Diehard Cards: St. Louis Cardinals 2006 World Series Champions »

They were the team that wasn?t even supposed to make the playoffs, after a year featuring three losing streaks of seven or more games and a near-epic collapse at the end of the regular season. But the St. Louis Cardinals did make it to the post-season, clinching the National League's Central Division title on the last day of the season, and with that playoff berth came a clean slate. After pulling a mild upset in a first-round defeat of San Diego, the Redbirds continued to defy the ?experts? by pulling out a hard-fought seven-game series against the National League's best team the entire year, the New York Mets. Then came the completely unexpected and shocking upset of the Detroit Tigers in the World Series, giving the Cardinals their first world championship since 1982. Diehard Cards: St. Louis Cardinals 2006 World Series Champions features a dazzling collection of photos and text in a celebration of the team's amazing run to the World Series championship.