RIP Whitey Herzog

[pilight]

https://www.stltoday.com/sports/prof...54ce626f6.html

The cause of death was listed as illness

[kq76]

I feel I owe my love of baseball to Whitey Herzog, at least in part. Those Cardinals teams were not only very good, but also very entertaining. Even though Whiteyball had long gone out of fashion (it might be coming back!), I always liked building my teams in the image of his. He had a pretty lengthy baseball career even before the Cardinals too.

[Syd Thrift]

Wow, definitely in the “oh he’s not dead already” crowd for me but yeah, his 80s Cardinals teams played differently than everyone else and were fun for that.

[dsvitak]

I came in here to post this.

I have lived 41 years out of the last 44 as a Cardinals fan, most of them in the St. Louis area.

I have met Whitey on several occasions.

My father in law got me a ticket to a cards media day, and I sat at the same table as him and Ozzie Smith.

Bill James had an excellent analysis of how Whitey used Joaquin Andujar in 1982..pitching him on 3 days rest, and four days rest for everyone else. It was brilliant.

I asked Whitey about that, and I wished I had a tape recorder. I learned more about baseball in a half hour that I could ever have imagined.

Whitey Herzog MAY have been the best manager I have ever seen. He once told his players to "keep it close, I'll think of something."

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by kq76

I feel I owe my love of baseball to Whitey Herzog, at least in part. Those Cardinals teams were not only very good, but also very entertaining. Even though Whiteyball had long gone out of fashion (it might be coming back!), I always liked building my teams in the image of his. He had a pretty lengthy baseball career even before the Cardinals too.

80% steal success rate in MLB this year. Speed and defense never takes a day off. THAT'S why the Cardinals were the best team in MLB for about a six year stretch.

[Bluenoser]

Wow, sad news. Wasn't a Cardinals fan so much as a fan of his managing style. The way he could get his team to "manufacture runs" was fun to watch.

RIP Whitey, thank you for so many wonderful memories and moments.

[thehef]

Originally Posted by Bluenoser

Wow, sad news. Wasn't a Cardinals fan so much as a fan of his managing style. The way he could get his team to "manufacture runs" was fun to watch.

RIP Whitey, thank you for so many wonderful memories and moments.

Well said.

The 1985 NLCS, Dodgers vs Cards was a great series but left a bitter taste for us Dodger fans. Tom Niedenfuer serving up beach balls to Ozzie Smith and Jack Clark to lose games 5 and 6, respectively... That Dodger team had one of the best rotations ever, and we were up two games to none. And then once it was 2 games each, the rotation all set, with Fernando and Orel lined up for games 5 and 6; going home for games 6 and 7... And after game three, Whitey was without leadoff whiz Vince Coleman, who - as I recall - got his leg stuck in the tarp mechanism... But Whitey led his forces to quite a come-from-behind series win... He was the master.

[Amazin69]

So long to the White Rat. I think he overreacted by trading Keith Hernandez (because the John Mayberry situation had gotten him fired in KC, a few years previously), but overall a brilliant manager.

How different would Mets history have been if they had given the job to Whitey (as allegedly he had been promised during his days as farm director) when Gil Hodges passed away, instead of giving it to Yogi? The 1972 Mets came sprinting out of the gate to win it for Gil (25-7 start) but after that it was basically four years of flop, barring that "You Gotta Believe!" 21-7 run in September 1973 to squeak the division.

Not that Whitey had immediate success out of the gate: his record with Texas in 1973 and the Angels in 1974 hardly impressed. But he found his stride in KC and gave the state of Missouri 15+ top seasons.

(Okay, cynics will say Kansas City was a lay-up, given that his first breakthrough was going "why don't we let George Brett play 3B?" [Jack McKeon had wanted to keep playing Paul Schaal there. Yes, really.] But overall, fine work.)

Originally Posted by dsvitak

Whitey Herzog MAY have been the best manager I have ever seen. He once told his players to "keep it close, I'll think of something."

There is no doubt that Dorrel Elvert Norman Herzog was a great tactician. (Davey Johnson got the best out of the Mets, but Whitey was his better once the game started.)

However, he didn't come up with that line. (It may be completely misattributed, for all I know.) It was first said by Charlie Dressen, when managing the Brooklyn Dodgers

(Dressen was 0-3 in World Series, and blew two pennant races. So he may have had an inflated idea of his genius, anyhow.)

[dsvitak]

Originally Posted by Amazin69

So long to the White Rat. I think he overreacted by trading Keith Hernandez (because the John Mayberry situation had gotten him fired in KC, a few years previously), but overall a brilliant manager.

How different would Mets history have been if they had given the job to Whitey (as allegedly he had been promised during his days as farm director) when Gil Hodges passed away, instead of giving it to Yogi? The 1972 Mets came sprinting out of the gate to win it for Gil (25-7 start) but after that it was basically four years of flop, barring that "You Gotta Believe!" 21-7 run in September 1973 to squeak the division.

Not that Whitey had immediate success out of the gate: his record with Texas in 1973 and the Angels in 1974 hardly impressed. But he found his stride in KC and gave the state of Missouri 15+ top seasons.

(Okay, cynics will say Kansas City was a lay-up, given that his first breakthrough was going "why don't we let George Brett play 3B?" [Jack McKeon had wanted to keep playing Paul Schaal there. Yes, really.] But overall, fine work.)



There is no doubt that Dorrel Elvert Norman Herzog was a great tactician. (Davey Johnson got the best out of the Mets, but Whitey was his better once the game started.)

However, he didn't come up with that line. (It may be completely misattributed, for all I know.) It was first said by Charlie Dressen, when managing the Brooklyn Dodgers

(Dressen was 0-3 in World Series, and blew two pennant races. So he may have had an inflated idea of his genius, anyhow.)

OK. You're off ignore. I enjoy most of your posts.

Anyway, Whitey Herzog grew up in New Baden, Illinois. I live very close to there for many years, and knew many of the people he grew up with.

His very small high school basketball team played for the state championship, and he was their star player. He said that it was the very first clear backboard that they had ever seen, and had NO chance.

Herzog was an excellent athlete, in his own right.