The term was coined by the press during the 1982 World Series to describe the style of Herzog's St. Louis Cardinals.
Whiteyball was well-suited to the fast, hard AstroTurf surface that Busch Memorial Stadium had at the time, which created large, unpredictable bounces when the ball hit it at sharp angles.
In his book "White Rat", Herzog says the approach was a response to the spacious, artificial surface stadiums of the time.
He said of the media's dismay at his teams' success: They seemed to think there was something wrong with the way we played baseball, with speed and defense and line-drive hitters.
A 2012 sports article described Whiteyball as follows: Herzog used many switch-hitters such as Ozzie Smith, Willie McGee, Tom Herr, Terry Pendleton, Vince Coleman, José Oquendo, Garry Templeton, Ted Simmons, Luis Alicea, Mike Ramsey, Tony Scott, and Félix José in St. Louis, along with Willie Wilson and U L Washington when he managed in Kansas City.