Whiteyball

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Whiteyball is a style of playing baseball that was developed by former MLB manager Whitey Herzog. The origins of the term stem from the 1982 World Series Championship Herzog's St. Louis Cardinals won. Shocked by the team's success without having even one typical power hitter in the lineup, members of the press started using "Whiteyball" to describe a style of play based on speed on the basepaths, excellent defense, and an emphasis on line drive base hits. In his book "White Rat," Herzog says the approach was a response to the spacious, artificial surface stadiums of the time. As he comments on the media's dismay at his teams' success:

"They seemed to think there was something wrong with the way we played baseball, with speed and defense and line-drive hitters. They called it "Whitey-ball" and said it couldn't last^[1]."

But last it did, all the way through to the remainder of his tenure with the Cardinals, which ended in 1990.

[edit] References

1. ^ Herzog, Whitey and Kevin Horrigan. White Rat - A Life in Baseball. New York: Harper & Row, 1987. Page 145.