Player Development
After his playing career ended, Herzog rejoined the Athletics for two seasons, as a scout in 1964 and a coach in 1965.
The next seven years were spent with the New York Mets, first as the third-base coach for manager Wes Westrum in 1966. Herzog made his mark with the club as its director of player development for the next six campaigns. Under his watch, the Mets produced young talent that either became part of the nucleus of its World Series teams in 1969 and 1973 or eventually had successful major league careers. Among them were Gary Gentry, Wayne Garrett, Jon Matlack, John Milner, Amos Otis and Ken Singleton. Herzog was a candidate to become the Mets' manager after the death of Gil Hodges prior to the 1972 season, but was passed over in favor of first-base coach Yogi Berra by chairman of the board M. Donald Grant.
Read more about this topic: Whitey Herzog
Famous quotes containing the words player and/or development:
“Abused as we abuse it at present, dramatic art is in no sense cathartic; it is merely a form of emotional masturbation.... It is the rarest thing to find a player who has not had his character affected for the worse by the practice of his profession. Nobody can make a habit of self-exhibition, nobody can exploit his personality for the sake of exercising a kind of hypnotic power over others, and remain untouched by the process.”
—Aldous Huxley (18941963)
“I can see ... only one safe rule for the historian: that he should recognize in the development of human destinies the play of the contingent and the unforeseen.”
—H.A.L. (Herbert Albert Laurens)