NEW YORK (AP) — Whitey Herzog is the brusque, ingenious Hall of Famer who led the St. Louis Cardinals to three pennants and a World Series championship in the 1980s, perfecting a complex, hard-hitting strategy known as “Whitey Ball.” He is a new director. he died He was 92 years old.
Cardinals spokesman Brian Bartow said Tuesday that the team was informed of his death by Herzog’s family. The team did not immediately have further details about Herzog, who was at Busch Stadium on April 4 for the Cardinals’ home opener.
Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog is seen before the start of the St. Louis Cardinals vs. New York Mets baseball game on Saturday, Aug. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
Herzog, a tobacco-chewing man with a crew cut and a pot belly who had no patience for the “buddy buddy” style of management, joined the Cardinals in 1980 and was forced to adapt to artificial turf and distant surfaces. He helped end the team’s pennant drought that had lasted more than a decade. Busch Memorial Stadium fence. The Cardinals’ typical wins under Herzog were low-scoring, one-point games, with the final inning sealed by a “bullpen by committee,” with relievers either replaced after one pitch or temporarily moved to the outfield. There was a possibility that they would be moved and then returned. To the mound.
The Cardinals had power hitters in George Hendrick and Jack Clark, but they mainly relied on the speed and wit of switch hitters Vince Coleman and Willie McGee, the acrobatic defense of shortstop and future Hall of Famer Ozzie Smith, and the starting pitcher. He relied on his effective pitching. John Tudor and Danny Cox as relievers Todd Worrell, Ken Daly and Jeff Lahti. For the 1982 champions, Herzog didn’t bother rotating relief pitchers and simply used future Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter to get the job done.
“I think they (the media) thought there was something wrong with the way we played baseball, with speed and defense and line-drive hitters,” Herzog wrote in his 1987 memoir, White Rat: A Life. in Baseball”. “They called it ‘Whitey Ball’ and said it wouldn’t last long.”
Under Herzog, the Cards won pennants in 1982, 1985, and 1987, and won the World Series in 1982 by defeating the Milwaukee Brewers in seven games. Herzog led the Kansas City Royals to regional championships from 1976 to 1978, but they lost to the New York Yankees in each league championship.
Overall, Herzog was the manager for 18 seasons and compiled a record of 1,281 wins and 1,125 losses. He was named Manager of the Year in 1985 and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010 by a Veterans Committee vote, citing his “strict but easy-going style” as well as his speed, pitching and defense. It was stated that it was important. Just before he was officially inducted into the Hall, the Cardinals retired his number 24.
St. Louis Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog talks about the Schlock call by Cardinals catcher Tom Nieto (second from left) on a tag attempt on Kansas City Royals’ Jim Sandberg in the second inning of Game 5. , expressed his feelings to referee John Schrock (right). World Series, St. Louis, Missouri, October 24, 1985. (AP Photo/Peter Southwick)
When asked about the secret to his management, he replies that it is his sense of humor and his ability to operate the bullpen.
Herzog is survived by his wife of 71 years, Mary Lou Herzog. three children, Debra, David, Jim and their spouses; nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
Dorell Norman Elbert Herzog was born in New Athens, Illinois. It was a blue-collar community that shaped him long after he left. He excelled at baseball and basketball and was willing to skip class from time to time to attend Cardinals games. Signed by the Yankees, he was a center fielder, but he realized he could compete with up-and-comer Mickey Mantle, who had been born a few weeks earlier.
Although Herzog never played for the Yankees, he became acquainted with manager Casey Stengel, another master of shuffling players with significant influence. Herzog, with his light hair, was nicknamed “The White Rat” because of his resemblance to Yankees pitcher Bob “The White Rat” Kuzaba.
Like many successful managers, Herzog was a mediocre player, hitting just .257 in eight seasons and playing several positions. His best year was 1961 with Baltimore, when he hit .291. He also played for the Washington Senators, Kansas City Athletics, and Detroit Tigers, but ended his playing career in 1963.
“Baseball has been good to me since I quit playing,” he was fond of saying.
After working as a scout and coach, Herzog was hired by the New York Mets in 1967 as director of player development, where he helped develop future stars, including Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan. The Mets liked him enough to name him Gil Hodges’ successor, but when the manager suddenly passed away in 1972, the job went to Yogi Berra. Herzog instead debuted with the Texas Rangers the following season, finishing with a record of 47 wins and 91 losses before being replaced by Billy Martin. He coached a few games for the Angels in 1974 before joining the Royals the following season, and his time in Kansas City peaked in 1977 when the team finished 102-60.
Many players spoke warmly of Herzog, but Herzog released Cardinals star players such as outfielder Ronnie Smith and starting pitcher Joaquin Andujar, and removed players from the team who were no longer needed. I didn’t hesitate. One trade was a great success. Before the 1982 season, they traded .300 shortstop Gary Templeton, who Herzog had scolded for not hustling, for Padres light hitter Ozzie Smith, now widely regarded as the best defensive shortstop of all time. did. Another deal was less successful. Gold Glove winning first baseman Keith Hernandez, who had a feud with Herzog, was traded to the Mets in mid-1983 in exchange for pitchers Neil Allen and Rick Ownbey. Hernandez led New York to a World Series championship in 1986, but Allen and Ownby were quickly forgotten.
St. Louis Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog watches Game 7 of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals on October 27, 1985 in Kansas City (Related Press)
Herzog was similarly hard on himself, resigning in mid-1990 because he was “embarrassed” by the team’s 33-47 record. He served as a consultant and general manager for the Angels in the early ’90s and was briefly considered to manage the Red Sox before the 1997 season.
If the 1982 championship was the highlight of his career, the biggest blow was the 1985 series. The Cardinals led 3-2 against his former team, the Royals, and in Game 6 they led 1-0 going into the bottom of the ninth inning, when Worrell was brought in for the finishing touches.
Jorge Orta led off, grounding out an 0-2 throw between the mound and first base. In one of the most famous blowout calls in baseball history, first baseman Jack Clark’s toss to Worrell was called safe by umpire Don Denkinger, even though replays showed it was in time. The Cardinals never recovered. Kansas City scored two points to tie the series and crushed the Cards 11-0 in Game 7.
“No, I don’t have a grudge against Denkinger,” Herzog told The Associated Press years later. “He’s a good guy, he knows he made a mistake, he’s a human being. It happened at the wrong time, but I think instant replay should be introduced in the playoffs and the World Series. ”
As if to test Herzog’s sense of humor, Hall invited him alongside umpire Doug Harvey.
“I don’t see why he needs to come in,” Herzog joked at the time. “Doug has kicked me out of more games than any other referee.”
