Whitey Herzog: Meet Your Baseball Hall Of Fame Inductee

Joining Andre Dawson and Doug Harvey in Cooperstown this weekend will be Whitey Herzog, a man who famously said, "baseball has been good to me since I quit trying to play it."

After an unspectacular eight-year career as a player, Herzog served as a general manager, scout, and farm system director, but he's joining the Baseball Hall of Fame on the merits of a managing career that featured three National League pennant wins and one World Series championship.

Rk	Year	Age	Tm	Lg		G	W	L	W-L%	Finish
1	1973	41	Texas Rangers	AL	1st of 3	138	47	91	.341	6

2	1974	42	California Angels	AL	2nd of 3	4	2	2	.500	6

3	1975	43	Kansas City Royals	AL	2nd of 2	66	41	25	.621	2
4	1976	44	Kansas City Royals	AL		162	90	72	.556	1
5	1977	45	Kansas City Royals	AL		162	102	60	.630	1
6	1978	46	Kansas City Royals	AL		162	92	70	.568	1
7	1979	47	Kansas City Royals	AL		162	85	77	.525	2

8	1980	48	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	3rd of 4	73	38	35	.521	4
9	1981	49	St. Louis Cardinals	NL		51	30	20	.600	2	First half of season
10	1981	49	St. Louis Cardinals	NL		52	29	23	.558	2	Second half of season
11	1982	50	St. Louis Cardinals	NL		162	92	70	.568	1	WS Champs
12	1983	51	St. Louis Cardinals	NL		162	79	83	.488	4
13	1984	52	St. Louis Cardinals	NL		162	84	78	.519	3
14	1985	53	St. Louis Cardinals	NL		162	101	61	.623	1	NL Pennant
15	1986	54	St. Louis Cardinals	NL		161	79	82	.491	3
16	1987	55	St. Louis Cardinals	NL		162	95	67	.586	1	NL Pennant
17	1988	56	St. Louis Cardinals	NL		162	76	86	.469	5
18	1989	57	St. Louis Cardinals	NL		164	86	76	.531	3
19	1990	58	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	1st of 3	80	33	47	.413	6
			Texas Rangers		1 year	138	47	91	.341	6.0
			California Angels		1 year	4	2	2	.500	6.0
			Kansas City Royals		5 years	714	410	304	.574	1.4
			St. Louis Cardinals		11 years	1553	822	728	.530	2.9	3 Pennants and 1 World Series Title
			Total		18 years	2409	1281	1125	.532	2.8	3 Pennants and 1 World Series Title

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/23/2010.

Midway through the 1975 season, Herzog took over as manager of the Kansas City Royals, who had shown promise in their first six years of existence but had yet to take the next step. Under Herzog's leadership, the Royals finished the season by winning 41 of their final 66 games.

The next season, Herzog led the Royals to what would be the first of three consecutive division titles. They were dealt ALCS losses by the Yankees all three times, but Herzog played a large part in building the foundation for the Royals of the 1980s, who would reach the World Series in 1980 and win it in 1985.

Herzog jumped to the other side of Missouri in 1980 to simultaneously serve as manager and general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, and he used his uncommon degree of authority to bring St. Louis a World Series championship in 1982. He took the Cards to two more World Series appearances, losing to his former Royals in seven games in 1985, and falling to the Minnesota Twins in 1987.

His strategy became known as Whiteyball. Contrary to managerial norms, Herzog valued speed and getting on base over home run power. Look, for example, at his 1982 World Series champions: no players hit more than 20 home runs, and only two registered in double digits, but four players stole 24 or more bases.

Herzog's career .532 winning percentage as a manager, his ability to build a championship team from the front office while managing it in the dugout, and his shrewd, unconventional strategy more than justify his induction into Cooperstown this weekend.

During his acceptance speech on Sunday, Herzog may very well lobby on behalf of his deceased friend, Roger Maris, who is not in the Hall of Fame. Herzog once said this of Maris:

"You couldn't play right field any better than Roger did. He could make every throw, play shallow, and then go get the ball. Roger Maris is probably the best ballplayer to ever play the game who isn't in the Hall of Fame."

This weekend, read fans' thoughts on Whitey Herzog at SB Nation's Cardinals blog, Viva El Birdos, and our Royals blog, Royals Review.