Dorrel Norman Elvert "Whitey"Herzog (/ˈhɜːrzɒɡ/; November 9, 1931 – April 15, 2024) was an American professionalbaseballoutfielder andmanager, most notable for hisMajor League Baseball (MLB) managerial career.

Whitey Herzog
Herzog as manager of the Cardinals in 1987
Outfielder /Manager
Born:(1931-11-09)November 9, 1931 New Athens, Illinois, U.S.
Died: April 15, 2024(2024-04-15) (aged 92) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Batted: Left Threw: Left
MLB debut
April 17, 1956, for the Washington Senators
Last MLB appearance
September 28, 1963, for the Detroit Tigers
MLB statistics
Batting average	.257
Home runs	25
Runs batted in	172
Managerial record	1,281–1,125
Winning %	.532
Stats atBaseball Reference
Managerial record at Baseball Reference
Teams
As player Washington Senators (1956–1958) Kansas City Athletics (1958–1960) Baltimore Orioles (1961–1962) Detroit Tigers (1963) As manager Texas Rangers (1973) California Angels (1974) Kansas City Royals (1975–1979) St. Louis Cardinals (1980,1981–1990)
Career highlights and awards
World Series champion (1982) NL Manager of the Year (1985) St. Louis Cardinals No. 24 retired Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction	2010
Vote	87.5%
Election method	Veterans Committee

Herzog made his major league debut as a player in 1956 with theWashington Senators. After his playing career ended in 1963, Herzog went on to perform a variety of roles in Major League Baseball, includingscout, manager,coach,general manager, andfarm system director.

As a scout and farm system director, Herzog helped theNew York Mets win the 1969 World Series. As a big-league manager, he led theKansas City Royals to three consecutive playoff appearances from 1976 to 1978. Hired byGussie Busch in 1980 to helm theSt. Louis Cardinals, the team made three World Series appearances, winning the1982 World Series over theMilwaukee Brewers and falling in1985 and1987.

Herzog was inducted into theBaseball Hall of Fame on July 25, 2010, and was inducted into theSt. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum on August 16, 2014.

Herzog was born on November 9, 1931, inNew Athens, Illinois, to Edgar and Lietta Herzog. His father worked at a brewery and his mother at a shoe factory.^[1] Whitey attendedNew Athens High School where he played basketball and baseball. He drew interest from thecollege basketball programs atSaint Louis University andIllinois. As a youth, Herzogdelivered newspapers, sold baked goods from a truck, dug graves, and worked at the brewery with his father.^[2] He was known as "Relly" — a diminutive of Dorrel, his given first name.^[2]

His older brother Therron played a year ofminor league baseball in 1954 in theCotton States League.^[2][3]

Herzog both batted and threw left-handed.^[1] He was originally signed by theNew York Yankees by scoutLou Maguolo.^[4] While playing for theMcAlester Rockets in theSooner State League in 1949 and 1950, a sportscaster gave Herzog the nickname "Whitey" due to his light blonde hair and resemblance to blonde Yankees pitcherBob "The White Rat" Kuzava,^[2] (rather than the light blonde Yankee starter and future Hall of FamerWhitey Ford, then on the way to a 9–1 rookie season). In 1953, during theKorean War, Herzog served theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers, during which time he was stationed atFort Leonard Wood in Missouri and managed the camp's baseball team.^[2]

While he was still a minor leagueprospect, the Yankees traded Herzog to theWashington Senators on April 2, 1956, to complete a February trade in which the Yankees had sentLou Berberet,Bob Wiesler,Dick Tettelbach, andHerb Plews to Washington forMickey McDermott.^[5] He made his major league debut with the Senators in 1956 and played for them until May 15, 1958, when he was sold to theKansas City Athletics.^[6] Before the 1961 season, the Athletics traded Herzog andRuss Snyder to theBaltimore Orioles forWayne Causey,Jim Archer,Bob Boyd,Clint Courtney, andAl Pilarcik.^[7] After the 1962 season, the Orioles traded Herzog andGus Triandos to theDetroit Tigers forDick Brown.^[8] Herzog retired after playing for the Tigers in the 1963 season.^[1] In 634 games spread over eight seasons, Herzogbatted .257 with 25home runs, 172runs batted in, 213 runs scored, 60doubles, 20triples, and 13stolen bases. In reference to his relative success as a player versus being a manager, Herzog said, "Baseball has been good to me since I quit trying to play it."^[9]

After his playing career ended, Herzog rejoined the Athletics for two seasons, as ascout in 1964^[10][11] and a coach in 1965.^[1]

