#336 Rene Lachemann Seattle Mariners

This is Rene Lachemann's first Topps base card as a manager. I've said it before and I'll say it agian, I hate the pink borders on the Mariners cards.

Although he played just three years in the majors he appeared on four Topps cards as a player.  His 1965 rookie card is worth some money, probably because that Jim Hunter guy that is also on the card.

Player:  Lachemann, like many managers, was a catcher in his playing days, playing parts of three seasons for the A's, two in KC and one in Oakland.  As a 19 year old in his first pro season he hit 25 homers at three different levels.  Production like that got A's management excited and Lachemann on a Topps card as a teen. 

He made his MLB debut on his 20th birthday in '65 and hit nine dingers in 92 games, displaying the power that was so rare for catchers of that era.  Alas, those would be the only blasts he would hit in the majors as he had just five at bats in '66, spent all of '67 in the minors, and fizzled in 60 at bats in '68.  One downfall may have been his throwing arm since he only threw out 10 would be base stealers in 66 career attempts.

Manager:  At just 28 years old Lachemann found his playing career over after the '72 season.  He would go on to manage in the A's chain for four years until moving on to the new Mariners franchise in 1977 at AAA San Jose. 

Lachemann managed San Jose for two years, then followed the squad to Spokane in '79.  In 1981 the big league Mariners started the year 6-18 and they fired Maury Wills and hired the 36 year-old Lachemann.  

Following the disastrous Wills' tenure, Lachemann and the Mariners went 38-47 the rest of the way during the strike shortened campaign.   1982 would prove to be the best season in Seattle's young history when they won 76 games besting their previous high by nine games.  A 26-47 start was Lachemann's undoing in 1983 when he was canned after an eight game losing streak.  According to Seattle reporter Tracy Ringolsby Seattle owner "George Argyros also wasn't pleased in early May when he phoned Lachemann in the dugout and demanded a pitching change and Lachemann threw the dugout phone".  

The Mariners gig was a great opportunity at the start and ended with what seemed like a raw deal from a meddling owner. Lachemann wasn't out of work long and was hired by the Brewers to run the team in 1984.

Lachemann only spent one year in Milwaukee as the team struggled to a 94-loss, 7th place finish.   Once again Lachemann seemed to get hosed.  He was notified that he was fired in the last week of the season yet asked to finish out managing the last three games. The Brewers were without Paul Molitor for all but 13 games, sluggers Cecil Cooper, Ben Oglivie, and Ted Simmons combined for a measly 27 homers, and the pitching staff was unremarkable aside from aging stars Don Sutton and Rollie Fingers.

Lachemann seemed to find success as a coach in Boston '85-'86 and Oakland '87-'92 winning four pennants in total and a championship ring with the A's in '89.  

Lachemann, by now a well respected coach, was given another shot as a manager with the expansion Florida Marlins.  As their inaugural skipper he was given a longer leash than he had in Seattle and definitely more than Milwaukee.  After winning just 64 games their first year the Fish improved in '94, playing at a .443 clip when the season ended early due to the strike.  1995 marked another shortened season and Florida showed a little more improvement, playing .469 ball.  The following season the Marlins brass canned Lachemann mid-year after a 39-47 mark.  

Since then Lachemann had a few coaching stops in various roles with the Cardinals, Cubs, and back with the A's.  From 2008 to 2012 Lachemann served as hitting coach for the Rockies AAA affiliate in Colorado Springs.  He was back in the bigs serving on Walt Weiss' staff from 2013 through this past season. Lachemann was among three coaches also let go when Weiss got the axe at the end of the year.

Flipside:  With all those minor league seasons split into a first and second half it looks like Lachemann was managing in the minors for a long time when in reality it was eight years and change.

Oddball:  Growing up in Los Angeles, Lachemann was a bat boy for the Dodgers where he picked up after many stars including Maury Wills who he eventually replaced in Seattle.

