The Royals were an exemplary expansion team that emerged as a contender in their third season after turning in a winning one the previous two. However, the squad did not win until Whitey Herzog took over as manager. The St. Louis Cardinals announced Herzog’s passing. In the 1970s, Herzog led the Royals to three AL West championships.
He was ninety-two. Herzog achieved the most of his success in St. Louis, where he guided the Cardinals to three National League pennants and the 1982 World Series title. Herzog built a division-winning squad in Kansas City by combining seasoned players like Hal McRae, Amos Otis, and Paul Splittorff with a group of emerging talents like George Brett and Frank White.
When Herzog was elected into the team’s Hall of Fame in 2000, he told The Star, “Our biggest thrill in baseball was coming with the Royals, winning the division, and almost getting to the World Series.”” While the Royals won the West in 1976–1978 Herzog’s clubs won 90, 102, and 92 games.
In all those seasons, the Royals lost to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. The greatest winning percentage for a manager in Royals history is his.574 (410-304). CASINO CONTENT “He is the one who gave us the winning mentality,” Brett stated in an interview from 2000. “He wasn’t going to settle for anything less than perfection; he was going to demand good things.”
Herzog was fired by the Royals after the season because he and owner Ewing Kauffman couldn’t agree on anything. The team finished second in 1979. In 1973, Herzog made his managerial debut with the Texas Rangers. The following year, he managed the California Angels. Herzog became manager and general manager of St. Louis after Kansas City.
2010 saw him voted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame with an 18-season record of 1,281-1,125 (.532). With 822 victories with the Cardinals, he is the third-most in the team’s history after Red Schoendienst (1,041) and Tony La Russa (1,408).
Herzog was the Cards’ manager in 1985, when they lost to the Royals in the World Series. He also spent three of his eight major league seasons as a player with the Kansas City A’s (1958-60). Matt Quatraro, the current Royals manager, spoke on Herzog’s passing Tuesday evening ahead of a game against the White Sox that was eventually postponed due to rain.
“He is a legend. He is a Royals Hall of Famer and a National Baseball Hall of Famer,” Quatraro said. “I looked up today how many years he actually played. He played eight seasons before managing for 20 or more. That, even in itself — the longevity is impressive. …
”The late 70s and early 80s, that’s my wheelhouse as a fan of baseball. And you know, he was managing the Royals every year and the (New York) Yankees would play them in the playoffs. He was managing the (St. Louis) Cardinals through their really impressive runs. So the success he had and just asking questions about him — understanding the sense of humor he had and the way he related to players — he is a really impressive person.”
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