Legendary Cardinals manager Herzog dead at 92
Published
The man who managed the St. Louis Cardinals to the 1982 World Series title with his patented "Whiteyball" is gone.
Baseball Hall of Famer Dorrel "Whitey" Herzog has died at the age of 92, a Cardinals official confirmed to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
A native of New Athens, IL, Herzog managed in the majors for 18 years following an eight-year career as a player.
Mostly an outfielder, Herzog appeared in 634 games with the Washington Nationals, Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles and Detroit Tigers from 1956 to 1963. He batted .257 with 25 home runs, 175 runs batted in and an OPS of .719.
Upon his retirement, Herzog joined the A's as a scout in 1964 before leaving for the New York Mets in 1966 as third-base coach. The following season, Herzog would be named director of player development and would go on to win a World Series with the team in 1969.
After being passed over for the manager's role in 1972, Herzog left the team to become manager of the Texas Rangers in 1973. He was fired before the season ended with a 47-91 mark in September.
Herzog would join the California Angels as third-base coach in time for the 1974 season and found himself briefly promoted to interim manager that June following the firing of Bobby Winkles. He became manager of the Kansas City Royals in 1975.
Over a five-year stint with the team, Herzog had a mark of 410-304 (.574), winning three American League West titles, but failing to advance to the World Series.
He would join the Cardinals in time for the 1980 season and see his greatest success with the team. In 11 seasons with the team, Herzog's Cardinals would win three National League pennants (1982, 1985 and 1987) and in 1982, the team defeated the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games to win the World Series.
Herzog's teams played a style coined as "Whiteyball" that relied on speed and contact at the plate, rather than power, that was coupled with strong pitching and good defence. Herzog stated that the style was chosen due to the unpredictable bounces that were possible due to a number of stadiums, including Busch Stadium, that had AstroTurf.
He finished his Cardinals tenure with a record of 822-728 (.530).
After serving as the Cardinals general manager from 1980 to 1982, Herzog went on to become GM of the California Angels for a brief period in 1993.
Herzog was inducted into Cooperstown in 2010. His No. 24 was retired by the Cardinals that same summer.