RetroSimba

Ralph Houk was an important mentor to former Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog.

Houk, who earned more than 1,600 wins as manager of the Yankees, Tigers and Red Sox, began his managing career with the Class AAA Denver Bears of the American Association in 1955. His center fielder that season was 23-year-old Whitey Herzog.

Playing on a Yankees farm club that included Marv Throneberry at first, Bobby Richardson at second and pitchers Don Larsen and Ralph Terry, Herzog batted .289 with 21 home runs, 98 RBI and a .412 on-base percentage in 149 games.

He also learned lessons from Houk’s managerial style that he later utilized with the Cardinals.

“Ralph Houk was the best I ever saw at handling people,” Herzog wrote in his 1999 book, “You’re Missin’ a Great Game.”

“Ralph was a great manager because he knew how to keep 24, 25 different personalities happy. That’s harder than it looks. He let us know what he wanted us all to do, but he dealt with each of us on our own terms, too.

“I played some of my best ball for Mr. Houk, and I never forgot his example. Whether a player was a star or a scrub, I always made sure he felt important … I also tried to spend some time, even a minute or two, with each player every day … My players appreciated that.

“Maybe what I learned best from Ralph Houk was how important every guy is.”

Houk won three American League pennants and two World Series championships as manager of the Yankees from 1961-63.

As general manager of the Yankees, Houk hired Johnny Keane as New York’s manager after Keane led the Cardinals to the 1964 World Series title, then quit. In 1966, after the Yankees opened the season 4-16, Houk fired Keane and named himself manager.