In the end, it was a perfect pairing. Former St. Louis Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog elected into the Hall of Fame today with one of his men-in-blue nemeses -- umpire Doug Harvey.
Herzog, who retired in 1990 after compiling a .532 winning percentage as a manager over an 18 year career, noted today that he and Harvey often disagreed.
"It's strange because Doug kicked me out of more games than any other umpire," Herzog said this morning at press conference at Busch Stadium.
Herzog recalled how he and Harvey especially disagreed on when to call a game during foul weather -- with the umpire often waiting until a downpour forced a postponement.
"[H]e was a very good umpire just the worst damn weatherman," opines Herzog on mlb.com.
The always matter-of-fact Herzog also griped today that his Hall-of-Fame vote was anticlimactic.
"I've been on the ballots for so danged long," he said. "So when I got the call, I was really not that excited about it."
In this video, Herzog and the star of his 1980s Cardinals teams -- Ozzie Smith (in a curious sweater) -- share more thoughts on umpires.
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