" By June 1980, it had been 11 years since the St. Louis Cardinals had seen the postseason. The team that made three World Series in the 1960s, winning two, was now mired in last place. Enter Whitey Herzog, hired as manager and general manager to right the ship. Within three seasons he moved to regain the championship"--
As Lou Brock was chasing 3000 career hits late in the 1979 seasonhis last after 18 years in the majorsthe St. Louis Cardinals were looking for a new identity. Brocks departure represented the final link to the teams glory years of the 1960s, and a parade of new players now came in from the minor leagues. With the Cardinals mired in last place by the following June, owner August A. Busch, Jr., hired Whitey Herzog as field manager, and shortly handed him the general managers position, too. Herzog was given free rein to rebuild the club in order to embrace the new running game trend in the majors. With an aggressive style of play and an unconventional approach to personnel moves, he catapulted the Cardinals back into prominence and defined a new age of baseball in St. Louis.
This book describes Whitey Herzogs time as manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, focusing on the team from 1979 to 1982. It discusses the team prior to Herzogs tenure, including player Lou Brocks career and departure; subsequent problems in the team; Herzogs career before the Cardinals; how he rebuilt the team and turned it around; and how they won the 1982 World Series. Annotation ©2018 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)
