Jerome Cardell White (born August 23, 1952) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

and

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

. Listed at 5' 10", 164 lb., White was a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

and threw right handed. He was born in

Shirley, Massachusetts Shirley is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately thirty miles west-northwest of Boston. The population was 7,431 at the 2020 census. The town has a well-preserved historic New England town center. It is ho ...

. White spent 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 (AL), ...

(MLB), including stints with the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

, and

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

.Baseball Reference – Statistics and History
/ref> Additionally, White played two seasons in

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

(NPB) with the

Seibu Lions The are a professional baseball team in Japan's Pacific League based north of Tokyo in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture. Before 1979, they were based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture in Kyushu. The team is owned by a subsidiary of Seibu Railway, wh ...

and

Yokohama Taiyo Whales The are a professional baseball team in the Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its curren ...

. He later worked as the

bench coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

in the 1995 season then as the

first base coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...

of the

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

in a span of 14 seasons from 1998–2012.Twins Fire First Base Coach Jerry White
''SBNation.com.'' Retrieved on August 4, 2016.

Professional career

Player

White was selected by the Montreal Expos in the 14th round of the

1970 MLB Draft First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1970 Major League Baseball draft. ''*'' Did not sign Other notable Selections ''*'' Did not sign References External links Complete draft list from ''The Basebal ...

out of San Francisco's Washington High School. He made his major league debut on September 16, 1974 at Montreal's

Jarry Park Jarry Park (french: Parc Jarry) is an urban park in the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Jarry Park has total area of 36 hectares. It is considered by the City of Montreal as one of its large park ...

, in a 3–2 Expos' loss to the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. His first full major league season came in 1976, as he hit .245 in 114 games with the Expos. On June 23, 1978, he was traded to the

to complete an earlier deal made on June 9, 1978, in which the Expos acquired pitcher

Woodie Fryman Woodrow Thompson Fryman (April 12, 1940 – February 4, 2011), was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for six teams, across 18 seasons (–). A two-time National League (NL) All-Star, he helped th ...

as the player to be named later. White spent only 59 games in a Cubs' uniform. In late 1978, he was traded back to the Expos along with second baseman Rodney Scott in exchange for outfielder

Sam Mejías Samuel Elías Mejías '' ay-hee'-ahs' (born May 9, 1952) is a former backup outfielder in Major League Baseball who played from through for the St. Louis Cardinals (1976), Montreal Expos (1977–78), Chicago Cubs (1979) and Cincinnati Reds (1979 ...

. In December 1985, White signed as a free agent with the

. He made his final major league appearance on June 9, 1986, ironically against the Montreal Expos, the team he spent the majority of his professional career with. He retired with a career .253 batting average and 303 hits over an eleven-season major league career. In 646 games over 11 seasons, White posted a .253

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(303-for-1196) with 155 runs, 21

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, 109 RBI, 57

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

and 148

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 ...

. He finished his career with a .974

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, div ...

playing at all three outfield positions. In the 1981 postseason, he hit .235 (8-for-34) with 5 runs, 1 home run, 4 RBI, 4 stolen bases and 5 walks.

Winter Leagues

In between, White played winter ball with the

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes (Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It wa ...

and

Águilas del Zulia The Águilas del Zulia ( en, Zulia Eagles) is a Venezuelan professional baseball team based in Maracaibo which plays in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. History The team was founded in 1969 and debuted in the 1969–70 season. The fra ...

clubs of the

Venezuelan League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

in the 1978–79 and 1983-84 seasons, respectively. A career highlight came in the 1979 Caribbean Series with the Venezuelan champion Magallanes, when White was the only player in the tournament with at least one hit in each game, leading the hitters with a .522 BA, 12 hits and a .607 OBP, including five runs, four RBI, a .783 SLG and 1.370 OPS.

Coaching

Following his playing career, White was hired as the first base coach of the

in 1998. In October 2012, after two consecutive seasons of 90+ losses, the Twins' front office decided to shake things up by releasing or reassigning six of seven coaches, including White.

Honors

In February 2006, White was enshrined into the

Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame The Pabellón de la Fama del Caribe (In English, the ''Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame'') was established in 1996 by Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, commissioner of the Confederación de Béisbol del Caribe (''Caribbean Confederation of Profession ...

along with

Dave Concepción David Ismael Concepción Benitez (born June 17, 1948) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won four National Lea ...

(Venezuela), Pedro Formental (Cuba) and

Celerino Sánchez Celerino Sánchez Pérez (3 February 1944 – 1 May 1992) was a Mexican Major League baseball third baseman. Career Sánchez starred as a baseball player in the Mexican League from 1964 to 1971, primarily with the Tigres del México, befo ...

(México), for their notable contributions to the

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

. During the ceremony, Chico Carrasquel and

Emilio Cueche Emilio Cueche h-mee'-leo / coo-eh'-chay/small> (October 20, 1927 – July 31, 2006) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He was nicknamed ″Indio″. (Spanish) Born in Barcelona, Anzoátegui, the righthander Cueche was one of the mos ...

(both from Venezuela) also were honored.Exaltarán deportistas en Serie del Caribe en Venezuela
(Spanish). ''Hoy.com.do''. Retrieved on August 4, 2016.

Personal

White has two sons, Justin and Jerome, and a daughter, Noell.

Sources

External links

, o
Baseball Almanac
o
Official Jerry White website
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Jerry 1952 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players Águilas del Zulia players American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baseball coaches from Massachusetts Baseball players from Massachusetts Chicago Cubs players Denver Bears players Detroit Tigers coaches Fort Myers Sun Sox players Gulf Coast Expos players Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball outfielders Memphis Blues players Minnesota Twins coaches Montreal Expos players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Nippon Professional Baseball outfielders Peninsula Whips players People from Shirley, Massachusetts Québec Carnavals players San Jose Bees players Seibu Lions players Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts St. Louis Cardinals players West Palm Beach Expos players West Palm Beach Tropics players Wichita Aeros players Yokohama Taiyō Whales players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople