The St. Louis Cardinals are more connected to their history than maybe any team in baseball. They have a legacy of consistent excellence, and have used that to create a pipeline of talent: Great players go on to become coaches, or front office personnel, or broadcasters.
But when the organization has made a big leap forward, it has almost always come as the result of an influx of talent from the outside.
- Whitey Herzog was hired from outside the organization first as a field manager and soon after also given GM duties. He completely transformed a Cardinals organization that had become stagnant.