His misadventures began when he was given the wrong departure time for his flight. Then, after catching a later plane to Atlanta, he hopped into a cab and asked the driver to take him to the Marriott. Mistaking Herzog’s request, the driver took him to Marietta. After he finally arrived at the ballpark, Herzog cut himself shaving and required first-hand experience with trainer Gene Gieselmann’s ministrations.[1]

Despite the challenges, Herzog, who was introduced as the Cardinals’ new manager the day before at a sprawling estate that once belonged to Ulysses S. Grant, was convivial during pre-game batting practice.

“I feel great,” Herzog said. “Why? Because I haven’t lost a game in this uniform yet.”[2]

Thanks to a three-run, 10th-inning home run from center fielder George Hendrick, Herzog could still say the same at day’s end.

Herzog inherited the managerial post from Ken Boyer, whose Cardinals had won just five of their previous 26 games and at 18-34 held the worst record in baseball. The Cardinals’ struggles had come despite an offense that led the league with a .275 batting average. Entering that day’s game, Keith Hernandez (.343), Ken Reitz (.335), Ted Simmons (.297), Hendrick (.296), and Garry Templeton (.288) each ranked among the league’s batting leaders.

“I certainly like the averages on this team, but the main concern is the pitching,” Herzog said. “There is no guarantee that I can do any more with it than Kenny did, but we’ll try to get the injuries healed up and then see where we stand.”[3]

The Cardinals’ beleaguered pitching staff was anchored by right-handers Pete Vuckovich and Bob Forsch. 41-year-old left-hander Jim Kaat, whom the Cardinals had purchased from the New York Yankees on April 30, provided leadership and depth, but injuries and ineffectiveness had plagued the rest of the pitching staff.

John Fulgham, who had gone 10-6 with a 2.53 ERA in 1979, now had a 3.04 ERA but was just 2-3 on the year and lasted just three innings in his previous start against the Montreal Expos. Silvio Martinez, who won 15 games the previous season, had a 4.50 ERA when he went to the disabled list at the beginning of June with an elbow injury. A former player of Herzog’s in Kansas City, closer Mark Littell, was also on the disabled list with an elbow injury that would require season-ending surgery.

Altogether, the Cardinals had combined for a 4.28 ERA – the worst in the league – heading into Herzog’s debut.

In a 10-minute meeting prior to the game, Herzog laid out the ground rules for his new club. There would be no curfew on the road, and players would be permitted to drink in the hotel bar, reversing a rule Boyer had instituted just a few days prior. If players wanted to listen to music while traveling with the team, they had to use headphones, and there would be no music in the clubhouse after a loss. Most importantly, Herzog said, everyone was required to show up on time, and anyone who failed to hustle could expect a fine.[4]

“He was saying things that really made sense to people,” second baseman Tom Herr said.[5]

When Herzog approached home plate for the first time as Cardinals manager, he handed the umpires a lineup that had been selected by his brother Butzy (pronounced “bootsy”[6]) – a devoted, lifelong Cardinals fan who still lived in Herzog’s hometown of New Athens, Illinois.[7]

As they had much of the season, the Cardinals produced early, jumping out to a 5-0 lead. Templeton singled and stole second before Hendrick hit a two-out RBI single to put the Cardinals on the scoreboard. Templeton added an RBI single in the second inning, and Simmons hit a solo home run to right field in the third.

The Cardinals tacked on two more runs in the sixth as Simmons and Hendrick led off the inning with back-to-back doubles and Hendrick scored on a sacrifice fly by Bobby Bonds. However, just as Herzog got his first glimpse of the Cardinals’ offensive firepower, he also saw why the team was at the bottom of the National League.

Kaat cruised through five innings before Dale Murphy and Chris Chambliss hit consecutive doubles in the sixth inning to put Atlanta on the scoreboard. In the seventh, Kaat did himself no favors, walking Bruce Benedict to lead off the inning before Charlie Spikes doubled to left field. Benedict scored on a wild pitch, and with one out, Spikes scored on an error by Templeton at shortstop. After Chambliss hit an RBI single to make the score 5-4, Herzog made the first pitching change of his Cardinals career.

