Mike Bertani Retirement Party

Posted by Madeline Kaufman,  January 31,2012

This past baseball season, Mike Bertani, Director of Stadium Operations for the St. Louis Cardinals, decided to close out his 55 year career.  Bertani was only 13 when he started with the organization back in 1957. Over the years, he’s worn a variety of hats. He worked 28 years in ticket sales and has been in stadium operations since 1995.  According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, “Bertani is the longest-tenured employee in the Cardinals organization and, by his count, has seen 4,455 home games, not including postseason matches.”  Check out the rest of the Post’s interview with Bertani here.

Mike’s long career with the Cardinals is not the only astounding part of his story.  During his 55 year career, Mike and his wife cared for over 40 foster children.

We here at Kaufman Broadcast have worked closely with Mike over the years, and we were proud to help usher in Mike’s retirement by attending a luncheon honoring Mike and his service as a St. Louis Cardinal.  When we arrived, the Cardinal’s staff were just wrapping up their pre-party party, consisting of pastries, bagels and brownies.  Mike was making his howdy rounds with an over sized glass of red wine and a giant smile on his face.  We all got a chance to enjoy some St. Louis Italian food, followed by a sugar-coma inducing sheet cake decorated

with icing baseballs that any dessert loving kid would covet.  If only every lunch could be so delicious and momentous!

After lunch, Mike gave a short speech during which his love for the Cardinals and his life’s career was touchingly clear.

We got a chance to talk to Mike about his plans for retirement (I use the word “retirement” lightly, since Mike plans to continue his involvement with the Cardinals and work during the regular season).  He intends to spend most of his new found free time on his farm, caring for the numerous rescue animals that he and his wife have adopted over the years.  He also hopes to travel to Italy and proudly claims a multi-tiered Italian heritage.

We wish Mike well in his future endeavors and look forward to seeing him on game days!