Pete Whisenant

Who was Pete Whisenant?

Thomas Peter Whisenant was an American outfielder and coach in Major League Baseball. Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Whisenant stood 6 ft 2 in, weighed 200 pounds, and threw and batted right-handed.

Whisenant spent eight seasons in the major leagues, largely as a reserve outfielder and utility man. He played for the Boston Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Redlegs/Reds, Cleveland Indians and the Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins. During that span, he appeared in 475 games, with 221 hits in 988 at bats, for a .224 career batting average, with 37 home runs. In his only year as a semi-regular, in 1956, he played in 103 games for the Cubs and reached career highs in homers, RBI and batting average.

He served as a Cincinnati coach under Fred Hutchinson for the latter weeks of the 1961 season through 1962. After almost two decades away from baseball, Whisenant managed in the Oakland Athletics farm system in 1982–1983; his Modesto A's won 94 games and the 1982 California League championship.

Whisenant was also the founder of the Holiday Baseball Clinic for boys in Punta Gorda, Florida, held during the Christmas holidays in the late 1960s and 1970s.