John Littlefield, a rookie right-hander whom Herzog mistakenly referred to as “Littlejohn” after the game,[8] got St. Louis out of the seventh. He retired the side in order in the eighth, but a ninth-inning RBI single by Glenn Hubbard tied the game, 5-5.

“I thought after that, we’d surely win the game,” Hubbard said. “Especially on a team that’s been losing so much. I didn’t think they’d come back, but they did.”[9]

With one out in the 10th, Hernandez drew a walk and Simmons singled to center, prompting Braves manager Bobby Cox to turn to veteran reliever Gene Garber to face Hendrick.

Hendrick was not fooled by Garber’s twisting, sidearm delivery or the pitch (the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Hendrick said it was a change-up, the Atlanta Constitution quoted Simmons as saying Hendrick called it “some kind of slider”) as he deposited his 12th home run of the season over the left-field wall.

Even then, the Braves refused to allow Herzog’s first Cardinals win to come easily. Herzog removed his third pitcher of the evening, Kim Seaman, after he allowed a leadoff single to start the 10th.

Before sending Seaman to the showers, Herzog looked at the infielders who had gathered around the mound. “Just like Kansas City,” he said. “Never a dull moment.” As Seaman’s teammates laughed, Herzog told the young reliever that despite the result, he’d thrown a good pitch.[10]

With that out of the way, George Frazier got a double-play ball and a strikeout to end the game.

“I don’t think we’re a last-place club and that’s no reflection on anyone, but we’ve dug ourselves a big hole, and we’ve got to put some streaks together,” Herzog said. “But it’s hard to put a streak together unless you get consistent pitching. We’re going to have to straighten the pitching out.”[11]

It didn’t take Herzog long to realize that even with their potent offense, the Cardinals needed a roster upheaval. After three consecutive home losses against the Cubs, team owner August A. Busch Jr. asked Herzog what the team’s trouble was. Herzog didn’t mince his words.

“Well, Chief, you’ve got a bunch of prima donnas, overpaid SOBs who ain’t ever going to win a goddamned thing. You’ve got a bunch of mean people, some sorry human beings. It’s the first time I’ve ever been scared to walk through my own clubhouse. We’ve got drug problems, we’ve got ego problems, and we ain’t ever going anywhere.”

Busch seemed disappointed but not entirely surprised. He asked Herzog if it was really as bad as the skipper made it sound.

“We ain’t going to win with this sorry bunch,” Herzog said. “We’ve got to do some housecleaning.”[12]

That August, Busch fired general manager John Claiborne and installed Herzog in his place. To focus on these new duties, Herzog temporarily handed the manager’s job to Red Schoendienst.

That winter, Herzog remade the Cardinals’ roster around pitching, speed, and defense. He began by signing free agent catcher Darrell Porter and dealing Terry Kennedy, Littlefield, Al Olmsted, Mike Phillips, Seaman, Steve Swisher, and John Urrea to the San Diego Padres for Rollie Fingers, Bob Shirley, Gene Tenace, and Bob Geren.

One day after the Padres trade, Herzog sent Leon Durham, Reitz, and Ty Waller to the Chicago Cubs for Bruce Sutter. He followed that exchange by trading Fingers, Simmons, and Vuckovich to the Milwaukee Brewers for David Green, Dave LaPoint, Sixto Lezcano, and Lary Sorensen. By Christmas, Herzog had also released the aging Bonds.

Though some of these moves certainly can be questioned, they firmly established the Cardinals as Herzog’s team and laid the groundwork for St. Louis’s 1982 World Series championship.

Much like his path to Fulton County Stadium for his Cardinals debut, Herzog may have taken a roundabout way of getting there, but eventually, he arrived exactly where he expected.

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] Rick Hummel, “‘New Air In Atmosphere’ For Redbirds,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 10, 1980: A10.

[2] Ernest Reese, “Herzog Winner In Debut,” Atlanta Constitution, June 10, 1980: D1.

[3] Ken Picking, “Herzog Has Tough, Attractive Challenge” Atlanta Constitution, June 10, 1980: D1.

[4] Doug Feldmann, Whitey Herzog Builds a Winner: The St. Louis Cardinals, 1979-1982 (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc.), 58.

[5] Hummel.

