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The question posed to a few members of the 1985 National League championship Cardinals this weekend was whether Whiteyball is also timeless.

鈥淚 think Whiteyball would take over this game right now, to be totally honest with you,鈥� said Terry Pendleton, the former Cardinals third baseman and NL MVP.

A confluence of events this weekend brought members of the Cardinals鈥� charismatic and beloved 鈥�85 club to town for a 40th reunion at the same time as the team welcomed its newest class of Hall of Famers. The inductees included shortstop Edgar Renteria and the architect of the 2000s Cardinals, Walt Jocketty. The juxtaposition was striking. At a time when the current club is seeing record low attendance and trying to recapture its fans and its brand, the Cardinals celebrated Whitey Herzog鈥檚 鈥�85 club that energized a city and still captivates fans while it also honored Jocketty, the shrewd general manager who returned them to the World Series and turned sold-out crowds into stargazers.

The type of trades Jocketty sprang to grab a higher-priced star like Mark McGwire or Larry Walker or even a player like Scott Rolen from another team are rare these days. The industry has prioritized development and prospects, especially for mid-market clubs as free-agent prices skyrocketed. The style of building teams has changed, but could a retro style for a team still play 鈥� and, in the current Cardinals鈥� case, help reanimate a fan base familiar with it?

Is Whiteyball like the Sony Discman of the same era 鈥� still functional but surpassed in power and efficiency 鈥� or is it the paperclip, streamlined and perpetual useful?

鈥淚t would have to play today,鈥� former Cardinals pitcher Danny Cox said. 鈥淕ood defense. Good pitching. What are they always looking for? Good defense. Good pitching. That鈥檚 part of the game. I think now they try to put a little too much emphasis on certain aspects of the game instead of the whole game 鈥� getting a guy over, getting him in late. That means a lot. You get that once, twice a game, and someone has to score two or three runs to get you. If you鈥檙e always looking for that (home run) you鈥檙e missing out on opportunities in games that present themselves.

鈥淲hitey was good at seeing something happen to make that happen,鈥� Cox concluded. 鈥淎s you watch the game (today), I see a lot of things in the game that aren鈥檛 being used that make you better. Whitey was good at using all of those facets to make us better.鈥�

By even modern measures, the 1985 Cardinals were a dynamo 鈥� if also what today鈥檚 analytics might consider a unicorn. They did not hit home runs. They the 19th-best slugging percentage cobbled together from singles. Advanced metrics capture them well. They lapped the field with 22.6 baserunning runs above average, per FanGraphs. No other team in 1985 had more than 15. The Cardinals鈥� 93.0 defensive runs above average, per FanGraphs, was nearly twice as many as the next closest club in the majors.

Cox joked that his preferred game was 27 groundballs to Ozzie Smith.

Pitcher John Tudor said on Friday: 鈥淢istakes we made just didn鈥檛 show up on the scoreboard.鈥�

The baserunning put pressure on opposing pitchers.

The defense took pressure off Cardinals pitchers.

Quite a recipe.

鈥淲e knew, in our minds, we were the best defensive team in baseball,鈥� Pendleton said. 鈥淲e knew we could wreak havoc (on the bases). 鈥� I think with Whiteyball, if you brought that back into the game it would be tough for a lot of teams to win (against), especially because we pitched and played defense. We鈥檝e got so many teams going out there trying to hit the three-run homer and by then we鈥檙e up 2-0, 3-0, and the three-run homer never comes. Nothing against all these teams, but there鈥檚 a lot of strikeouts going on in the game. For us, we put the ball in play. We made you play defense. I think sometimes guys on the field are looked at now for their offense and not necessarily their defense. So you鈥檒l have guys out there playing different positions even on the infield who don鈥檛 have range to catch the baseball. But they鈥檙e hitting the ball and can hit the ball out of the ballpark.

鈥淭hat is looked at more than defense.鈥�

Pendleton, a Gold Glove-winner in 1989 with the Cardinals, then pivoted to describing modern teams that carry a whiff of Whiteyball in their play. He declined to name them, but he didn鈥檛 exactly hide who he was talking about either.

鈥淵ou guys in this division see one,鈥� he said, referencing division leader Milwaukee. 鈥淵ou鈥檝e seen one that does it a lot. And they鈥檙e where they are now because of what they do.鈥�

The Brewers rank in the top five in defensive runs above average and by the same FanGraphs baserunning measurement above they lead the majors, at 14.3.

The dimensions of ways Whiteyball can influence a game have changed with the shape of ballparks. The cookie cutters are gone, as is turf the Cardinals covered like kudzu. Bigger outfields have been replaced to bring fans closer to cater to a brawnier game, just not at Busch Stadium, which remains a pitcher鈥檚 playground.

And there are areas where this year鈥檚 Cardinals made allusions to Whiteyball.

Hitting coach Brant Brown has urged several of the Cardinals鈥� players to be 鈥渉it collectors鈥� because they don鈥檛 have the profile for power. Masyn Winn and Victor Scott II have shown flashes of the speed game. Winn, Scott and Nolan Arenado have the gloves of a sterling defensive team. Manager Oli Marmol has often said this season that the way for the current club to win relies on zero-defect defense and fundamentals. A pitch-to-contact rotation rests on an elite defense, and volume offense 鈥� not a decibel lineup 鈥� plays close games.

The 2025 Cardinals lead the majors in Outs Above Average, according to Statcast, and Winn is attempting to become the first Cardinal with more than 20 Outs Above Average defensively in the Statcast era. He leads the league.

In Alec Burleson, Brendan Donovan, and Lars Nootbaar the Cardinals also have hitters comfortable batting with two strikes, and that too was a key part of Whiteyball as Tom Herr explained.

鈥淚 give Whitey a lot of credit,鈥� Herr said. 鈥淚 was not the prototypical three-hole hitter. One thing I could do was hit deep in the count, and I could put the ball in play with two strikes. When Vice (Coleman) and Willie (McGee) would get on the base, I had to take pitches so they could steal. I was hitting with a runner on second, runners on second and third, and two strikes a lot of times.鈥�

Cox said the players would predict it: 鈥淗ere comes a Cardinal rally.鈥�

鈥淎 rally to us would be Vince would get on, steal second, steal third, and we鈥檇 have a ground out (to score) and that was a Cardinal rally,鈥� the pitcher said. 鈥淚 just think it was a unique team stealing all those bases and a lot of defense. Our whole who we were was based on defense.鈥�

Even in the days of damage, defense still plays.

And what is timeless, from the teams Herzog managed to the rosters Jocketty built to all the players in town this weekend to be celebrated for their achievements Cardinals, was the talent that, like a paperclip, put whatever style it was together.

鈥淚 just think Whiteyball would still be special in this game,鈥� Pendleton said. 鈥淏ecause of the talent.鈥