Whitey Herzog, the manager who led St. Louis Cardinals to greatness in the 1980s has died at the age of 92.
The Cardinals announced Herzog’s passing on X, formerly Twitter.
Under Herzog, who died Monday, the Cardinals won three pennants and a World Series.
“Whitey spent his last few days surrounded by his family. We have so appreciated all of the prayers and support from friends who knew he was very ill. Although it is hard for us to say goodbye, his peaceful passing was a blessing for him,” his family said in a statement released by the Cardinals.
Herzog had been at Busch Stadium on April 4 for the Cardinals’ home opener, ESPN reported.
Herzog was known as a tobacco chewer who was no nonsense manager with a crew-cut.
“A typical Cardinals victory under Herzog was a low-scoring, one-run game, sealed in the final innings by a ‘bullpen by committee,’ relievers who might be replaced after a single pitch, or temporarily shifted to the outfield, then brought back to the mound,” ESPN reported.
Not many understood this way of playing.
“They [the media] seemed to think there was something wrong with the way we played baseball, with speed and defense and line-drive hitters,” Herzog wrote in his memoir “White Rat: A Life in Baseball.”
“They called it ‘Whiteyball’ and said it couldn’t last.”
The Cardinals won pennants in 1982, 1985 and 1987, and the World Series in 1982, per the outlet. These are fetes the Cardinals remembered today.
“On behalf of the entire St. Louis Cardinals organization, I would like to offer our condolences to the family and many friends of Whitey Herzog,” Cardinals chairman and chief executive officer Bill DeWitt Jr. said. “Whitey and his teams played a big part in changing the direction of the Cardinals franchise in the early 1980s with an exciting style of play that would become known as “Whitey Ball” throughout baseball. Whitey loved the Cardinals, their fans, and St. Louis. He will be sorely missed.”
Herzog was a manager for 18 seasons, and had a record of 1,281 wins and 1,125 losses. The Cardinals retired his uniform number, 24.
He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2010, and was inducted into the St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum in 2014.
“On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Whitey’s family, his friends across the game, and the fans of the Cardinals and the Royals,” commissioner Rob Manfred said.
Herzog played with the Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators, Kansas City Athletics and Detroit Tigers. Over his eight seasons as a player, he batted .257. He stopped playing in 1963.
“Baseball has been good to me since I quit trying to play it,” he would say.
Herzog is survived by his wife Mary Lou Herzog, children Debra, David and Jim and their spouses, nine grandchildren and 10 grandchildren.