[6] Feldmann, 43.

[7] Feldmann, 57.

[8] Hummel.

[9] Reese.

[10] Hummel.

[11] Reese.

[12] Herzog, Whitey and Kevin Horrigan, White Rat: My Life in Baseball (New York, N.Y.: HarperCollins, 1988), 118.

The post Whitey Herzog manages his first Cardinals game: June 9, 1980 first appeared on STLRedbirds.com.

In addition to signing Kaat, the Cardinals also signed free agent righthander Pedro Borbon, who had been serving as a batting practice pitcher for the club since being released from the Giants in spring training.[1] To make roster space, the Cardinals designated lefthanded reliever Darold Knowles for assignment and optioned Jim Lentine to Springfield.

“We want somebody who can put the lid on,” manager Ken Boyer said.[2]

Though the Cardinals were less than three weeks into the season, their bullpen had already reached the breaking point. In 35 1/3 innings, they were 0-5 with one save and a 7.46 ERA. Since returning from a nine-game road trip, they twice allowed the Cubs to mount three-run, ninth-inning rallies. On each occasion, the Cubs’ own bullpen ace, Bruce Sutter, secured the save.

“If we had the relief pitching, we’d probably be in first place,” Cardinals general manager John Claiborne said.[3]

Boyer, who guided the club to 86 wins in his second season at the helm in 1979, was fully in support of the reinforcements.

“Kaat has always had good stuff, and he’s a great competitor,” Boyer said. “I didn’t see him pitch this spring – we didn’t play the Yankees – but our scouts said he was throwing well and hitting good location. We need somebody – Kaat, Borbon, or whoever – to do for us what Sutter’s been doing for the Cubs. Last year, we lost the lead in the eighth or ninth inning in something like 27 games, and this spring, it’s been the same way. It’s been demoralizing to the players and the fans to see it every day.”[4]

“One thing’s for sure: both Jim and Borbon will be given a chance to come in late,” Cardinals pitching coach Claude Osteen said. “It isn’t as if we haven’t tried everyone else down there. We’ve given everyone a chance to wear the crown.”[5]

Before the Cardinals purchased his contract, Kaat’s thoughts had turned more toward broadcasting baseball games than playing in them. He had pitched just five innings for the Yankees, allowing four earned runs, when New York designated him for assignment.

“I didn’t think this was it, the end of the line, but I kind of wanted it to be,” he said. “When (Yankees general manager) Cedric Tallis and John Claiborne of the Cardinals were trying to reach me, I was auditioning for a broadcasting job. Cutting a demonstration tape, really. There’s a lot of cable TV work around New York, and we want to stay in the east.”[6]

A starter for most of his career, Kaat brought a 264-221 career record to St. Louis. Through much of the 1960s, Kaat had been a workhorse for the Twins. In 1962, he was selected for his first career All-Star Game on his way to 18 wins and 269 innings pitched. That season also marked the first of 12 consecutive Gold Gloves.

In 1965, he started Game 7 of the World Series against Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers, allowing both runs in a 2-0 loss. In 1966, he led the league with 25 wins, 19 complete games, and 304 2/3 innings pitched, placing fifth in the AL MVP vote.

Kaat continued to post double-digit win totals into the 1970s, but after acrimonious contract negotiations, the Twins placed him on waivers, and he was picked up by the White Sox in August 1973.

Kaat’s two full seasons in Chicago ranked among his best, as he won 21 games with a 2.92 ERA in 1974 and won 20 more with a 3.11 ERA in 1975, placing fourth in the AL Cy Young Award vote. That December, Kaat was traded to the Phillies, where he pitched his final season of more than 200 innings.

In 1979, Kaat made 41 of his 43 appearances in relief. Claiborne said the Cardinals had explored trading for Kaat for about a week before finalizing the move.

“We’re starting to evaluate and make some changes, but it can’t be done overnight,” Cardinals general manager John Claiborne said. “Even though Kaat is 41 years old, Gaylor Perry won the Cy Young Award at 40. I’m not suggesting Kaat can win the Cy Young Award, but he can start and relieve in three areas – short, middle, and long.”[7]

At 6-foot-4 and 205 pounds, Kaat remained uncannily athletic. Just three years earlier, in 1977, he had won his most recent Gold Glove.