In his later coaching days Lachemann has been known to dispense in-your-face advice to youngsters when giving them a souvenir ball.  

History:  Lachemann is a true baseball lifer, spending every one of the past 53 seasons either playing, coaching or managing in professional ball.  Lachemann came from a family of ball players having played and coached with his brother Marcel in a few different stops.  He also has another brother Bill who played in the minors.  

Lachemann's major league managerial winning percentage is only .433 but he seems very well regarded by those who have worked with him.  It would have been interesting to see how he would have done with more talented team than the one's he had to work with.  No word on whether the 71 year-old will retire or be serving on someone's bench in 2017.

#306 Tommy Lasorda - Los Angeles Dodgers

Tommy Lasorda is listed as Tom but what fun is that?  It looks like Lasorda might be trying to make a point with an umpire.  He had one card as a player in the '54 set and his first manager card was in the '78 set.  So not counting team cards in other sets this is just his third Topps card.

Player: Tommy Lasorda had a lengthy minor league career and parts of three seasons in the majors.  The 17 year old Lasorda began his pitching career in 1945 for the Phillies organization but served in the Army the next two years.  Resuming his career in 1948 at Schenectady of the Can-Am league he whiffed a mind boggling 25 batters in a 15 inning victory and drove in the winning run with a single.  The season was otherwise a downer as he struggled with control walking 153 in 192 innings.

The Dodgers acquired Lasorda in the minor league draft and a better year followed in '49 as he posted a 2.93 ERA for Carolina in the South Atlantic League.  Lasorda spent the next six years with the Dodgers top farm club in Montreal.  While north of the border, Lasorda worked his way up from swing man to staff workhorse.  He got into four games with Brooklyn in 1954 and four more the next year but did not factor into any decisions.  In '56 the Kansas City Athletics purchased him and he was 0-4 with a 6.15 ERA and 45 walks in 45 innings.  The A's traded Lasorda to the Yankees for Wally Burnette which spelled the end of his major league career. 

Lasorda pitched for Denver in the Yankees system until May of '57 when the Dodgers bought his contract from the Yankees.  He pitched in the minors for the Dodgers organization until July 1960.  He won 136 games in the minors but the southpaw was wild walking 4.8 per nine innings. 

Manager:  Lasorda worked as a scout for the Dodgers from '61 to '65 before receiving his first managerial post for the Rookie League Dodgers in 1966.  Lasorda won three championships in the low minors and worked his way up to AAA Spokane by '69.  When the team moved to Albuquerque in '72, so did he and he guided them to a PCL championship.  

Lasorda was promoted to the Dodgers third base coach position in '73 which he held until Walter Alston handed off the manager's job with four games to go in the '76 campaign.  The colorful Lasorda had been courted by other teams and the Dodgers were anxious to get Lasorda in the fold before losing him to another team.  How much pressure Alston felt to step down isn't known but Lasorda had reportedly turned down managerial jobs from other teams to stay in LA. 

Lasorda guided the Dodgers to NL pennants in his first two seasons at the helm with 98 and 95 win seasons.  The Dodgers fell victim to the Yankees, losing in six games in both series.  After a sub-par '79 season the Dodgers and Astros were tied after 162 games in 1980.  The deadlock set up a game 163 which the Astros won handily.  Lasorda and the Dodgers came through with a World Championship in '81 getting revenge on both the Astros and the Yankees along the way.

Lasorda had been known for his work with young players in the minors and continued to develop talent at the major league level.  The Dodgers had a string of NL Rookie of the Year winners from 1979-82 that included Rick Sutcliffe, Steve Howe, Fernando Valenzuela, and Steve Sax.

The Dodgers won the NL West in both '83 and '85 but were eliminated in the NLCS both times.  After a pair of 89 loss seasons in '86 and '87 Lasorda and the Dodgers won the World Series in 1988 defeating the A's in five games.  The image of a jubilant Lasorda running out of the dugout following Kirk Gibson's walk off Game 1 home run is a lasting image to all who witnessed the moment.  (Lasorda seen here at the 1:46 mark).

