Arthur Wilson Whitney (January 16, 1858 – August 15, 1943) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player whose career spanned from 1877 to 1893. He played 11 seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

, principally as a

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

(802 games) and

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

(168 games), for eight different major league clubs. Whitney's longest stretches were with the

Pittsburgh Alleghenys The following is a history of the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball. Franchise beginnings (1870s-1899) Early baseball in Pittsburgh and the American Association The earliest mention of "base ball" in the region was found in the journal ...

(368 games, 1884–1887) and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

(219 games, 1888–1889). He helped the Giants win the

1888 In Germany, 1888 is known as the Year of the Three Emperors. Currently, it is the year that, when written in Roman numerals, has the most digits (13). The next year that also has 13 digits is the year 2388. The record will be surpassed as late ...

and

1889 World Series The 1889 World Series was an end-of-the-year baseball playoff series between the National League champion New York Giants and the American Association champion Brooklyn Bridegrooms (later known as the Dodgers). This Series was part of the pre-m ...

. In 11 major league seasons, Whitney compiled a .223 batting average and a .285

on-base percentage In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a ...

, scored 475 runs, and had 820 hits, including 137

extra-base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire anot ...

s. Whitney's true value was as a defensive player on the infield. He led his league in

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, di ...

four times, three times as a third baseman (1886, 1887, and 1891) and once as a shortstop (1885). In 1886, his

Defensive WAR A defensive war (german: Verteidigungskrieg) is one of the causes that justify war by the criteria of the Just War tradition. It means a war where at least one nation is mainly trying to defend itself from another, as opposed to a war where both ...

rating of 1.6 was the fourth highest among all position players in the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

. His career range factor of 3.39 at third base remains the 23rd highest in major league history.

Early years

Whitney was born in 1858 in

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of Plymouth County. It is the sixth-largest city in Mas ...

. His parents, George and Paulene Whitney, were both Massachusetts natives. Whitney grew up in North Bridgewater, Massachusetts, where his father was a dentist. Whitney's older brother, Frank "Jumbo" Whitney, also played professional baseball.

Professional baseball career

Minor leagues

Whitney began his professional baseball career with the

Lowell, Massachusetts Lowell () is a city in Massachusetts, in the United States. Alongside Cambridge, It is one of two traditional seats of Middlesex County. With an estimated population of 115,554 in 2020, it was the fifth most populous city in Massachusetts as ...

team during the 1877 and 1878 seasons. He also played for a team in

New Bedford, Massachusetts New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American p ...

. In 1879, he played for the

Worcester Worcesters The Worcester Worcesters were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team from 1880 to 1882 in the National League. The team is referred to, at times, as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs; however, no contemporary sources from the time exist tha ...

Worcester

In 1880, the Worcester Worcesters were admitted to the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...

and attained major league status. Whitney was the starting third baseman for the 1880 Worcesters, appearing in 76 games and compiling a .222 batting average.

Detroit and Providence

Whitney next played for the

Detroit Wolverines The Detroit Wolverines were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team that played in the National League from 1881 to 1888 in the city of Detroit, Michigan. In total, they won 426 games and lost 437, taking their lone pennant (and winning the pre ...

of the National League during the 1881 season and part of the 1882 season. He appeared in a total of 89 games for Detroit, 80 of them at third base, eight at shortstop, and three as a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He compiled a batting average of .182 for Detroit in 1881 and .183 in 1882. Whitney also appeared in 11 games, all of them at shortstop, for the

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National Leagu ...

during the 1882 season. He compiled an .075 batting average for Providence and was released in June 1882.

Return to the minors

After a poor showing at the plate during the 1881 and 1882 seasons, Whitney returned to the minor leagues. He played for the

Saginaw, Michigan Saginaw () is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the seat of Saginaw County. The city of Saginaw and Saginaw County are both in the area known as Mid-Michigan. Saginaw is adjacent to Saginaw Charter Township and considered part of Greater ...

team in the

Northwestern League The Northwestern League was a sports league that operated in the Central United States during the early years of professional baseball for five seasons: 1879, 1883–1884, and 1886–1887. After the 1887 season, the league was replaced by the We ...

during the 1883 and 1884 seasons.

