Herrmann was contracted as an amateur
free agent by the
Milwaukee Braves in
1964, and was then drafted from the Braves by the Chicago White Sox later that year. While playing for the
Evansville White Sox in , he led the
Southern League in
putouts,
assists and in
fielding percentage. Herrmann made his Major League Baseball debut for the White Sox at the age of 20 on September 1,
1967. Herrmann had his best season offensively in
1970 when he posted a .283
batting average with 19
home runs and 52
runs batted in. In a game against the
Oakland Athletics on June 24,
1973, Herrmann hit a three-run home run, a two-run double and a two-run single, for a total of seven runs batted in, one short of the White Sox team record of eight. Herrmann developed a reputation as one of the best
knuckleball catchers in the
American League from his work with such knuckleball
pitchers as
Hoyt Wilhelm,
Wilbur Wood and
Eddie Fisher. Wood won twenty or more games for four consecutive years between
1971 and
1974 with Herrmann as his catcher. Unfortunately for Herrmann, trying to catch the unpredictable knuckleball
pitch also contributed to his leading American League catchers four times in
passed balls allowed. Herrmann had a contract dispute with the White Sox during
spring training in , and after ten years with the White Sox organisation, he was traded to the New York Yankees on April 1 of that year. He served as a third-string catcher for the Yankees during the
1975 season, working behind
Thurman Munson and ahead of
Rick Dempsey, before he was purchased in February
1976 by the California Angels. Herrmann played only a half season with the Angels during which he
platooned alongside right hand
hitting catcher
Andy Etchebarren. In June
1976, Herrmann was traded to the Houston Astros, where he replaced
Milt May as the Astros' starting catcher. Herrmann was the Astros catcher on July 9, when
pitcher Larry Dierker threw a
no-hitter against the
Montreal Expos. He worked as back up catcher to
Joe Ferguson in
1977, posting a .291 batting average in 56 games. He retired at the end of the season. ==Career statistics==