Over the next five years the Dodgers finished 4th, 2nd, 2nd, 6th, and 4th.  The 6th place 99 loss season in '92 would be by far the worst during Lasorda's tenure.  The Dodgers were in first place in '94 when the strike ended the season.  The '95 team won the NL West but were swept in three games by the Reds.  The Dodgers were 41-25 when Lasorda checked himself into a hospital with what was determined to be a heart attack.  Lasorda recovered but announced his retirement from the dugout on 6/29/96.   

Flipside: Lasorda walked a whopping 56 in 58 major league innings.  The 25 strikeout game was a record at the time but since has been broken.  Lasorda's first managing gig was in Pocatello, Idaho in 1965.  I wonder why Topps didn't excluded it?

Oddball: Some of my first baseball memories were made watching "The Baseball Bunch" which starred Johnny Bench coaching youngsters on the fundamentals of the game.  Each episode they consulted the Dugout Wizard who was played by Lasorda.  The Wizard was a baseball guru clad in a turban who proclaimed baseball knowledge for young and old. 

On the opposite end of the spectrum from children's broadcasting are some of Lasorda's famous R-rated rants. There are a number of them but my favorite is when he rips on the Padres Kurt Bevacqua and Joe Lefebrve. 

History: Lasorda retired as one of the all time greats with a career record of 1599-1434 winning two World Series, four pennants, and eight first place finishes.  He was elected to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in '97.  His Dodger teams were usually very pitching strong and when they stalled out it was usually on offense. 

Lasorda managed the U.S. Olympic team to a gold medal in 2000 and has stayed active with the Dodgers and MLB in a variety of roles.  

#276 Gene Mauch - California Angels

Gene Mauch looks pretty happy here on his 16th Topps manager card. Mauch had just one card as a player which appeared in the 1957 set.  When I was a kid, I was sure Mauch must have been in his 70s but he was just in his mid-50s when this picture was taken.  Must have been the white hair which fooled me for years with Sparky Anderson.

Player: Gene Mauch started his playing career during World War II and after a just one year in the minors, debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1944.  Playing shortstop, Mauch got into five games and had two hits in fifteen at bats but put his playing career on hold to join the Army Air Force.  He was stationed in Arizona and did not return to baseball until 1946.  After spending the '47 season at AAA, he saw action in the majors from 1947 through 1952 playing for the Pirates, Dodgers, Cubs, Braves, and Cardinals.  Used as a reserve middle infielder he played sparingly and batted less than .250 each year.     

 

In 1953 the 27 year-old Mauch was sent to the Braves double-A affiliate in Atlanta and served as player-manager. He batted .268 at the teams secondbaseman and led the squad to a 84-70 record.  The Braves released Mauch and he put his managerial career on hold and played three years in the Cubs system.  He was sold to the Red Sox towards the end of the '56 season and got into seven games for Boston.  Mauch shared second base with Ted Lepcio in '57 and had his best year in the majors batting .270 in 222 at bats. 

 

The Red Sox liked Mauch but more for his brain than his athletic prowess and sent him to triple-A to manage their affiliate in Minneapolis.  He guided the team to winning records both years and while he penciled his name in the lineup often in '58, by '59 he limited his playing to eight pinch hit appearances. 

 

Manager: Mauch was just 34 years old when hired by the Phillies to be their field general in 1960.  The Phillies were a moribund franchise and surprised no one by finishing last in '60 and duplicating the feat in '61, a season marred by a 23 game losing streak.  The team began to improve and won 81 games in '62 and 87 in '63.  Led by sluggers Dick Allen and Johnny Callison the team was on the verge of the NL pennant in '64 holding a 6.5 game lead with 12 games left on the schedule.  Seeking just their second NL crown in 48 seasons, the Phillies lost ten straight in what has become known as the Phold.  Mauch was heavily criticized in the press for starting co-aces Jim Bunning and Chris Short twice each on two days rest over the stretch with disastrous results.  The Phillies won the last two games of the year but it was too little-too late, and they finished one game back of the Cardinals.

