3 Days in December Whitey Herzog Turned Cardinals into Champions

As a child of the 1970’s, I remember the St. Louis Cardinals when they rarely threatened to win their division. Contending for a World Series during that era was nothing more than a pipe dream. Looking back now, I can pinpoint 3 different December days when Whitey Herzog made key moves that turned the St. Louis Cardinals into world champions and perennial contenders for the next decade.

Whitey Herzog became manager of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1980, but it was his actions as general manager that would help turn the team into a winning organization again. He initially planned to step down as manager to focus on his new general manager role, but he would end up back in the dugout, too. The Baseball Hall of Fame shared an interesting backstory of how Whitey didn’t believe he could lead the Cardinals back into the post-season without being the decision maker of what players he would sign and trade for.

For the sake of brevity, I’d like to focus on 3 days in December that would prove pivotal for the St. Louis Cardinals as Whitey Herzog built the team he envisioned. The first was December 7, 1980 when he signed free agent Darrell Porter to a 5-year, $3.5 million dollar contract. He would go on to become the 1982 World Series MVP.

The next big December day would December 9, 1980 when Whitey Herzog traded Leon Durham, Ken Reitz, and Ty Waller to the Chicago Cubs for Bruce Sutter. The Cardinals now had their shut-down closer who would throw that iconic pitch to end the 1982 World Series.

Finally, what Whitey accomplished one year later on December 10, 1981 would bring in one of the final key parts of the 1982 championship team. At the winter meetings that year, Whitey traded Garry Templeton, Sixto Lezcano and Luis DeLeon to the San Diego Padres for Steve Mura, Al Olmsted and a shortstop named Ozzie Smith. The Baseball Hall of Fame says it took a total of 62 days to complete as Ozzie had to be convinced to waive his no-trade clause with the Padres and agree to let an arbitrator decide what his 1982 salary would be.

The rest is history as the St. Louis Cardinals would go on to win 92 games and win the National League East resulting in the team’s first post-season appearance in 14 years. They swept the Atlanta Braves in the NLCS and outlasted the Milwaukee Brewers in 7 games to become world champions again. While Whitey Herzog made other moves in 1980 and 1981, these 3 days in December really were key to that 1982 championship team. The current day St. Louis Cardinals face a completely different set of problems as President of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom and his team get ready for the winter meetings that start in just a few days. We can only hope that the moves he makes will one day be looked back on similar to what we remember about Whitey Herzog’s 1980 and 1981 trades and signings.