Herman broke into the majors in with the Chicago Cubs and asserted himself as a star the following season,, by hitting.314 and scoring 102 runs. His first at-bat was memorable. Facing Cincinnati RedspitcherSi Johnson, Herman chopped a pitch into the back of home plate, which then bounced up and hit Herman in the back of the head, knocking him out. A fixture in the Chicago lineup over the next decade, Herman was a consistent hitter and solid producer. He regularly hit.300 or higher and drove in a high of 93 runs in. of Herman. After a sub-standard offensive year in, Herman was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers in. He had one of his finest offensive season in, when he batted.330 with a.398 on-base percentage and 100 runs driven in. Herman missed the and seasons to serve in World War II, but returned to play in with the Dodgers and Boston Braves. At 37, he was considered prime managerial material by the new owners of the Pittsburgh Pirates. On September 30, 1946, Herman was traded to Pittsburgh with three marginal players for third basemanBob Elliott and catcherHank Camelli. Herman was promptly named playing manager of the 1947 Pirates, but he was aghast at the cost—Elliott—the Pirates had paid for him. "Why, they've gone and traded the whole team on me", he said. Elliott won the NL Most Valuable Player award and led Boston to the 1948 National League pennant. Herman's 1947 Pirates lost 92 games and finished tied for seventh in the NL, and he resigned before the season's final game. Herman then managed in the minor leagues and became a Major League coach with the Dodgers and Braves —serving on five National League pennant winners in eight seasons. Then he moved to the American League as the third-base coach of the Boston Red Sox for five years, before managing the Red Sox to lackluster records in and ; his 1965 Boston club lost 100 games. After his firing by the Red Soxin September 1966, he coached for the California Angels and San Diego Padres and served in player development roles with the Padres and Oakland Athletics. Herman finished his 1,922-game big-league career with a.304 batting average, 1,163 runs scored, 2,345 hits, 486 doubles, 82 triples, 47 home runs, 839 runs batted in, 737 bases on balls and 428 strikeouts. Defensively, he recorded an overall.968 fielding percentage. He won four NL pennants but no World Series championships as a player. His record as a Major League manager was 189-274. Herman holds the NL records for most putouts in a season by a second baseman and led the league in putouts seven times. He also shares the Major League record for most hits on opening day, with five, set April 14, 1936.
