Following a record-setting 2019 season for home runs in Major League Baseball, MLB Network will look back at how the St. Louis Cardinals played a different brand of baseball to dominate the National League in the 1980s in the latest installment of the MLB Network Presents documentary series, titled Birds of a Different Game: The ‘80s Cardinals. Golden Globe Award-winning actor, Missouri native and lifelong Cardinals fan John Goodman will narrate the one-hour program, which will premiere on Tuesday, January 28 at 8:00 p.m. ET. A trailer for Birds of a Different Game: The ‘80s Cardinals is available here.
In new interviews, Hall of Fame Cardinals manager Whitey Herzog and Hall of Fame shortstop Ozzie Smith, five-time All-Star Keith Hernandez, and former Cardinals Tom Herr, Ken Oberkfell, Terry Pendleton, John Tudor and Andy Van Slyke each describe how the 1980s Cardinals used electrifying speed, outstanding defense and strong pitching to win three NL pennants and the 1982 World Series championship.
The film highlights how the Cardinals’ style of play, which was nicknamed “Whitey Ball” after Herzog’s managerial style, saw them take advantage of the artificial turf and cavernous outfield at Busch Memorial Stadium to lead the NL in stolen bases for seven consecutive seasons from 1982 – 1987, finish first in NL team fielding percentage in eight different seasons, and finish top five in NL team ERA in five different seasons.