Get Up, Baby! by Mike Shannon
The late St. Louis Cardinals player and broadcaster Mike Shannon wrote about his seven decades with the Cards in Get Up, Baby!
Shannon’s memoir—co-written with Rick Hummel—was published by Triumph Books in July 2022. Shannon passed away in late April while Hummel died a few weeks later in May. It’s bittersweet that I only recent got around to reading the book. I won’t lie in that there were tears by the time I finished reading the book.
It’s fitting that Hummel serves as Shannon’s co-writer. After all, the two covered the Cardinals as a writer or broadcaster for many decades. While Hummel interviewed Shannon a number of times, it still feels very much as its written in Shannon’s voice. It’s an unusual book in that some of the Moon Man’s teammates and fellow broadcasters chimed in at the end of the various chapters.
When Busch Stadium opened in 2006, they gave Mike Shannon the largest radio broadcasting booth in all of Major League Baseball. It’s possible that his booth is even larger than the TV booths. Anyway, Vin Scully, who died last season, shared how grateful he was for Mike letting Vin’s wife watch games from his booth rather than from the stands.
Shannon talks about playing for with and for various Hall of Famers. He came up during Stan Musial’s final seasons. When Stan’s son’s teammate became his teammate, that’s when Stan knew it was time to retire. Musial’s seven decades as both a player and broadcaster mean that there are no shortage of stories that he can share, including Bob Gibson, Albert Pujols, and Yadier Molina, to name a few. He talks about broadcasting the team through the various managers, even saying what he would have done on the broadcast. His doing so probably didn’t sit well with managers but when someone is hired as an analyst, that’s what they’re going to do.
It wasn’t until years into his pairing with Jack Buck in which Mike got a chance to call the game himself. TV can mean having dead air because the picture can often speak for itself. But when you’re on the radio, it means filling in every second with play-by-play, analysis, or advertising. Mike shares what he learned from working with Jack and discusses working with Joe Buck.
Mike played for one Hall of Fame manager in Red Schoendienst, who often watched games from the radio booth. He broadcast while HOF managers like Whitey Herzog, Joe Torre, and Tony La Russa were managing the Cardinals. They were followed by Mike Matheny, Mike Shildt, and Oliver Marmol. Shannon discusses how Matheny and Shildt took the Cardinals to the playoffs but still ended up getting fired.
Shannon also talks about his legendary radio shows at his restaurant. Before recording at the downtown restaurant, they would do the shows at the stadium. Many baseball legends joined Shannon for his show through the years. I personally had an opportunity to meet Mike prior to one of his shows in August 2012.
We can’t discuss Shannon’s final season without discussing the elephant in the room. He got Covid after the 2020 season. He didn’t just get Covid but ended up with Long Covid. There was some time where doctors didn’t even think he would live but he pushed through. Shannon had already stopped calling games on the road before 2020 but the Covid rules really changed how one could broadcast in 2020 or 2021. With the 2020 season being what it was, Shannon made the 2021 season—his 50th as a broadcaster—his final one.
It’s a shame that Mike Shannon never got honored in Cooperstown while he was alive. He was on the Ford Frick Award ballot a few times after reaching 40 years in the broadcast booth. However, he fell short of the necessary votes to be honored by baseball immortality in Cooperstown. He’s forever a Cardinals Hall of Famer and should have a statue or bust for his 50 years in the broadcast booth. Get Up, Baby! is a must-own for any St. Louis Cardinals fan but any baseball fan will take something away from reading it. There’s always room for more Shannonisms in one’s life. Ol’ Abner’s done it again!
Get Up, Baby! is currently available from Triumph Books in hardcover and e-readers.