Terry Bertland Whitfield (born January 12, 1953) is an American former

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), ...

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 The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

, selected 19th overall. After seven seasons in the major leagues with the New York Yankees and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

, Whitfield moved to Japan. From 1981 to 1983, he excelled for 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 ...

, 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 The Best Nine Award is awarded annually to the best player at each position in both the Central League and Pacific League of Japanese professional baseball as determined by a pool of journalists. History While the Best Nine Award was first presen ...

, 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 The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues constituting Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship competes against the winner in the Central League for the annual Japan Series. It currently consis ...

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 The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

from 1984 to 1986.Terry Whitfield Baseball Stats
The Baseball Cube. Retrieved on 2011-11-13.

Future Pro Baseball and the "Terry-Toss"

After his playing career, he opened Future Pro Baseball, a batting cage in

Burlingame, California Burlingame () is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame and is known for its numerous eucalyp ...

, 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; and as a fan attraction at professional stadiums in California such as

Oracle Park Oracle Park is a Major League Baseball stadium in the SoMa neighborhood of San Francisco, California. Since 2000, it has been the home of the San Francisco Giants. Previously named Pacific Bell Park, SBC Park, and AT&T Park, the stadium's curre ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

Oakland Coliseum Oakland Coliseum, currently branded as RingCentral Coliseum, is a stadium in Oakland, California. It is part of the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Complex, with the adjacent Oakland Arena, near Interstate 880. The Coliseum is the home b ...

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

Personal life

He used to be the head baseball coach at Burlingame High School. He has four children, Charles, Emmett, Eric and Lydia.

References

External links

, o
Retrosheet
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Venezuelan Winter League
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitfield, Terry 1953 births Living people African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Japan Cardenales de Lara players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Fresno Suns players Johnson City Yankees players Kinston Eagles players Los Angeles Dodgers players Major League Baseball left fielders New York Yankees players Oneonta Yankees players People from Blythe, California People from Burlingame, California Baseball players from San Mateo County, California San Bernardino Spirit players San Francisco Giants players San Jose Bees players Seibu Lions players Syracuse Chiefs players Tigres de Aragua players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople