ST. LOUIS (KMOX) - Leading into this weekend's celebration of the 2011 World Series Champion St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium, I had a chance to have Lance Berkman on Sports Open Line to talk about what wound up being a wild, fun-filled and seemingly magical ride to a title.
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Late in the conversation, I asked him what it was like to play for manager Tony La Russa after all those years going up against him (especially in the playoffs in 2004 and 2005) when his Houston Astros and the Cardinals were both in the NL Central. His answer was a little bit surprising given all the success he had in Houston but he said LaRussa wound up being his favorite manager.
"Tony's my favorite manager that I ever played for, for a number of reasons," Berkman said. "Playing against him, I wanted to fight him. I told him, I said, from the other side I'd definitely have offered to meet you in the parking lot. The sun glasses at night, the stoney demeanor at all times, from the outside looking in you don't get him. But when you play for him to start to understand that all he wants to do is win."
Berkman also said about La Russa that "if he had the physical ability he would have been a Hall of Famer" as a player.
That's a helluva compliment from a guy, in my opinion, who should have gotten a lot more Hall of Fame conversation himself.
Berkman is always a great listen ... check it out.
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