The St. Louis Cardinals are using today's 37th anniversary of Whitey Herzog being named the manager of the team to launch the #CardsRatPack fan engagement campaign to honor the man that fans lovingly refer to as the White Rat.  
The unique social media-based campaign, which will center on a pack of 24 illustrated baseball cards that will come to life later this season as a weekly cartoon series on the team's digital and social media platforms, will formally commence with a special #CardsRatPack ceremony honoring the 1982 World Series Champion and Hall of Fame Manager prior to tonight's game.
"The #CardsRatPack campaign is designed to celebrate the White Rat and his amazing pack of players that defined one of the most extraordinary eras in Cardinals history," said Ron Watermon, Vice-President of Communications for the St. Louis Cardinals. "We hope fans will enjoy the cartoon series and will actively engage with the team to celebrate Whitey and Whiteyball."
While the fan engagement portion of the social media campaign commences today, the #CardsRatPack animated series will debut on Wednesday July 12th, the first of a dozen #WhiteyBall Wednesdays. Each week, for twelve weeks, the team will release two episodes via social media on Wednesdays and Fridays. In addition to the animated series, the team will release a limited number of corresponding illustrated #CardsRatPack baseball cards. 
Each #CardsRatPack cartoon and baseball card is designed to convey an important part of the amazing story of the New Athens, Illinois native and the extraordinary pack of players he managed. Fans will need to stay tuned to the team's social media to learn how they can collect the #CardsRatPack cards.
The team is encouraging fans to show their affection for the White Rat all season long by sharing video memories, photographs and other messages via social media using the hashtag #CardsRatPack. 
As part of the #CardsRatPack campaign, the team is sponsoring a one-of-a-kind video contest asking fans to share their favorite Whiteyball memory for a chance to have their personal video transformed into a professionally animated cartoon that would punctuate the #CardsRatPack series.    As part of the campaign, the team is also raising money for the Whitey Herzog Youth Foundation to help them further their work to teach kids the game of baseball. 
While the #CardsRatPack campaign follows the Cardinals' social media based fan engagement tributes to Stan Musial (Stand for Stan), Mike Shannon (#LikeMike), Red Schoendienst (#LoveRed2), and Lou Brock (#StLisLou), this effort will integrate creative storytelling along the lines of the team's prior #NestFlix fan entertainment projects on social media, as well as their #CardsFanFlix video engagement, with the intent to not only engage fans, but also entertain, educate and connect multiple generations.
To produce the #CardsRatPack illustrations and cartoons, the Cardinals are working with Lion Forge Labs, a local creative services company that specializes in storytelling using comics, graphic novels, animation and gaming. 
Partnering on these videos with the St. Louis Cardinals to help honor Whitey Herzog has been a highlight for us," said David Steward II, CEO of Lion Forge Labs. "It's a fun, creative way to tell his story, and we are grateful to be part of the #CardsRatPack campaign team."
Fans can learn more about the campaign and cartoon video contest at www.cardinals.com/ratpack