Terry Whitfield

Terry Bertland Whitfield (born January 12, 1953, Blythe, California) is a former Major League Baseball player. As an outfielder, Whitfield was known more for his batting than his defense, finishing with a career .281 batting average in 1,913 at bats in the major leagues.

Career

In 1971, Whitfield was a first-round draft choice of the New York Yankees, selected 19th overall.

After seven seasons in the major leagues with the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, Whitfield moved to Japan. From 1981 to 1983, he excelled for the Seibu Lions, putting up high offensive numbers. In 1981, he batted .316 with 22 home runs and 100 runs batted in. That season he won a Best Nine Award, awarded annually to the best player at each position. In 1982, he batted .272 with 25 home runs and 71 runs batted in. And in 1983, he batted .278 with 38 home runs and 109 runs batted in. Whitfield was named as a Pacific League All-Star and won another Best Nine Award, the second time in three years.

The following year, he returned to the major leagues, where he played for three more seasons with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1984 to 1986.^[1]

Future Pro Baseball and the "Terry-Toss"

After his playing career, he opened Future Pro Baseball, a batting cage in Burlingame, California, where he also offers private batting instruction. Whitfield also runs a youth baseball camp and is the inventor of a soft-toss machine called the "Terry-Toss", which can be found at Future Pro Baseball; in California's Great America, an amusement park in Santa Clara; and as a fan attraction at professional stadiums in California such as AT&T Park in San Francisco and Oakland Coliseum in Oakland.

Personal life

He used to be the head baseball coach at Burlingame High School. He has four children.

References

External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference, or Fangraphs, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet, or Venezuelan Winter League