Herzog snubbed from the hall again
Ben Nielsen
Issue date: 12/7/07 Section: Sports
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If any St. Louis Cardinals or Kansas City Royals fan ever need another reason to hate the New York Yankees here it is: The Yankees are partially responsible for Whitey Herzog's failure to get into the Hall of Fame.
Former Royals and Cardinals manager Herzog failed to receive the specified amount of votes needed from the baseball veterans committee to make the Hall of Fame this past week. Herzog won a World Series with the Cardinals in 1982 and won 1281 games -ranking him 30th all-time - in his career.
What he is most known for, and where his real Hall of Fame chances reside, is his managing career. Herzog's first job was with the Texas Rangers in 1973. A dismal 47-91 season led to his ouster after one season. He acted as a bench coach for the California Angels in 1974 before becoming the Royals Manager in 1975.
Kansas City would be where Herzog hit his stride. Herzog won three straight Western Division Championships in his first three full seasons with the Royals, going 284-202 over that span. His teams were known for great pitching, defense and tremendous speed on the bases. The Royals were run manufacturing fiends under Herzog, stealing a respective 218, 170 and 216 bases in three straight seasons. The Royals were just flat out good.
There was just one problem during that span: All of three seasons would end with losses to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. And these were not your typical losses to the Yankees either, they were heart breakers.
It started with 1976 ALCS, which ended on a walk-off solo home run by Yankee first baseman Chris Chambliss. Chambliss may have single-handedly beat the Royals in that series, batting an astounding .524 (11 of 21) with two home runs and eight runs batted in.
Fueled by the sour ending to their season, the Royals would win 102 games in 1977 to set up a rematch with the Yankees. The Royals once again found themselves one game away from the World Series, needing a win in game five at home. The Royals would once again lose in the ninth inning as the Yankees would erase a 3-2 deficit.
The Royals would "again" make it back to the ALCS against the Yankees, but would again be shunned on back-to-back one run victories. Herzog would be fired after the following season.
The Yankees would go on to win two of the World Series they were in - both against the Los Angeles Dodgers. One could only imagine what the Royals would have done had they played in those series. And who knows what affects that could have had on Herzog's Hall of Fame candidacy.
Herzog would go on to appear in three World Series with the Cardinals, winning one of them. He managed Hall of Famers George Brett and Ozzie Smith. He built two franchises into championship caliber teams.
But it appears that his inability to get to the World Series from 1976-1978 doomed his Hall of Fame chances. What a sad day for Missouri sports and for Whitey.
Stupid Yankees.
Former Royals and Cardinals manager Herzog failed to receive the specified amount of votes needed from the baseball veterans committee to make the Hall of Fame this past week. Herzog won a World Series with the Cardinals in 1982 and won 1281 games -ranking him 30th all-time - in his career.
What he is most known for, and where his real Hall of Fame chances reside, is his managing career. Herzog's first job was with the Texas Rangers in 1973. A dismal 47-91 season led to his ouster after one season. He acted as a bench coach for the California Angels in 1974 before becoming the Royals Manager in 1975.
Kansas City would be where Herzog hit his stride. Herzog won three straight Western Division Championships in his first three full seasons with the Royals, going 284-202 over that span. His teams were known for great pitching, defense and tremendous speed on the bases. The Royals were run manufacturing fiends under Herzog, stealing a respective 218, 170 and 216 bases in three straight seasons. The Royals were just flat out good.
There was just one problem during that span: All of three seasons would end with losses to the New York Yankees in the American League Championship Series. And these were not your typical losses to the Yankees either, they were heart breakers.
It started with 1976 ALCS, which ended on a walk-off solo home run by Yankee first baseman Chris Chambliss. Chambliss may have single-handedly beat the Royals in that series, batting an astounding .524 (11 of 21) with two home runs and eight runs batted in.
Fueled by the sour ending to their season, the Royals would win 102 games in 1977 to set up a rematch with the Yankees. The Royals once again found themselves one game away from the World Series, needing a win in game five at home. The Royals would once again lose in the ninth inning as the Yankees would erase a 3-2 deficit.
The Royals would "again" make it back to the ALCS against the Yankees, but would again be shunned on back-to-back one run victories. Herzog would be fired after the following season.
The Yankees would go on to win two of the World Series they were in - both against the Los Angeles Dodgers. One could only imagine what the Royals would have done had they played in those series. And who knows what affects that could have had on Herzog's Hall of Fame candidacy.
Herzog would go on to appear in three World Series with the Cardinals, winning one of them. He managed Hall of Famers George Brett and Ozzie Smith. He built two franchises into championship caliber teams.
But it appears that his inability to get to the World Series from 1976-1978 doomed his Hall of Fame chances. What a sad day for Missouri sports and for Whitey.
Stupid Yankees.
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