Pittsburgh

In 1885, Whitney joined the

and remained there for four years through the 1888 season. In his four years with the Alleghenys, he appeared in 368 games and compiled a .248 batting average. With the benefit of 123

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

and nine times

hit by pitch In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...

, Whitney boosted his

during that same time period to .312. He also scored 190 runs and had 134 RBIs for the Alleghenys.

New York

In June 1888, the Alleghenys traded Whitney to the

for

Elmer Cleveland Elmer Ellsworth Cleveland (September 15, 1862 – October 8, 1913) was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball. He began his professional career in the Western Interstate League in 1883 and then joined the Cincinnati Outlaw Reds of the ...

. Whitney remained with the Giants through the 1889 season and appeared in 219 games, all at third base. He scored 99 runs and compiled a .218 batting average and .279 on-base percentage with the Giants. The Giants won the pennant both years that Whitney was with the team, and Whitney helped the Giants win both the 1888 World Series and the

, contributing 20 hits, 15 RBIs and 11 runs scored in two years of World Series play.

Players' League

Whitney jumped to the

Players' League The Players' National League of Professional Base Ball Clubs, popularly known as the Players' League (PL), was a short-lived but star-studded professional American baseball league of the 19th century. The PL was formed by the Brotherhood of Prof ...

for the 1890 season, signing with the

. He appeared in 119 Players' League games, including 88 at third base and 31 at shortstop. He compiled a .219 batting average, but 64 bases on balls boosted his on-base percentage to .322.

1891 season

The Players' League disbanded after one season, and in March 1891, Whitney signed as a free agent with the

Cincinnati Kelly's Killers Kelly's Killers were a Major League baseball team that played in Cincinnati, Ohio during the 1891 baseball season. The team played in the American Association, which was a major league from 1882 to 1891. The team nickname By contemporary news ...

of the

. He appeared in 93 games for Cincinnati, all at third base, and compiled a .199 batting average and .270 on-base percentage. Whitney was released by Cincinnati in late August and concluded his major league career with the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

. He appeared in only three games for the Browns, with his last major league game occurring on August 22, 1891, when he was 33 years old.

Final years in the minors

Before retiring from the game, Whitney played two additional seasons, 1892 and 1893, with the

team in the New England League.

Later years

Whitney was married in approximately 1881 to Rowena Locke. After retiring from baseball, Whitney worked for many years for the Victor Sporting Goods Company in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

. Whitney's brother, Charles Whitney, founded the company, which was later absorbed by A. G. Spalding & Sons. At the time of the 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930 censuses, Whitney was living in

with his wife, Rowena. In 1900, he was employed in the sporting goods manufacturing business.Census entry for Arthur W. Whitney, age 72, born in Massachusetts. Source Citation: Year: 1930; Census Place: Springfield, Hampden, Massachusetts; Roll: 911; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 0082; Image: 176.0; FHL microfilm: 2340646. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census atabase on-lineCensus entry for Arthur W. Whitney. Source Citation: Year: 1920; Census Place: Springfield Ward 6, Hampden, Massachusetts; Roll: T625_703; Page: 11A; Enumeration District: 151; Image: 806. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census atabase on-line Whitney died in 1943 at age 85 at his home in

, after a short illness. He was buried at the Edson Cemetery in Lowell.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitney, Art 1858 births 1943 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball third basemen Worcester Ruby Legs players Detroit Wolverines players Providence Grays players Pittsburgh Alleghenys players New York Giants (NL) players New York Giants (PL) players Cincinnati Kelly's Killers players St. Louis Browns (AA) players Minor league baseball managers Lowell (minor league baseball) players Worcester Grays players East Saginaw Grays players Saginaw Greys players Lowell Lowells players Manchester (minor league baseball) players Boston Reds (minor league) players Baseball players from Massachusetts Sportspeople from Brockton, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Lowell, Massachusetts