 

The next three seasons the Phillies were good but not great winning between 82 and 87 games each year.  Philadelphia started the '68 season 27-27 and the Phillies fired Mauch as he was tending to his hospitalized wife back in California.  He stated he held no hard feelings towards management for the awkward timing nor any animosity toward troubled Dick Allen who Mauch had struggled to handle.  

 

Mauch was named manager of the newly formed Montreal Expos in September of 1968.  They took their lumps associated with most expansion teams, losing 110 in their inaugural season in '69.  The Expos were consistently mediocre under Mauch.  He guided them to 70 to 79 win seasons the next six years, keeping them out of last place but never finishing higher than fourth.  Management grew weary of Mauch's refusal to listen to advice from scouts ans staff and canned him following the '75 season. 

 

Less than two months later Mauch was handed the reigns to the Minnesota Twins.  At this point in his career he had managed 15 full seasons in the majors, and had just one finish higher than fourth on his slate.  He was esteemed for runnung a tight ship and coaching the fundamentals- defense, bunting, what we now call small ball.  Under Mauch's reign the Twins finished in third or fourth place from '76 to '79 averaging 81 wins a year.  As the Twins 1980 season unfolded, Mauch was let go with a 54-71 record. 

 

Mauch wasn't out of work long.  He was hired as the Angels director of player development and took over as field general when Jim Fregosi was shown the door in May of '81.  The Angels were 29-34 under Mauch but with a veteran laden team expectations were high going into the '82 season.  The Angels won 93 and topped the AL West delivering Mauch to the postseason for the first time in his 24 year career.  The Angels jumped out to a 2-0 series lead but blew it by losing the last three of the best of five set.  Once again Mauch found himself criticized for the way he handled his pitching staff as he started veterans Tommy John and Bruce Kison on short rest in games 4 and 5.  Mauch's contract was up and although offered an extension, he declined and retired saying he was "dead certain he'd never manage again". 

 

Mauch came back to the Halos dugout when his replacement John McNamara turned down an offer to continue in '85.  The Angels won 90 but finished in 2nd place in his first year back.  The team won 92 in '86 and won the AL West giving Mauch another shot at the postseason.  The Angels were ahead in the seven game series 3 to 1 going into Game 5.  In the back-and-forth contest, California was just one strike away from the World Series when Boston's Dave Henderson hit a go ahead home run.  Although the Angels tied it up in the bottom of the ninth they lost the game in extra innings and the series when they were blown away in Games 6 and 7.

 

Despite the devastating end to the '86 season, Mauch returned in '87 but the Angels won just 75 games.  Mauch a lifelong smoker missed most of spring training in '88 with chronic bronchitis and decided to retire.   At that time his 27 seasons as manager trailed just Connie Mack, John McGraw, and Bucky Harris. 

 

Flipside: Mauch finally got his elusive first place finish in '82 after finishing between 3rd and 6th every year since '64.

 

Oddball:  Looking over Mauch's playing career his '56 season at Los Angeles of the Pacific Coast League stands out like a strobe light in a dark closet.  He batted .348/.424/.516 with 20 homers in 650 plate appearances.  He never had a season anything like that before or after.  In fact he spent the previous two years with the same LA team batting .287 and .296 but never had hit more than 11 homers in a season. So what's the story?  Had Mauch stumbled upon some cold war steroids? Nah, he was stealing signs.  Mauch admits in "The Baseball Codes" to mastering sneaking a peek at the catcher's signs to alert him what pitch was coming. 

