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	TODAY: Monday, May 15
	The Runnin' Redbirds By David Schoenfield ESPN.com
	Whitey Herzog took over the managerial reins of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1980 and managed the club until midway through the 1990 season, when Joe Torre replaced him. During that time the Cardinals won National League pennants in 1982, 1985 and 1987 -- despite an offense that finished last in the league in home runs eight times in nine seasons. How did they win? History has labeled their success to lots of stolen bases (the Cardinals led the league seven times in the '80s in steals), great defense and solid pitching. While all those were certainly key elements, the Cardinals only won when they scored runs -- and they scored runs when they got on base. Consider this: During the '80s, the Cardinals led the NL four times in on-base percentage -- and went to the World Series in three of those seasons. The point is that the Cardinals didn't win because they stole lots of bases -- they always stole lots of bases and finished under .500 sometimes -- but that they won when they scored enough runs. For example, in 1985 they stole 314 bases, first in the league. They also had a .338 on-base percentage, first in the league. And they led the NL with 747 runs scored. In 1986, they again led the league with 262 steals. But they finished last with a .312 OBP. And they finished last with 601 runs scored. So, while Whitey's teams will be remembered for Vince Coleman, Ozzie Smith and Willie McGee running wild on the bases, remember that they had to get on base in the first place. Below are year-by-year totals for the Cardinals under Whitey (skipping the 1981 strike season), with league rankings in parenthesis. Whiteyball! Year W-L Runs HR SB OBP SLG RunsA 1982 92-70 685 (5) 67 (12) 200 (1) .337 (1) .364 (8) 609 (1) 1983 79-83 679 (5) 83 (12) 207 (1) .337 (2) .384 (4) 710 (10) 1984 84-78 652 (6) 75 (12) 220 (1) .319 (7) .351 (11) 645 (5) 1985 101-61 747 (1) 87 (11) 314 (1) .338 (1) .379 (6) 572 (2) 1986 79-82 601 (12) 58 (12) 262 (1) .311 (12) .327 (12) 611 (3) 1987 95-67 798 (2) 94 (12) 248 (1) .343 (1) .378 (9) 693 (4) 1988 76-86 578 (11) 71 (12) 234 (1) .312 (5) .337 (12) 633 (9) 1989 86-76 632 (7) 73 (12) 155 (3) .323 (1) .363 (7) 608 (4) 1990 70-92 599 (11) 73 (12) 221 (2) .323 (8) .358 (11) 698 (8)		ALSO SEE NL: How times have changed