Joyner Michael White (born December 18, 1938) 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 ...

player. Primarily an

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 ...

, White appeared 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), ...

for all or parts of three seasons (1963–65) for the Houston Colt .45s / Astros. He is the son of the late

Jo-Jo White Joyner Clifford "Jo-Jo" White (June 1, 1909 – October 9, 1986) was an American center fielder in professional baseball. He played nine seasons with the Detroit Tigers (1932–38), Philadelphia Athletics (1943–44), and Cincinnati Reds (1944) ...

, a former MLB outfielder 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 ...

. Mike White threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . White attended

American River Junior College American River College (ARC) is a public community college in unincorporated Sacramento, California. It is part of the California Community Colleges System. History The college was opened in 1955 as American River Junior College, on the site ...

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

, and signed with the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

in 1958; his father was a Cleveland

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

and

that season. But White suffered a serious knee injury in a 1958 intrasquad game and his career was nearly ended before it began. Despite constant therapy, he ran with a pronounced limp.''Baseball Digest,'' September 1964, page 53
/ref> White was able to play 126

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

games in 1959 and 127 more in 1960. During the latter season, he batted .304 with 132

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album se ...

for the

Reading Indians The Reading Fightin Phils (also called the Reading Fightins) are a Minor League Baseball team based in Reading, Pennsylvania, playing in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League. The team plays their home games at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Re ...

of the Class A Eastern League. But the Indians released him on December 8, 1960. However, baseball was in the process of adding four new

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

s during the 1961 and 1962 seasons. White kept his career going by signing with the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

' minor league organization for . He moved from

third base 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 us ...

to the outfield and later became a second baseman as well. After one year in the Angels'

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

, he was drafted by another expansion team, the Colt .45s, during the winter before their debut season. White batted .294 and .324 in successive seasons in the high minors before making his debut with the Colt .45s in September . He collected two

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

in seven

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

over three MLB games. White spent the entire campaign with Houston, primarily as a

center fielder A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the c ...

, and batted .271 with 76

in 89 games. But in , White appeared in only eight games for the renamed Astros, mostly as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

. He was hitless in nine

and returned to the minor leagues for the remainder of his career. He retired in 1969.

References

External links

, o
RetrosheetPura Pelota (Venezuelan Winter League)
{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Mike 1938 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela American River Beavers baseball players American River College alumni Baseball players from Michigan Burlington Indians players (1958–1964) Dallas Rangers players Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs players Estrellas Orientales (VPBL) players Houston Astros players Houston Colt .45s players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball second basemen Mobile Bears players Navegantes del Magallanes players Oklahoma City 89ers players Reading Indians players San Antonio Bullets players Seattle Angels players Tacoma Cubs players

See also

References

External links