“I was with Jim in 1975 in Chicago when he won 20 games for the White Sox, and age doesn’t apply to Kaat,” Osteen said. “He’s probably as quick around the mound as anybody in baseball, and he always has been. What’s more, he has the body of a younger man – certainly not someone in his 40s.”[8]

Earlier that season with the Yankees, Kaat had become the sixth major leaguer to play in four different decades, joining Willie McCovey, Minnie Minoso, Mickey Vernon, Ted Williams, and Early Wynn.[9]

“I don’t stay young, I stay in shape,” Kaat said. “I’ve always treated baseball as a year-round job. With all the weight machines and exercise facilities available to them, there is no reason for baseball players to be out of shape.”[10]

Kaat arrived at Busch Stadium the same day the trade was finalized, just in time to retire the final five batters in an 8-2 win over the Cubs. This time, there was no ninth-inning rally.

“It was nice to get my feet wet the first time in uniform,” Kaat said.[11]

The Cardinals wound up using Kaat as a swingman that season. His 41 appearances included 14 starts, as he went 8-7 with a 3.82 ERA in 129 2/3 innings.

“I still think I’m best as a starter, but you can make yourself believe you’re a good reliever,” Kaat said.[12]

In the strike-shortened 1981 season, Kaat made 40 of his 41 appearances in relief. In 1982, at age 43, he threw 75 innings, starting just two of his 62 appearances. In the 1982 World Series, Kaat appeared in four games, allowing one earned run in 2 1/3 innings. It was the first – and only – world championship of his career.

“It’s a fact of life – it’s not that easy to be part of a championship team,” Kaat said. “Who would’ve known this would be the team? When I came to the Cardinals, I didn’t even know I’d make it through 1980.”[13]

In 1983, he had a 3.89 ERA through 34 2/3 innings when the Cardinals released him in July. He retired with a 283-237 career record and 3.45 ERA over a 25-year major-league career.

Kaat became the Reds’ pitching coach under Pete Rose in 1984 before beginning the broadcasting career he had planned when the Cardinals acquired him. From 1986 through 2009, he worked for CBS, NBC, ESPN, ABC, the MLB Network, and TBS, winning seven Emmy Awards for sports broadcasting.[14]

In 2022, he was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Golden Days Era Committee.

Give the gift of Cardinals history! The Trades That Made The St. Louis Cardinals is available now on Amazon.

[1] Arnold Irish and Cal Fussman, “Cardinals Seek Relief: Sign Jim Kaat, Borbon,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 30, 1980.

[2] Arnold Irish, “Kaat Answers Boyer’s Plea, Puts Lid On Cubs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 1, 1980.

[3] Arnold Irish and Cal Fussman, “Cardinals Seek Relief: Sign Jim Kaat, Borbon,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 30, 1980.

[4] Arnold Irish, “Kaat Answers Boyer’s Plea, Puts Lid On Cubs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 1, 1980.

[5] Arnold Irish, “Kaat Answers Boyer’s Plea, Puts Lid On Cubs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 1, 1980.

[6] Arnold Irish, “Kaat Answers Boyer’s Plea, Puts Lid On Cubs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 1, 1980.

[7] Arnold Irish and Cal Fussman, “Cardinals Seek Relief: Sign Jim Kaat, Borbon,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, April 30, 1980.

[8] Arnold Irish, “Kaat Answers Boyer’s Plea, Puts Lid On Cubs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 1, 1980.

[9] Michael Kahn, “Cardinals bullpen additions,” Belleville News-Democrat, May 1, 1980.

[10] Arnold Irish, “Kaat Answers Boyer’s Plea, Puts Lid On Cubs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 1, 1980.

[11] Arnold Irish, “Kaat Answers Boyer’s Plea, Puts Lid On Cubs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 1, 1980.

[12] Arnold Irish, “Kaat Answers Boyer’s Plea, Puts Lid On Cubs,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 1, 1980.

[13] Mike Smith, “Kaat Remembers That Old Gang,” St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 21, 1982.

[14] Patrick Lethert, “Jim Kaat,” Society for American Baseball Research, https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/jim-kaat/.

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