Baseball pitcher and former
St. Louis Cardinal

Rob Rains captures the joy of being a follower of Christ in a fantastic way as he chronicles the faith of over a dozen Cardinals in IntentionalWalk. Each person featured has a unique story to tell of his relationship with Jesus and how he lives out his walk with Him on and off the field.

Writing this book was a labor of love for Rob. His desire to share the stories of this group of men is an encouragement not only to St. Louis Cardinal fans but to everyone who enjoys reading about Gods amazing power to change lives in profound ways.

Vince Nauss, president of Baseball
Chapel

Discipline, humility, good coaching, support during the tough times, faith... These arent just the building blocks for assembling championship baseball teams; they are the cornerstones for constructing a meaningful life.

Both goals start with a faith in God, as author Rob Rains demonstrates in IntentionalWalk, an honest, perhaps controversial look at one of the driving forces behind the 2012 St. Louis Cardinals effort to capture a second consecutive World Series championship. In a high-pressure sport where the best fail seven of ten times at the plate, IntentionalWalk demonstrates how faith in God and His teachings provided the sort of balance and peace in the Cardinals lives that allowed them to perform at their bestwin or lose. The personal, heartfelt stories Rains shares in IntentionalWalk are a lesson for all of us, no matter our profession.

Curtis Eichelberger, author of Men
of Sunday: How Faith Guides the
Players, Coaches & Wives of the NFL

INTENTIONAL WALK

2013 Rob Rains

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Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-0-8499-6458-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012955284

Printed in the United States of America

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CONTENTS

On the morning of March 5, 2012, the white Chevrolet Suburban pulled into the reserved spot in the parking lot at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Florida, shortly after 4:00 a.m.

Mike Matheny had not really planned to get to the ballpark that early, but when he had awoken an hour earlier, he knew it would be futile to try to go back to sleep.

Mathenys excitement was genuine. Even though he had already spent a couple of weeks as the Cardinals new manager, in charge of the daily workouts at the teams spring training complex, this day was different. There was a game to playagainst the Miami Marlinsand even though the result of the teams first exhibition game of the spring would be basically meaningless for almost everybody involved, Matheny knew it would be a day he would never forget.

Ever since getting the phone call from general manager John Mozeliak in November 2011, while he was in a barrio in the Dominican Republic, Matheny had thought about this day and had been preparing for it. Mozeliak had called to offer Matheny the job of managing the St. Louis Cardinals, succeeding future Hall of Famer Tony La Russa. It was an offer Matheny quickly accepted.

The offer was not without riskthe Cardinals were the defending world champions, and Mozeliak knew he was taking a chance giving the job to a man who, at forty-one, not only would become the youngest manager in the major leagues, but had never coached or managed a single day at any level above Little League. What mattered more to Mozeliak, and to the teams primary owner and chairman, Bill DeWitt, however, was the character of the man they were hiring. Those intangible skills, both believed, far outweighed the lack of managerial experience. In Matheny, both Mozeliak and DeWitt knew they were hiring a man of principle, a man born and trained to be a leader, a man of God who valued the importance of relationships.

This is not meant for everyone, Mozeliak said at the news conference announcing Mathenys appointment. For a lot of people, this might be a very difficult task to tackle. With any decision you make at this level, there are risks. And there are in this as well. But I do think he is very capable of succeeding in this role.

Added DeWitt, who first got to know Matheny as a player with the Cardinals, All great managers started somewhere. I think the lack of experience is there. Any time you do something new, its an unknown. What we were looking for are characteristics that would make a manager successful. And hes got those.

At the time Matheny was hired, nobody knew that his close friend, former teammate and three-time National League MVP Albert Pujols, would decide to sign with the Los Angeles Angels as a free agent. Nobody knew that the teams longtime pitching coach, Dave Duncan, would decide to leave the team to care for his wife as she battled brain cancer instead of standing beside the rookie manager in the teams dugout. As Matheny prepared for spring training, however, he made the decision not to dwell on who was not going to be in the Cardinals camp, but instead to concentrate on who