His next seven years were spent with theNew York Mets, the first, in1966, as the third-base coach for managerWes Westrum. Beginning in 1967 Herzog then made his mark with the club during his six-year tenure as its director of player development. On his watch, the Mets produced young talent that either appeared on one or both of its1969 and1973World Series teams or were dealt and had successful major league careers elsewhere. Among this crop of players wasGary Gentry,Wayne Garrett,Jon Matlack,John Milner,Amos Otis, andKen Singleton. Herzog was a candidate to become the Mets' manager after the death ofGil Hodges prior to the1972 season, but was passed over in favor of first-base coachYogi Berra, a future Yankee Hall of Fame catcher and brief ex-Met player, by chairman of the boardM. Donald Grant.^[12] He had been ordered to not attend Hodges' funeral by Grant's associates to avoid speculation.^[13]

Perceiving Grant's actions as a snub,^[12] Herzog left the Mets to accept the firstmanagerial assignment of his career. On November 2, 1972, he signed a two-year contract to lead theTexas Rangers, the only major league team to have 100 losses in1972. Hired based on recommendations fromgeneral managerJoe Burke to ownerBob Short, he'd been given the understanding that he was to help develop the team's young prospects.^[14] He immediately abandoned theplatoon system used heavily by his predecessorTed Williams.^[15]

Herzog debuted with a 3–1 Rangers loss to theChicago White Sox atArlington Stadium on April 7, 1973. His first victory was a 4–0 triumph over theKansas City Royals five nights later on April 12 atRoyals Stadium.^[16]

He never got the chance to finish the1973 season. With the team at 47–91,^[16] he was fired on September 7, three days after a home field 14–0 defeat atComiskey Park.^[14] CoachDel Wilber replaced him for one game, followed byBilly Martin, who had been fired by theDetroit Tigers on August 30.^[17] Short defended the change by telling reporters, "If my mother were managing the Rangers and I had the opportunity to hire Billy Martin, I'd fire my mother."^[14]

Herzog joined theCalifornia Angels as their third-base coach in 1974. He was named the team's interim manager on June 27, 1974, the same day that his predecessorBobby Winkles was fired and also Hall of Fame bound successorDick Williams was hired.^[18] The first game he managed was a 5–0 win for the Angels, who split a four-game weekend series against the Rangers atAnaheim Stadium during his brief 4-game stint.^[19][20]

Herzog succeededJack McKeon as manager of theKansas City Royals on July 24, 1975, and managed the team from 1975 to 1979. At the time he took over in 1975, the team was in second place in theAmerican League West but trailed the defending and eventual division championOakland Athletics by 11 games.^[21] The Royals went on to win three straightAmerican League Western division titles from 1976 to 1978. However, each of those seasons ended with losses to theNew York Yankees in theAmerican League Championship Series, with each one having their own particular brand of sting. In the1976 American League Championship Series, the two teams traded wins to see an even series by the time of the decisive Game 5 in New York. The Royals trailed by three runs in the eighth before rallying to tie the game. On the first pitch of the bottom of the ninth,Chris Chambliss hit a series-ending walk off home run off closerMark Littell. In the 1977 series, the teams traded wins again in the first four, but the Royals had a chance to clinch it at home. Game 5 saw them lead 3–1 going into the eighth inning, but the Yankees narrowed it to a run with a pinch-hit RBI. Now going withDennis Leonard (who had pitched a complete game two days earlier), it all sputtered. He allowed a hit and a walk before being pulled, but the Yankees continued to hit the ball and scored three runs in the inning before Kansas City went down in the bottom half as the Yankees went to the World Series again. In the 1978 series, the Royals won Game 2 and played competitive in Game 3, but Herzog's decision to go withDoug Bird in the eighth inning to faceThurman Munson resulted in him belting a go-ahead two-run shot as the Yankees won 6-5. The Royals scored a run in first inning of Game 4 but the Yankees led by the end of the 5th and never looked back in a 2-1 victory.

Herzog and general managerJoe Burke clashed during the 1979 season over personnel moves, and he openly chafed at being offered one-year contracts by ownerEwing Kauffman, who in turn did not like the treatment given to first basemanJohn Mayberry, whose lackadaisical play in Game 4 of the 1977 series had led to Herzog benching him for Game 5 before blaming him for the series loss and then demanding him to be traded.^[22] After the 1979 season saw the team finish second to the California Angels, Herzog was fired, and he actually expressed criticism of Burke for not doing it sooner to try and give the team a spark during the season.^[23]

On June 8, 1980, Herzog was hired bySt. Louis Cardinals (under general managerJohn Claiborne) to manage the team to replaceKen Boyer. Herzog was quoted almost immediately as the leader when asked, stating “I’m going to take this dang team and run it like I think it should be run. I don’t think I’ve ever had trouble with players hustling. I understand that’s been a problem here. I think you’ll see the Cardinals running out groundballs.”^[24] He won the1982 World Series, and both won theNational League pennant and appeared in the Series again in1985 and1987.

Herzog's style of play, based on the strategy of attrition, was nicknamed "Whiteyball"^[25] and concentrated onpitching, speed, and defense to win games rather than on home runs. Herzog's lineups generally consisted of one or more base-stealing threats at the top of the lineup, with a power threat such asGeorge Brett orJack Clark hittingthird or fourth, protected by one or two productive hitters, followed by more base stealers. This tactic keptpayrolls low, while allowing Herzog to win consistently in stadiums with deep fences andartificial turf, both of which were characteristics of Royals Stadium (nowKauffman Stadium) andBusch Memorial Stadium during his managerial career.

