Herr took over as St. Louis' second baseman in 1980. With Ozzie Smith, he formed
one of the best double play combinations in baseball, three times leading the NL
in twin killings. He made only six errors at second base in 1984, nine in 1986, and
seven in 1987. Not known for power, the selective switch-hitter did not get his first
home run until his 337th major league
game. Nonetheless, his speed and ability to
make contact made him an excellent third-place hitter, especially in Busch Stadium
with its distant fences and Astroturf. In 1981 and 1982 he did not go hitless more
than two games in a row and in 1985 and 1986 he led Cardinals batters in RBI. Despite just eight home runs, he drove in 110 runs in 1985, becoming only the seventh second baseman in history to reach the century mark. He batted .302 with 38 doubles and 31 steals that season, providing much needed run production for a St. Louis team that won the NL pennant even with slugger Jack Clark losing time to a rib injury. Herr also drove in 83 runs for the Cardinals pennant-winning 1987 squad.
Traded to the Twins for Tom Brunansky early in
the 1988 season, Herr was a disappointment for Minnesota. They traded him to the Phillies
for Shane Rawley after the season. He batted .287 for Philadelphia but drove in just 37 runs in 151 games. The following season he collected 60 RBIs in 146 games for the Phillies and Mets, but was out of baseball after batting .209 in 1991.
(FO)
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FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY
»September 19, 1985: Vince Coleman steals his 100th base of the season and teammate Tom Herr drives in his 100th run, but the Cardinals lose to the Phillies 6–3.