| Devon White | |
|---|---|
 White in 2009 | |
| Center fielder | |
| Born: (1962-12-29)December 29, 1962 (age 62) Kingston, Jamaica | |
Batted: Switch Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 2, 1985, for the California Angels | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 5, 2001, for the Milwaukee Brewers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .263 |
| Home runs | 208 |
| Runs batted in | 846 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Devon Markes Whyte[1] (formerly and commonly known asDevon White; born December 29, 1962), nicknamed "Devo", is a Jamaican former professionalbaseballcenter fielder, best known for his defensive ability at that position. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) for theCalifornia Angels,Toronto Blue Jays,Florida Marlins,Arizona Diamondbacks,Los Angeles Dodgers, andMilwaukee Brewers. Following his playing career, White served as the first base coach for the Triple-ABuffalo Bisons, and was briefly called up to the Blue Jays as first base coach in 2022.
Born as Devon Whyte inKingston, Jamaica, his family immigrated to the United States when he was nine years old. However, the paperwork had their family name misspelled as "White". His last name was legally changed back to its original spelling in 2003 at the behest of his children, but throughout his baseball playing career, he was known as "Devon White" and continues to sign autographs with that spelling.[1] His daughter,Davellyn Whyte, played two seasons of professional basketball in theWNBA.
White attended Park West High School inManhattan, New York City. White was primarily abasketball player in high school and only began playing baseball after watchingNew York Yankees andMets games on television with his father. White received a scholarship offer to play bothcollege basketball andcollege baseball for theOklahoma State Cowboys.[2]
White was drafted by theCalifornia Angels in the 6th round of the1981 draft. He made his major league debut in the late stages of the1985 season forCalifornia, but he did not establish himself as a major leaguer until1987, when he played a full season and hit with power and ran the basepaths with speed. In fact, he hit 24home runs and stole 32 bases that season; he managed to steal at least fifteen bases and hit fifteen home runs before the All-Star break, and no rookie would do so again until 2022.[3] In1988, only his second full season, he won his first of sevenGold Gloves.
On September 9, 1989, he became one of the few players in baseball history to get on first base then score by stealing second base, third base, and home.[4]
On December 2,1990, he was traded withWillie Fraser andMarcus Moore to theToronto Blue Jays forJunior Félix andLuis Sojo.
White won twoWorld Series and five Gold Glove awards with the Toronto Blue Jays. With a .336 batting average in his post-season career with theBlue Jays, compared to a .270 regular season average with Toronto, White consistently upped his game to help Toronto reach playoff success.
In 1992, White collected 3.9 DefensiveWins Above Replacement, which led the major leagues.[5]
In Game 3 of the1992 World Series against theAtlanta Braves, White was the central part of one of the most famous plays in World Series history. WithDavid Justice batting and runners on first and second base, Justice hit a fly ball which White chased down and caught while jumping into the wall. White then threw the ball to second basemanRoberto Alomar, who threw toJohn Olerud at first to try to double upTerry Pendleton, but Pendleton had already been called out for running pastDeion Sanders. Olerud promptly threw the ball to third basemanKelly Gruber, who chased down Sanders, diving and clipping him on the heel with his glove. However, the umpire,Bob Davidson, did not see the tag and called Sanders safe, which cost the Jays the secondtriple play in World Series history.[6] After the game, Davidson watched the replay and admitted he missed the call.
While playing for the team, White appeared on Canadian children's television showUnder the Umbrella Tree, in uniform in what was then known as the SkyDome, talking with characters Jacob Bluejay and Iggy Iguana, in the 1993 episode "Baseball Fever."[7]
After the1995 season, White signed with theFlorida Marlins and won anotherWorld Series in1997, although he only hit .215 in the playoffs that year. He is notable for being the only player to be the batter for the last out of two different World Series in which he was a member of the winning team, as he flew out toPete Incaviglia two at-bats prior toJoe Carter's walk-off home run that ended the 1993 series, and grounded out to his former teammate on the1993 Toronto Blue JaysTony Fernández who proceeded to throwBobby Bonilla out at home in the play beforeEdgar Rentería's walk-off hit to end the 1997 series.
He later played with theArizona Diamondbacks, theLos Angeles Dodgers, and theMilwaukee Brewers before retiring in2002. On April 11, 2000, while leading off for the Dodgers as the first batter in the first game atOracle Park (then called Pacific Bell Park) in San Francisco, White recorded the first base hit in the ballpark's history, off Giants pitcherKirk Rueter.
In 1941 games over 17 seasons, White posted a .263batting average (1,934-for-7,344) with 1125runs, 378doubles, 71triples, 208home runs, 846RBI, 346stolen bases, 541bases on balls, .319on-base percentage and .419slugging percentage. He finished his career with a .986fielding percentage playing at all three outfield positions. In 49 postseason games, including three World Series, White batted .296 (56-for-189) with 27 runs, 12 doubles, 4 triples, 3 home runs, 20 RBI, 7 stolen bases, and 19 walks.
In January 2017, White was hired by the Blue Jays organization to be the hitting coach of the Triple-ABuffalo Bisons.[8] In July 2022, White was called up to the Blue Jays as the interim first base coach for incumbentMark Budzinski who was on bereavement leave. White would not return to the Bisons coaching staff after the conclusion of the season. Since 2024, White has served as a "special assistant to player development" within the Jays organization.[9]