White Rat: A Life in Baseball [Paperback]

Whitey Herzog (Author), Kevin Horrigan (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Herzog, a journeyman big-league player, has distinguished himself as a manager with the Kansas City Royals, the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers (although he was something less than distinguished in the Lone Star State) and as a coach with the Kansas City A's, the New York Mets and the California Angels. His autobiography is notable because he is intelligent, realistic and tough-minded. He knows, for example, that it takes good players to make a good manager while a bad season will ensure the demise of the manager. Fans will find his observations on Dwight Gooden, Casey Stengel, Satchel Paige and Ozzie Smith absorbing and his ideas about the future of the game challenging. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Herzog has been one of the best managers in baseball for a dozen years. This is his account of the players, teams, owners, parks, umpires, agents, etc., with whom he has been associated over the last 25 years. The book is liberally sprinkled with anecdotes and opinions that will interest the serious fan, but in essence it is no different from any other recent sports biography. He does give detailed accounts of the trades and strategies which were used to build winning teams in Kansas City and St. Louis. But the most revealing chapters are those in which he discusses the various owners for whom he has worked and the effects of big contracts and drugs on the modern player. Dennis Dillon, Univ. of Texas Libs., Austin
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Harpercollins (March 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060809108
• ISBN-13: 978-0060809102
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,680,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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5.0 out of 5 stars A Hall of Fame Life in Baseball, March 20, 2010

By 

Larry Underwood "Author - St Louis Cardinals ... (Scottsdale, AZ) - See all my reviews

This review is from: White Rat: A Life in Baseball (Paperback)

When this book was first published, Whitey Herzog was widely regarded as the premier manager in baseball. His team, the St Louis Cardinals, had just played in their third World Series in six seasons; however, that trend was about to come to a crashing halt; the Cardinals would spend the next decade languishing in mediocrity, while Herzog himself would throw in the towel as the 1990 season neared the All-Star break. He had gotten sick of the way his players were underperforming, and was sick of the way the clubhouse had turned against him. It's no surprise that the Cards finished that season dead last in the NL East.

If you're a fan of Whitey Herzog, or simply a fan of the game, you'll love reading this very honest biography. I even picked up a new expression, which Herzog coined: "Fish or cut bait". In other words, when faced with a tough decision, don't hesitate; be decisive and stand by your guns. Fish or cut bait!

Herzog's brutal (at times) honesty helped in forging a winning relationship with the cantankerous owner of the Cardinals, Gussie Busch. Busch liked his style and let him do what was necessary to quickly build the team into a World Series winner; all that was accomplished in a little more than two seasons; to this day, I still can't believe he pulled it off so quickly.

Herzog's brutal honesty backfired after the sixth game of the 1985 World Series; after umpire Don Denkinger blew the call at first base, which helped Kansas City pull off a 2-1 comeback win, Herzog remaked, "He f***ed us!" The Cardinals were now dead, even though they had ace John Tudor coming back to start Game Seven. Not surprisingly, the Cards were shelled, 11-0; in retrospect, Herzog had accurtely predicted the final outcome; however, I wonder if taking a more positive approach to what happened in Game Six, might've produced a more favorable outcome in Game Seven. "Yeah, Denkinger missed the call; but so what? That's baseball. We'll come back like gangbusters tomorrow night!"

Nearly a quarter of a century after this book was released, Herzog was elected to the Hall of Fame. He certainly deserves it; this is a man of honesty and integrity who also happens to know more about baseball than just about anyone who ever lived. His life in baseball makes for a most fascinating read.