Pete Whisenant

Thomas Peter Whisenant (December 14, 1929 – March 22, 1996) was an American outfielder and coach in Major League Baseball. Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Whisenant stood 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) (188 cm), weighed 200 pounds (91 kg), and threw and batted right-handed.

Whisenant spent eight seasons in the major leagues (1952; 1955–61), largely as a reserve outfielder and utility man. He played for the Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds, Cleveland Indians and the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins. During that span, he appeared in 475 games, with 221 hits in 988 at bats, for a .224 career batting average, with 37 home runs. In his only year as a semi-regular, in 1956, he played in 103 games for the Cubs and reached career highs in homers (11), RBI (46) and batting average (.239).

Whisenant is believed to be the only baseball player to appear in a box score for a team which he did not play for. On a day in 1960 when he had already been traded from the Indians to the Senators, he was assigned to pinch hit for the Indians.^[1]

He served as a Cincinnati coach under Fred Hutchinson for the latter weeks of the 1961 season through 1962. After almost two decades away from baseball, Whisenant managed in the Oakland Athletics farm system in 1982–1983; his Modesto A's won 94 games and the 1982 California League championship.

Whisenant was also the founder of the Holiday Baseball Clinic for boys ^[2] in Punta Gorda, Florida, held during the Christmas holidays in the late 1960s and 1970s.^[3] The Clinic took place at Charlotte High School and attracted well-known big league players as instructors, including Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Mickey Mantle, Tommy Helms, Clay Carroll, Wayne Garrett, Don Zimmer, and Dave Bristol.^[4]

Whisenant died in Port Charlotte, Florida, at the age of 66.

References

External links

• Baseball Reference