Outfielder, Arizona
Diamondbacks
1st season
with Diamondbacks
Bats – Both,
Throws – Right
Height: 6’1” Weight: 170
Prior to 1998:
A native of
Jamaica, Devon (pronounced deh-VON) Whyte moved to New York City with his
family at age 9. Immigration officials altered the spelling of his last name to
White, which he used until reverting to the original spelling following his
playing career. He played basketball and baseball in high school and received a
scholarship to play both sports collegiately at Oklahoma State. Chosen by the
California Angels in the sixth round of the 1981 amateur draft, White was first
assigned to Idaho Falls of the Rookie-level Pioneer League in ’81 and batted
.179 in 30 games. With his speed on the basepaths and in the outfield, White
made his way up the minor league ladder while producing mediocre batting
averages punctuated by many strikeouts. By 1985 he was with Midland of the Class
AA Texas League and hit .296 in 70 games with 38 stolen bases. Promoted to
Edmonton of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League he batted .253 with a .318 OBP
with 25 extra base hits and 21 stolen bases in 66 games. White received a
late-season call-up to the Angels where he managed one hit in seven at bats.
Back with Edmonton in 1986, he had an impressive season by hitting .291 with a
.339 OBP, 25 doubles, 10 triples, 14 home runs, 60 RBIs, and 42 stolen bases. He
was again a late-season addition to the Angels, hitting his first major league
home run and stealing 6 bases. Installed in right field with the Angels in 1987
due to the presence of veteran Gary Pettis in center field, White batted .263
with 33 doubles, 5 triples, 24 home runs, 87 RBIs, 32 stolen bases, and a 306
on-base percentage. He finished fifth in AL Rookie of the Year voting. With
Pettis gone in 1988, White took over in center field but was hindered by a knee
injury that required arthroscopic surgery in May. He returned to appear in 122
games and excelled defensively, winning his first Gold Glove, but his offensive
production dropped to .259, with 11 home runs, 51 RBIs, a .297 OBP, and 17
stolen bases. In 1989 the player nicknamed “Devo” was an All-Star in addition
to being a Gold Glove defender, and he batted .245 with 18 doubles, 13 triples,
12 home runs, 56 RBIs, 44 stolen bases, and a .282 OBP. Strikeout prone, in
1990 his offensive production dropped to .217 with 11 home runs, 44 RBIs, 21
stolen bases, and a .290 OBP. In the offseason White was traded to the Toronto
Blue Jays. Playing center field for division-winning Toronto, “Devo” improved
his batting average to .282 along with 40 doubles, 10 triples, 17 home runs, 60
RBIs, 33 stolen bases, and a .342 OBP. He was awarded a Gold Glove for his
defensive excellence and placed sixteenth in AL MVP voting. The Blue Jays
repeated as AL East champs in 1992 and went on to win the World Series. White
contributed his usual defensive excellence in the outfield while hitting .248
with 17 home runs, 60 RBIs, 37 stolen bases, and a .303 OBP. In Game 3 of the
World Series, he made an impressive catch of a long drive by Atlanta’s David
Justice to snuff out a potential rally and set up a Toronto win. The Blue Jays
repeated as World Series champs in 1993 and White batted .273 with 42 doubles,
15 home runs, 116 runs scored, 52 RBIs, 34 stolen bases, and a .341 OBP. He hit
.444 in the ALCS win over the White Sox and .292 in the World Series against
the Philadelphia Phillies. During the strike-shortened 1994 season White hit
.270 with 13 home runs, 49 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, and a .313 on-base
percentage. He spent one last season with Toronto in 1995, batting .283 with 10
home runs, 53 RBIs, 11 stolen bases, and a .334 OBP while providing his usual
Gold Glove defense in center field. A free agent in the offseason, White signed
with the Florida Marlins for three years and $9.9 million. With his new club in
1996, White hit .274 with 37 doubles, 6 triples, 17 home runs, 84 RBIs, 22
stolen bases, and a .325 OBP. Hindered by injuries that limited him to 74 games
in 1997, he hit .245 and stole 13 bases. In the postseason that ended with
Florida winning the World Series, he hit just .215. In the offseason he was
dealt to the expansion Diamondbacks where he brought his experience to the
outfield.
1998 Season Summary
Appeared in 146
games
CF – 144, PH – 3
[Bracketed
numbers indicate NL rank in Top 20]
Batting
Plate
Appearances – 627
At Bats – 563
Runs – 84
Hits – 157
Doubles – 32
Triples – 1
Home Runs – 22
RBI – 85
Bases on Balls
– 42
Int. BB – 4
Strikeouts – 102
Stolen Bases – 22
[14, tied with Gary Sheffield & Fernando Vina]
Caught Stealing
– 8 [17, tied with four others]
Average - .279
OBP - .335
Slugging Pct. -
.456
Total Bases – 257
GDP – 9
Hit by Pitches
– 9 [12, tied with four others]
Sac Hits – 7
Sac Flies – 6
Midseason
snapshot: 2B – 22, HR - 13, RBI - 49, SB – 11, AVG - .292, OBP – .337
Most hits, game
– 4 (in 5 AB) at St. Louis 4/16, (in 5 AB) vs. Pittsburgh 5/15, (in 4 AB) vs.
Pittsburgh 5/18, (in 6 AB) at Oakland 6/7
Longest hitting
streak – 10 games
HR at home – 11
HR on road – 11
Most home runs,
game – 2 (in 4 AB) vs. Seattle 6/26
Multi-HR games
– 1
Most RBIs, game
– 5 vs. Seattle 6/26, at Philadelphia 8/20 – 11 innings
Pinch-hitting –
2 for 2 (1.000) with 2 RBI & 1 BB
Fielding
Chances – 379
Put Outs – 371
Assists – 3
Errors – 5
DP – 0
Pct. - .987
Awards & Honors:
All-Star
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In their inaugural season, the Diamondbacks went 65-97 to finish fifth (last) in the NL Western Division, 33 games behind the division-winning San Diego Padres, while compiling the league’s lowest batting average (.246). Defensively, their 100 errors were the second fewest in the NL. The Diamondbacks got off to a rough start, losing 31 of their first 39 games before a May turnaround led to improvement in the season’s second half.
Aftermath of 1998:
As a free agent following the 1998 season, White signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. With his speed and defensive skills fading at age 36, White batted .268 in 1999 with 14 home runs, 68 RBIs, 19 stolen bases, and a .337 OBP. He lost his starting job in center field during a poor season in 2000 and finished his career with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2001. For his major league career, White batted .263 with 1934 hits that included 378 doubles, 71 triples, and 208 home runs. He scored 1125 runs and compiled 846 RBIs, 346 stolen bases, and a .319 OBP. Appearing in 49 postseason games, he hit .296 with 3 home runs, 20 RBIs, and 7 stolen bases. A three-time All-Star, he also received seven Gold Gloves and was at his best patrolling center field.
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Highlighted Years feature players who led a major league
in the following categories: batting average, home runs (with a minimum of 10),
runs batted in, or stolen bases (with a minimum of 20), pitching wins,
strikeouts, earned run average, or saves (with a minimum of 10), or have been participants
in the annual All-Star Games between the National and American Leagues since
1933. This category will also include Misc. players who received award votes, were
contributors to teams that reached the postseason, or had notable seasons in
non-award years.
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