 

History: Mauch's managerial style was one that thrived on attention to detail. He used the double switch frequently and loved the sacrifice bunt. According to Chris Jaffe's terrific study of manager tendencies from '67 to '80, every player under Mauch with at least 300 plate appearances had at least one sac bunt. He also loved to platoon, working that advantage more than other managers.

Mauch's career was filled with disappointment dating back to the Phold but the Angels collapses in '82 and '86 were devastating in their own right. He retired with a 1902-2037 record and is still cited as the guy who not only never won the big one, he never even get there. He returned to the dugout for a year in 1995 working as Bob Boone's bench coach in Kansas City. 

Mauch passed away from lung cancer in 2005

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#246 George Bamberger - New York Mets

It had been 24 years since George Bamberger was able to claim Topps card for himself.  His 1959 issue can be seen here.  Bamberger looks pretty jolly in this picture and it reflects his personality.  While he was in Milwaukee he was known to stop by tailgating fans and have a beer before the game.

Player:  George Bamberger tossed only 14 innings in his big league career which consisted of three cups of coffee with the Giants in '51-'52 and the Orioles in '59.  He won over 200 games in the minors and played until 1963.

Bamberger spent the '64 through '67 seasons as the Orioles minor league pitching instructor.  He was Earl Weaver's pitching coach on the O's from '68 to '77 where he oversaw some very impressive pitchers. 

Manager:  After the '77 season Bamberger left Baltimore to manage in Milwaukee.  He oversaw a power hitting team with sluggers like Cecil Cooper, Gorman Thomas, Ben Oglive as well as future Hall of Famers Robin Yount and Paul Molitor.  "Bambi's Bombers", as they came to be known, were the forerunners to Harvey's Wallbangers.

Milwaukee won 93 games in '78 but finished third behind the Yankees and Red Sox.  In '79 they won 95 but finished in second in the AL East behind his former feathered friends from Baltimore. 

1980 would prove to be a difficult one for Bamberger.  He had a heart attack in spring training and after triple-bypass surgery did not take the reigns until June.  He stepped down in September citing the rigors of managing on his repaired heart.

After a year of serving in the Brewers front office, Bambi took over as the Mets field general prior for the 1982 season.  A 65 win campaign and the 16-30 start to the '83 season would be enough to tax anyone and Bamberger again stepped aside due to health concerns. 

Bamberger came back for a second stint with the Brewers in '85 and managed the squad to a 71-91 finish.  He called it quits for good in September 1986 when they were 10 games under .500.   

Flipside:  Wow 68.2 consecutive innings without a base on balls!  That's impressive no matter what level of competition.  It's too bad his control left him in his brief major league career as he walked 10 in 14 innings. 

Oddball:  Bamberger, his coaching staff, and a plumber suffered burns when a gas explosion at the Brewers spring complex ignited in February of 1986.  The fireball severely burned coach Tony Muser, destroyed the coaches office, and launched Bambi 10 feet from his chair. 

History:  Bamberger had a solid team in his first go around with the Brewers.  His  managerial record after that is less than stellar.  He had much more success as Earl Weaver's right hand man.  Born on Staten Island he taught many pitchers his renowned "Staten Island Sinker", which many suspected was actually a spitter.  In his ten year term as the O's pitching coach he oversaw 18 twenty-game winners.
Bamberger passed away in 2004 after a three year battle with cancer.

#216 Tony LaRussa - Chicago White Sox

If you exclude the team photo cards in '80 and '81, this is Tony LaRussa's first Topps manager card.  He had three cards as a player with his rookie issue coming way back in 1964.  To me LaRussa looks a bit dazed and confused in this photo.

Player:  Tony LaRussa reached the majors in 1963 with the Kansas City A's when he was just 18 and batted .250 in 44 at bats.  He didn't resurface again until 1968.  He never was a regular in the majors and had only 176 at bats in his career.  All but seven at bats came for the A's as he had very brief stops with the Braves and Cubs.  In parts of six seasons he batted .199/.292/.250

 

Manager:  LaRussa was hired by the White Sox to manage their double-A team in Knoxville in 1978.  With two months left in the '79 season the White Sox season, they promoted LaRussa, by then at AAA, to manage the big club.  The White Sox won half of their remaining games but finished in fifth place. 