A less noticed (at the time) aspect of Herzog's offensive philosophy was his preference for patient hitters with highon-base percentages:^[26] such players included Royals Brett,Hal McRae, andAmos Otis, and Cardinals Clark,Keith Hernandez,José Oquendo, andOzzie Smith, as well asDarrell Porter, who played for Herzog in both Kansas City and St. Louis. However, in St. Louis, Herzog also employed free-swinging hitters who were less patient, but speedy runners and fielders, such as six-time NLstolen base championVince Coleman and 1985 NL MVPWillie McGee.

Herzog's final season with the Cardinals, and in his managerial career, was the1990 season; he resigned on July 6 of that year with the team at 33–47 and in last place in the NL East. He jokingly stated, "I came here in last place and I leave here in last place. I left them right where I started."^[27] His overall Cardinals record is 822 wins and 728 losses.^[28]

With his extensive background in player development, Herzog also was a major leaguegeneral manager with both the Cardinals (1980–82)^[29] and theCalifornia Angels (1993–94).^[30]

Herzog succeeded interim managerJack Krol as manager of the Cardinals on June 9, 1980,^[31] managed for 73 games, then moved into the club's front office as general manager on August 26, turning the team over toRed Schoendienst. During the off-season, Herzog reclaimed the manager job, then held both the general and field manager posts with St. Louis for almost two full seasons, during which he acquired or promoted many players who would star on the Cardinals' three World Series teams of the 1980s.^[29] In a 1983 poll of major league players byThe New York Times, Herzog was voted best manager in baseball.^[32]

Herzog served as general manager of theCalifornia Angels from 1993 to 1994.^[33] During his tenure, the Angels went 118–159, missing the 1993 postseason (with the 1994 playoffs cancelled due to a players' strike).^[34]

Herzog's tenure was overshadowed by a feud with ownerJackie Autry over the team's budget constraints, a power struggle with team Vice-President Dave O'Brien, and the loss of key free agents likeDave Winfield andWally Joyner.^[33]

Herzog expressed an interest in becoming President of theNational League when that job opened in 1986.^[35] The role eventually went toYale University PresidentA. Bartlett Giamatti, who also became theCommissioner of baseball in 1989. In a nationally televised interview onNBC, after Giamatti accepted the job of NL President,Marv Albert jokingly asked Herzog if he would be interested in the job opening for president of Yale University. Herzog replied, "Well, you're trying to be funny now, Marv. I don't think that's funny at all."^[36]

Both Herzog andJim Leyland were candidates to become manager of theBoston Red Sox following the 1996 season. Both rejected offers from the Red Sox, so the team hiredJimy Williams instead.^[37]

Herzog was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans' Committee on December 7, 2009, receiving 14 of a possible 16 votes.^[38] The Cardinals retired thejersey number 24, which he wore during his managerial tenure with the club, following his induction.^[39]Rick Ankiel was the last Cardinal to wear number 24.

In total, Herzog led six division winners, three pennant winners, and oneWorld Series winner in compiling a 1,281–1,125 (.532) career record.^[40]

Herzog married hishigh school sweetheart, Mary Lou (née Sinn), in 1953. They had three children.^[1]

Herzog resided inSt. Louis, Missouri. His younger brother, Codell ("Butz") died on February 20, 2010, at 76. He made out Whitey's firstlineup with the Cardinals in 1980.^[42] His grandson John Urick was a minor leaguefirst baseman andoutfielder from 2003 until 2010 who played for managers and former Herzog-era CardinalsGarry Templeton andHal Lanier.^[43][44]

In January 2014, the Cardinals announced Herzog among 22 former players and personnel to be inducted into theSt. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame Museum for the inaugural class of2014.^[45]

Herzog died in St. Louis on April 15, 2024, at the age of 92.^[46] Upon his death, CommissionerRob Manfred released a statement:

Whitey Herzog was one of the most accomplished managers of his generation and a consistent winner with both 'I-70' franchises. He made a significant impact on the St. Louis Cardinals as both a manager and a general manager, with the Kansas City Royals as a manager and with the New York Mets in player development. Whitey's Cardinals' teams reached the World Series three times in the 1980s, winning the championship in 1982, by leaning on an identity of speed and defense that resonated with baseball fans across the world. 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.^[47]

• List of Major League Baseball managers with most career wins

• Career statistics fromMLB, orESPN, orBaseball Reference, orFangraphs, orBaseball Reference (Minors), orRetrosheet
• Whitey Herzog managerial career statistics atBaseball-Reference.com
• Whitey Herzog at theBaseball Hall of Fame
• Whitey Herzog at theSABR Baseball Biography Project