1978 Topps Baseball #299 - Whitey Herzog

• Whitey Herzog was signed by the New York Yankees in 1949. Whitey spent the next for years in the Yankees' farm system before spending two years in military service. Herzog had a good year in AAA Denver in 1955, but he wasn't going to crack the Yankees club.
• In April 1956 Whitey was a throw-in in a large trade between the Yankees and the Washington Senators. He spent all of 1956 in Washington and then split time between AAA Miami and Washington in 1956. Herzog was traded to the Kansas City A's in 1958 and played for three teams  between 1958 and 1963.
• Herzog scouted, coached, and managed in the minors and for the New York Mets from 1964-1967. He then became director of player development for the Mets in 1967 and served in that position for six years. Whitey was a candidate to replace the deceased Gil Hodges as manager of the Mets in April 1972 but Yogi Berra was selected instead.
• In 1973 Herzog replaced Ted Williams as manager of the Texas Rangers. The Rangers were a terrible team in 1973 and Whitey didn't even last the whole season. He was canned when the Rangers got the chance to sign the newly available Billy Martin to manage.
• Herzog was a coach and an interim manager for the California Angels in 1974.
• In 1975 Whitey was hired to manage the Kansas City Royals. The Royals were very successful under Herzog, winning three AL West titles from 1976-1978. They were never able to reach the World Series during that time and Whitey was dismissed after a disappointing 1979 season.
• Whitey became the General Manager (as well as manager) of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1980. He was the GM from 1980-1982. Herzog took the Cardinals to the World Championship in 1982 and won pennants in 1985 and in 1987. Herzog was named NL Manager of the Year in 1985. Whitey stepped down as the Cardinals' manager in July 1990 when he was dissatisfied with the team's performance.
• Herzog never managed again (although he was offered the managerial position in Boston in 1996). He served in various front office and consultant positions after leaving the Cardinals.
• Whitey was elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee in 2010.
• Managerial Record:
• Texas Rangers (1973): 47-91 (.391)
• California Angels (1974): 2-2 (.500)
• Kansas City Royals (1975-1979): 410-304 (.574) - 3 AL West titles
• St. Louis Cardinals (1980-1990): 822-708 (.530) - 3 NL Pennants, 1 World Championship