 

A 90 loss season followed in 1980 but better days were on the horizon.  The Pale Hose finished just over .500 in '81 and won 87 in 1982.  The '83 squad won 99 games and walked away with the AL West, outpacing the second place Royals by 20 games.  Chicago lost in the ALCS to Baltimore three games to one.  LaRussa was recognized with the AL Manager of the Year award.  Things fell apart in '84 as Chicago won just 74 games.  The ChiSox improved to 85 wins in '85 but when they started 26-38 in '86 LaRussa was given the axe.

 

LaRussa was not out of work long as the Oakland A's tabbed him as their new manager less than a month after he left Chicago.  He took over a  31-52 team and they won 45 of their last 79 games.  The A's were .500 in '87 but soon emerged as the AL's best team.  They won 306 games over the next three seasons, won the pennant each year, and beat the Giants in the '89 World Series.

 

The A's had one more first place finish under LaRussa, but after back to back sub .500 seasons in '94 and '95, and an ownership change, he left for St. Louis.  Under LaRussa's guidance the Cards alternated winning and losing seasons from '96 to '99.  Then starting in 2000 they won 95, 93, and 97 but failed to advance to the World Series despite making the postseason each year.  A third place finish was a setback in 2003.  The Redbirds won 105 games and the NL pennant in 2004 but were swept by the Red Sox in the World Series.  They returned to the playoffs with a 100 win season in 2005 but lost in the NLCS to the Astros.

 

LaRussa may have saved his best managing for the last six years of his career.  With a team without nearly as much firepower as the two previous years, he led the 2006 Cardinals to another NL Central crown.  The team won only 83 regular season games but ended up winning it all against my beloved Tigers in the World Series. 

 

After a sub-.500 2007 season the Cardinals would win 86 to 91 games over the next four seasons.  The 2011 team surged at the end of the year and squeaked into the postseason.  Once again underdogs, the Cards took out the Phillies and Brewers to reach to World Series.  LaRussa overcame some blunders and St. Louis defeated Rangers to earn their second championship in six years.  LaRussa soon retired and with 2,728 career wins he ranks third all-time behind icons Connie Mack and John McGraw.

  

Flipside:  LaRussa was able to amass so many wins because he was a great manager and had great players but it sure helped that he began his managing career at age 33. 

 

Oddball:  LaRussa was involved in baseball for so long there are a number of things to mention.  His law degree from Florida State, his Animal Rescue Program (ARF), his lineups that often placed the pitcher in the 8th spot, and the bullpen mishap in the 2011 World Series are just a few notable oddities.

 

History:  LaRussa won a World Series with both American and National League teams and is one of the all-time greats.  Along with longtime pitching coach Dave Duncan, LaRussa is credited with the advancement of the specialized use of the bullpen.

 

#186 Whitey Herzog - St. Louis Cardinals

Topps must have known from the beginning that Whitey Herzog was destined to be a manager.  As a player he appeared on seven cards and six of them were head shots like this one.  Pictured here on his third card as a manager and first as a Cardinal, Whitey's powder blue jersey blends in well with the sky.

Player:  White Herzog the player was a reserve outfielder for four different teams from '56 to '63.  Originally signed by the Yankees, his trip to the majors was delayed for two years while he served in the military.  Shortly after he got out,he was traded to the Senators.  His rookie year of '56 would be the closest Herzog would come to being a regular as he batted .245 in 465 plate appearances.

Herzog spent most of '57 in the minors and was dealt to the Kansas City A's in '58.  He got a brief chance to play every day at the start of the '59 season when Roger Maris was sidelined with an appendectomy.  Herzog was hitting 293/446/390 through 38 games when he suffered a season ending leg injury.

