What god did we please? The baseball gods of course. I have no idea how I missed this, but I have found it and it is my duty to share the glory with all of you.
A Dogtown design company called Lion Forge teamed with the Cardinals to produce a 21-episode cartoon series about the White Rat. Each episode is about one minute long, and unlike a lot of Whitey’s dialect, it's kid-friendly. Each installment is amazingly animated and gives you the pangs of nostalgia that every winter brings to baseball fans.
Series Recap
The episodes run the gauntlet from his childhood in New Athens, Illinois, through his entire playing and managerial careers. The series gives you a small insight into the White Rat and you’ll learn a few things you never knew.
Here are some highlights.
- Whitey’s Little Brother, Butzy, wrote the line-up for Whitey’s first Card’s game, and they went on the beat the Braves.
- At the 1980 winter meetings, as Cards GM, Whitey got rid of 13 players and received 10 in return, including some dude named Sutter. This was the seed that started the run of excellence in the 80’s.
- He quit being GM because he hates agents…and got a raise for doing so.
- The secret to Ozzie’s offensive growth was due to a gentleman’s wager with Whitey. Whitey said that every time Ozzie hit a ground ball he would get one buck from Whitey and for every fly ball, Ozzie would pay Whitey two.
- Do you know who Bob Sykes is? Well, he’s who we turned into Willie McGee on Oct. 21, 1981. Eat it Steinbrenner!
- Tom Lawless’ savage bat flip is a thing of baseball legend. Get it Tommy!
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- Vince Coleman was originally called up to fill in for only one week. He ended up playing 151 games, stealing 110 bags and winning Rookie of the Year in 1985.
- According to the man himself, 1985 was the perfect Whiteyball team.
- Episode 16 needs to be watched by Matheny about 400 times. Make that 4,000 times.
- John Tudor got so mad after an outing he threw his underwear in the trash.
- Don’t watch episode 18...DENKINGER!!!!
- The Mets were bat-corking, lying pond scum
I know, it’s only about 20 minutes of total entertainment, but space it out. When you need a quick Redbird fix, click here to calm the nerves. Every episode is fun, fast, kid-friendly, and a short distraction. Watch one every few days and the next thing you know pitchers and catchers are reporting. Until then, follow Whitey’s mantra and “Never waste a minute.”
You can start by cracking a cold frosty one with Jack and Whitey.
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