Rosternomics
WH

Whitey Herzog

Nov 9, 1931 (New Athens, IL) – Apr 15, 2024 (St. Louis, MO) · died at 92

General manager for the Cardinals and Angels (1981–1994).

1 seasons with salary-era data across 2 stints. All figures are franchise-level outcomes during the tenure, not solely attributable to one executive.

Titles0
Pennants0
Playoffs0
Record47–68
Win %0.409
-7.6WAB — wins above budget103rd/195 execs
-8.7Talent above budget — roster-construction alpha (talent your budget bought above expectation)111th/195 execs
0.07Acquisition leverage — playoff pts each bought win added, given the roster it joined (did you buy where wins matter?)186th/195 execs
-4.9WAR surplus (era-neutral, win-equiv)49th/195 execs
-6Roster surplus $M51st/195 execs

How the roster was sourced

Share of gross-positive acquired fWAR by channel (vs. league average).

Build channels — net fWAR

Acquired minus surrendered / signed minus walked.

Home-grown (draft/intl)+42.4
Trade+53.7
Free agency+0.1
Rule 5 / minor draft-0.2
Sourcing mix: 39% draft · 6% FA · 55% trade · 0% R5

Tenure breakdown

TeamRoleYearsSzns WAB WAB/yr TAB WAR surp HG Trade FA R5 AcqLev W-L% POPenWS Surp $M
Angels GM 1994–1994 1 -7.6 -7.65 -8.7 -4.9 +3.6 -0.9 +0.2 +0.0 0.07 0.409 -6
Cardinals GM 1981–1982 0 +0.0 +0.0 +0.0 +38.9 +54.5 -0.2 -0.2
Career total (1985+ data) 1 -7.6 -8.7 -4.9 +42.4 +53.7 +0.1 -0.2 0.07 0.409 -6

Players acquired — 28 players, by realized fWAR for the franchise (scroll for more)

PlayerPosTeam How Year fWAR
Ozzie Smith SS STL Trade 1981 +48.0
Terry Pendleton 3B STL Draft 1982 +12.2
Vince Coleman OF STL Draft 1982 +11.9
Willie McGee OF STL Trade 1981 +10.0
Danny Cox P STL Draft 1981 +8.9
Rex Hudler 2B/OF ANA Free agency 1994 +4.8
Todd Worrell P STL Draft 1982 +3.9
Jason Dickson P ANA Draft 1994 +3.0
Joaquín Andújar P STL Trade 1981 +2.9
Curt Ford OF STL Draft 1981 +2.7
Mike Holtz P ANA Draft 1994 +2.2
Lee Smith P ANA Free agency 1994 +1.0
Bob Patterson P ANA Free agency 1994 +0.9
Mark Leiter P ANA Free agency 1994 +0.7
Jeff Lahti P STL Trade 1982 +0.7
John Dopson P ANA Free agency 1994 +0.4
Bo Jackson OF ANA Free agency 1994 +0.3
Bret Hemphill C ANA Draft 1994 -0.1
Craig Lefferts P ANA Free agency 1994 -0.1
Bill Sampen P ANA Free agency 1994 -0.1
Joe Boever P STL Intl FA 1982 -0.1
Carlos Martínez 1B/3B ANA Free agency 1994 -0.2
Randy Hunt C STL Draft 1981 -0.2
Kurt Kepshire P STL Rule 5 1982 -0.2
Tom Nieto C STL Draft 1981 -0.4
Mitch Williams P ANA Free agency 1994 -0.5
Harold Reynolds 2B ANA Trade 1994 -1.1
Trent Durrington 2B ANA Intl FA 1994 -1.6

WAB = wins above what the team's payroll predicted (resource-controlled). WAR surplus = era-neutral value (WAR minus payroll in win-equivalents). Roster surplus $M = dollar value of WAR over cost. Build channels (realized fWAR): HG = home-grown via amateur draft / international signing; Trade = acquired minus surrendered (incl. purchases/waivers); FA = signed minus walked; R5 = Rule-5 / minor-league-draft pickups. Credit follows the acquisition year — home-grown to the regime at the player's draft/signing (not whoever was in the chair when he peaked), trade/FA/R5 to the GM who made the move. Players acquired as prospects before debuting (e.g. Smoltz, Bagwell; Rule-5 picks like Uggla) are counted as trade/R5, not home-grown. All are franchise-level outcomes during the stint, not solely attributable to one executive.