(New York) Whitey Herzog, the gruff but ingenious Hall of Fame manager who led the St. Louis Cardinals to three National Championships and a World Series in the 1980s, has died at age 92.
Published at 12:50 p.m.
Hillel Italie
Associated Press
Cardinals spokesman Brian Bartow said Tuesday that the team was informed by Herzog’s family of his death. However, the team could not confirm whether it occurred Monday evening or Tuesday.
Herzog was at Busch Stadium on April 4 for the Cardinals’ home opener.
Dorrel Norman Elvert “Whitey” Herzog was born in New Athens, Illinois, on November 9, 1931. He excelled at baseball and basketball and was not averse to missing class to attend a Cardinals game every now and then. other. Herzog never played for the Yankees.
Like many successful managers, Herzog was not a very good player, hitting only .257 in eight seasons with the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators, Kansas City Athletics and Detroit Tigers until ‘in 1963.
“Baseball was good to me when I stopped trying to play it,” he liked to say.
After working as a scout and instructor, the New York Mets hired him as director of player development. It was under his leadership that Tom Seaver and Nolan Ryan developed. The Mets liked what they saw enough that they named him to succeed Gil Hodges. But when the manager died suddenly in 1972, the job went to Yogi Berra.
Herzog instead began his management career with the Texas Rangers the following season, compiling a 47-91 record before being replaced by Billy Martin. He managed the Angels for a few games in 1974 and joined the Royals the following season, having his best campaign in 1977, going 102-60.
Military cut, protruding belly and tobacco quid in the mouth, Herzog had little use for the friendly approach of some managers towards their players when he joined the Cards in 1980 to help them end their famine of more than 10 years since their last National title.
Adapting to the artificial surface of Busch Memorial Stadium, a typical Cards victory under Herzog was often won by one run, in a low-scoring game and confirmed in the late innings by a bullpen committee. These could sometimes be replaced after a single pitch or find themselves temporarily in the outfield and then return to the mound.
The Cards relied on power hitters in George Hendrick and Jack Clark, but they relied mostly on the speed and versatility of ambidextrous hitters like Vince Coleman and Willie McGee, the acrobatic defense of shortstop Ozzie Smith and the efficient starts from pitchers like John Tudor and Danny Cox and relievers Todd Worrell, Ken Dayley and Jeff Lahti. When they were crowned champions in 1982, Herzog brought in future Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter to finish games.
The media, which did not always seem to understand the manager’s strategies, had baptized this style of play ” Whiteyball ».
Under Herzog, the Cards won the NL championship in 1982, 1985 and 1987 and the 1982 World Series in seven games over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Herzog also led the Kansas City Royals to section titles from 1976 to 1978, each time losing in the championship series to the New York Yankees.
Known for having a short fuse with his players who didn’t give him enough for his liking, Herzog was also demanding of himself: he resigned in the middle of the 1990 season, deeming his 33-47 record unworthy.
He then served as an advisor and general manager to the Angles in the 1990s and briefly considered returning to the bench, with the Boston Red Sox, before the 1997 season.
In total, Herzog managed 18 seasons in Major League Baseball, compiling a record of 1,281 wins against 1,125 losses. He was named Manager of the Year in 1985 and elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2010.
2024-04-16 16:53:05
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