The Memoirs of Bing Devine: Stealing Lou Brock and Other Winning Moves by a Master GM

As a lifelong St Louis Cardinals fan, it was a pleasure reading Bing Devine's memoirs. I was immediately struck by how down to earth and geniunely nice this man is, and as I got deeper into the book, it's obvious from the comments made by such people as Mike Shannon, Bob Broeg, Marty Marion, and Lou Brock, among others; they all felt the same way. This is one of baseball's nicest guys, and the outstanding career success Mr Devine achieved could be attributed to not only the good work ethic he possessed, but his strong personal character as well. This is a man of great integrity, who dealt with life's challenges in an upfront manner, with complete honesty at all times. Of course, on top of the strong moral fiber this man possesses, he was a darned good General Manager, to boot. In addition to blocking trades that would've sent Stan Musial and Ken Boyer away from St Louis, he imported such talent as Curt Flood (his very first deal), Bill White, Julian Javier, and of course, Lou Brock. Not bad; not bad at all. As Tom Wheatley wrote himself, on my autographed copy of this book, "Bing proves that nice guys do finish first!" Based on his tremendous track record, I'd second that motion!

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK BY BING DEVINE FORMER GM OF THE BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL CARDINALS AND A FEW OTHER BASEBALL TEAMS. WE READ ABOUT HIS FAMOUS TRADE FOR LOU BROCK AND HIS FAMOUS TRADING OF STEVE CARLTON. BING HAS BEEN IN BASEBALL SINCE THE STONE AGE. HIS BOOK ALSO COVERS THE MANY YEARS AND PEOPLE WHO HAVE WORKED FOR AND UNDER BING. BING REFLECTS ON JOHNNY KEANE, AUGGIE BUSCH, MIKE SHANNON, LOU BROCK AND MANY MORE. CAN YOU BELIEVE HE WAS FIRED IN 1964 AND THE TEAM HE BUILT WON THE WORLD SERIES A FEW MONTHS AFTER. BING ALSO WENT TO THE METS, CARDS AGAIN, FOOTBALL CARDINALS AND A FEW OTHERS. HE CERTAINLY IS AN EXPERT AT JUDGING TALENT, HIRING MANAGERS AND NEGOTIATING CONTRACTS. I HAVE READ MANY BOOKS ABOUT BASEBALL AND THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THIS FOR ALL BASDEBALL FANS BUT MOSTLY FOR ST LOUIS FANS WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH THE TEAMS IN THE 1960'S AND 1970'S. A GREAT READ.

Bing Devine became the General Manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1958, and I fondly remember those Cardinals teams from the 1960's onward. We have heard about the Cardinals in books from Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Bob Gibson, Bob Broeg, and others. Missing has been the story of their marvelous General Manager, Bing Devine. Just as Bill Veeck will always be associated with Eddie Gaedel, Bing Devine will always be associated with the acquisition of Lou Brock from the Chicago Cubs in 1964 in exchange for pitcher Ernie Broglio. It was Devine that brought together the 1964 All-Star game starting infield of Boyer, Groat, Javier, and White. The latter three all acquired in trades by Devine. Devine provides us with his viewpoint of his mid-season firing in 1964 when his team then went on to win the National League pennant and the World Series against the Yankees. Manager Johnny Keane was to be fired at the end of the season, before the team fooled owner Gussie Busch and won it all. Devine also explains his tenious relationship with Branch Rickey who Mr. Busch had brought in as a "senior consultant." I knew that Mr. Busch was unhappy with GM Devine and manager Johnny Keane due to a problem with shortstop Dick Groat, but I never knew the reason for it. Groat was unhappy that Keane had taken away permission from Groat to use the hit-and-run play on his own. Busch got word there was a problem with Groat, but Devine, believing the problem had been solved, didn't tell Busch when Busch asked him if he had anything to tell him. Devine then went on to join the New York Mets for three years before being rehired again as GM of the Cardinals. Devine also explains his dislike of being ordered by Mr. Busch to trade pitchers Steve Carlton and Jerry Reuss against Devine's better judgment. Bing Devine does not bad mouth anybody in the book. He just gives his opinions regarding the trading of players, and his relationships with the people he has worked with over the years. As a measure of the respect Devine is held, he is now 88 years old and still is involved in an active capacity with his beloved Cardinals. St. Louis has a tremendous baseball tradition and history, and Bing Devine is responsible for a great part of it. Thank you, Mr. Devine, for this book. We needed to hear your viewpoint.