The left handed hitting Herzog spent one more year in KC and the next two in Baltimore assembling decent seasons as a fourth outfielder and pinch hitter with OPS+ between 110 and 117.  He spent one final year in Detroit as a rarely used pinch hitter and retired after the season.

Manager:  Herzog started his post-playing career as a scout for the A's in '64.  He then joined the coaching staff for the '65 season.  He moved over to the Mets in '66 to be their third base coach for a year.  He then spent the next six years as the Mets director of player development and was partially responsible for assembling the '69 Miracle Mets.

Feeling slighted by Mets ownership when he was passed over for the vacant manager position after Gil Hodges' death, Herzog readily accepted the Rangers offer to run the Texas team.  Herzog took over a talent starved team and clashed with eccentric Rangers owner Bob Short, especially over the handling of 18 year old pitcher David Clyde.  Still it was a surprise when Herzog was fired in September with a 47-91 record.

Herzog joined the Angels' staff in '74 and was interim coach for four games between the tenures of Bobby Winkles and Dick Williams.  Midway through the '75 season the Royals hired Herzog after they terminated Jack McKeon.  Herzog inherited a good Royal team that has hovering just over .500.  With Whitey at the helm, the Royals won 41 of their last 66 games and finished in 2nd place. 

Herzog's Royals would win the next three division crowns with 90, 102, and 92 win seasons.  Each time though they fell to the Yankees in the ALCS.  Herzog and the Royals were stung hard by the repeated shortcomings with Whitey blaming management for failing to sign free agent bullpen help.  After an 85 win season KC slipped to second place in '79 and Herzog was canned.   

Whitey wasn't out of work long as he moved across state to be the general manager of the St. Louis Cardinals.  After an 18-33 start, owner Gussie Busch axed skipper Ken Boyer and Herzog took over.  The team won 38 of the 73 games he managed before he stepped down as field general in favor of Red Schoendienst who finished the bizarre year as the Redbirds manager.  Herzog decided to return to the dugout in '81 and the Cardinals finished second in both halves of the strike shortened season and finished with a 59-43 record. 

With a brand of ball later dubbed Whiteyball, which favored fast runners who could take advantage of the Busch Stadium artificial surface, the '82 Cardinals had seven players steal 10 or more bags but only two with double digit home runs.  The Cards swept the Braves in the NLCS and won a hard fought World Series over the Brewers in seven games.

The next two years Whitey's team was stuck in neutral with 79 and 84 win seasons.  Led by rookie Vince Coleman's 110 steals the '85 squad was the first in 70 years to steal more than 300 bases.  After defeating the Dodgers in the '85 NLCS the Cards lost the All-Missouri World Series against the Royals.

After a disappointing 79 win season in '86, the Cardinals won 95 games in '87 and made it back to the World Series but lost to the Twins.  Herzog guided the Cards to third and fifth place finishes in '88 and '89.  Herzog was fired during the 1990 season when St. Louis won only 33 of the first 80 games. 

Flipside:  Do they still list manager's weight on the back?  Not sure, but I'm willing to bet Herzog's actual weight was a bit north of 187 lbs at the time this card was issued. 

Oddball:  In 1986 Herzog was interested in becoming President of the National League.  Bart Giamatti who got the gig instead.  Giamatti, who later took over the job of baseball's commissioner, left Yale University for the job.  After Giamatti's hiring was announced, broadcaster Marv Albert asked Herzog if he would be interested in the Yale University job.  Herzog, not in playful mood replied:

"I get the idea you're trying to be funny, and that's not funny at all."

Herzog held a grudge and refused to be interviewed by Albert.

History:  Herzog's teams finished in first place six times and he won a World Series with the Cards in '82.  After his manging career he spent the first half of the '90s working for the Angels including two years as their general manager.  He  was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2009.