Everett, Wash.
Published: Friday, March 7, 2008

'White Rat' advises Mariners to run

Former manager Whitey Herzog, whose Royals and Cardinals teams in the 1970s and '80s emphasized the running game, pays a visit to the Seattle clubhouse.

By Kirby Arnold
Herald Writer

 PEORIA, Ariz. _ The Seattle Mariners are pushing for a better running game at spring training, and for a few minutes Thursday one of the masters of that style was in their midst.

Whitey Herzog, whose Royals and Cardinals teams in the 1970s and '80s ran circles around opponents in lieu of home-run power, spent part of the morning in the Mariners' clubhouse.

Unlike the many guest instructors who've put their hands on the Mariners in camp, Herzog simply was a guest of longtime friend Wes Stock, the pitching coach on the first M's team in 1977.

Herzog, 76, traded salty stories with M's coaches and general manager Bill Bavasi, who succeeded him as general manager of the Angels in 1993.

And for anyone who asked, Herzog said a lot about the state of baseball and the speed aspect that was so important to his teams.

His advice: Run!

"I watch baseball today and everybody is so damned scared they're going to lose a baserunner," Herzog said. "I see situations now where there are men on first and third, one out, and they don't run.

"Damn fellas, you've got to run!"

Note to the Mariners: Are you listening?

M's manager John McLaren has emphasized better baserunning in camp, especially the stolen-base, first-to-third and hit-and-run aspects that put pressure on opposing defenses.

It wouldn't hurt them to look back in time, to what Herzog's teams did with their abundance of speed and lack of power in a style of play known as "Whiteyball."

They slapped the ball into the artificial-turf fast tracks in Kansas City and St. Louis, where vast outfield depths nullified any ideas of using the home run as a weapon.

It produced the Royals' first American League West title in 1976, when they hit a mere 65 home runs and stole 218 bases. The 1982 World Series champion Cardinals stole 200 bases and hit 67 home runs.

Herzog doesn't need to do any math to know the M's, along with a lot of teams in baseball, are missing opportunities when they don't run.

"Whiteyball" may not apply anymore, especially on the slower natural surface at Safeco Field, but he says a semblance of it will work.

"The ball's too jacked up and the parks are small now," he said. "To be able to do that, you'd have to have parks with 375 (feet) down the lines, 385-390 in the gaps and 450 to center. You have to have power.

"But I don't agree that you can't have movement and can't run a little bit. Things happen when you do that, but they're so damned worried today about losing a baserunner."

The Mariners may argue that they're not a speed-demon team, so why try? Richie Sexson and Kenji Johjima are slugs on the bases, and Raul Ibanez and Brad Wilkerson hardly are threats to steal.

To that, Herzog says, "So what?"

"You don't need to have a base-stealing club today," he said. "The problem is that they don't go on running counts and move the defenses around. I'm not picking out anybody. They're all doing it.

"The guy that starts playing like that and has a little bit of movement on the basepaths is going to be a lot more successful. That's a damned All-Star today.

"The catchers aren't throwing as good, the pitchers don't quick-step anymore. I could steal on some of those suckers, and I'm 76 years old!"

Herzog's also as quick with his colorful wit as he was during his "White Rat" days as a manager. He lives in St. Louis and is a frequent visitor to Cardinals games, where the tales flow among Hall of Famers.

"I get together quite a bit with Stan and Red, Brock and Gibson," he said, rattling off the names of four baseball's greats _ Stan Musial, Red Schoendienst, Lou Brock and Bob Gibson. "We do a lot of signings together. I stay pretty busy. Hell, I get paid more money now to drink beer than I did to manage."

Herzog proudly says he hasn't lost a game as manager since 1990.

"I haven't won one since then, either," he said.

The 1990 Cardinals were his last team and, despite some nice offers to manage as recently as five years ago, he never had the urge to do it again.

"I probably turned down four managing jobs for big money and long-term contracts," he said. "My wife said to me, 'Did you ever think they'd offer you that much money to manage?' I said, 'And did you ever think I'd turn it down?' It doesn't really make sense, but I did.

"I had some good clubs that I could have gone to, but I didn't think I would enjoy it anymore."

Read Kirby Arnold's blog for more on Whitey Herzog at www.heraldnet.com
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