David White (minors04)

From BR Bullpen

David William White

BR Minors page

Biographical Information[edit]

David White reached AAA in the minors then played in Australia for many years. He represented Australia in the Sydney Olympics.

White Sox farmhand[edit]

White was taken by the Chicago White Sox in the 36th round of the 1984 amateur draft. He got his pro start with the GCL White Sox (9-2, 2.51) and Niagara Falls Sox (3 R in 1 2/3 IP). He walked only 7 in 82 1/3 innings for the GCL club and was one shy of league leader Jim Filippi.

In 1985, David moved to the bullpen with the Appleton Foxes and was excellent, going 9-4 with 17 saves and a 1.38 ERA with 83 strikeouts to 22 walks. Despite that, he failed to make the Midwest League All-Star team. He was 11-3 with nine saves and a 3.08 ERA for the 1986 Birmingham Barons. Despite getting just three starts, he finished second in the Southern League in ERA, behind Eric Bell and .33 ahead of #4 Tom Glavine. White led his team in wins, unusual for a reliever. He again was left off the league All-Star squad.

White was back in the rotation with the 1987 Hawaii Islanders. In his only AAA season in the US, he was 9-10 with a 5.36 ERA. He allowed 214 hits, most in the 1987 Pacific Coast League season. He had been one rung shy of playing for his hometown club, the White Sox.

Mexico[edit]

David then went to the Mexican League. In 1988, he was 8-9 with a 5.15 ERA for the Monclova Steelers, followed by a 2-3, 4.10 record for the 1989 Saraperos de Saltillo. He had gone 48-32 overall in the minors with 27 saves and a 3.89 ERA.

Australia[edit]

White joined the Melbourne Bushrangers for the 1992-1993 Australian Baseball League campaign. The Chicago native went 9-9 with a 4.69 ERA. He walked only 22 in 107 2/3 innings but allowed a .361 average. He led the league in innings pitched, was second to Ben Weber with seven complete games and tied Adrian Meagher and Carlos Reyes for the league lead. Amazingly, he did this for a squad so bad that was 4-25 when other pitchers got the decisions. White not only was his team's busiest pitcher, but he took over the general manager's job during the season.

White remained a player and front office presence for the Bushrangers when they moved and became the Canberra Bushrangers in 1993-1994. The right-hander was 8-5 with a save and a 4.21 ERA. He was second to Brad Cornett with 87 2/3 innings, tied for second with 8 complete games (one behind Cornett) and tied for third in wins. Dave fell to 6-8 in 1994-1995 with one save but his ERA improved to 3.50. He walked just 17 in 108 innings. He led the league in innings for the second time, 7 ahead of Phil Dale.

Moving to the Perth Heat in 1995-1996, the veteran faded to 9-6, 6.11. He walked 14 in 95 2/3 innings but gave up a .309 average after two straight seasons in the .240s. He tied Brett Cederblad for the most wins in the ABL and was second to John Challinor in innings pitched. In 1996-1997, White was 7-2 with a 5.47 ERA but was cut by Perth right before the playoffs.

White was 1-0 with a 5.40 ERA for the Australian national team in the 1997 Intercontinental Cup, showing rare control issues with seven walks in ten innings. His battery mate was another White, Gary White. He started against his homeland in the Bronze Medal game. He allowed four runs in 4 1/3 innings, including a Bubba Crosby home run, before being yanked in favor of Craig Lewis. Australia would rally after that to take their first Medal ever in a major international tournament.

In 1997-1998, David went 2-4 with two saves and a lofty 7.79 ERA for the Melbourne Reds, though he did well in the postseason. Despite that kind of work, he was left on Australia's roster for the 1998 Baseball World Cup. He went 1-0 with a 2.93 ERA in the event, finishing with the third-best ERA on the Australian squad.

White was better with Melbourne in 1998-1999 as the 37-year-old went 7-4 with three saves and a 4.41 ERA. He tied Matt Herges and Pat Ahearne for the ABL lead in wins, was 4th with 21 appearances, 5th in innings (81 2/3) and tied for fifth in saves.

Despite not playing in the ABL's first three seasons, White finished second in the league's 10-year run in innings (587 2/3, second to Dale), tied for 7th in games pitched (117), second in wins (48, trailing only Dale), second in losses (39, one shy of Dale), second in hits allowed (665, second to Dale), first in runs allowed (371), first in earned runs allowed (318), 4th in strikeouts (359, trailing Dale, Meagher and Cederblad), only 16th in walks (115), first in homers allowed (89, 22 ahead of runner-up Dale), first in balks (12), first in hit batsmen (41, almost double the runner-up's 21), third in starts (79) and second to Dale with 40 complete games (no one else had even 20).

In the 1999 Intercontinental Cup, the ageless righty was 1-0 with a 1.42 ERA. Australia went on to stun Cuba in the Gold Medal game (in which White did not pitch) to take its first title ever in a major tournament.

When the International Baseball League of Australia replaced the ABL in 1999-2000, White was 3-2 with a save and a 1.60 ERA for the Victoria Aces.

Italy[edit]

White then spent a summer in Italy's Serie A1. Pitching for Parma, he was 6-2 with a 2.70 ERA before going 0-1 with a 4.26 ERA in the playoffs. That year, David reached 100 wins between the US minors, Mexico, Australia and Italy.

Australia again[edit]

White was Australia's second-oldest player for the 2000 Olympics, with only Meagher being older. David was the worst performer for the host nation's mound corps, with 9 hits allowed in 18 at-bats. He was torched for seven runs in 3 1/3 IP; his 18.90 ERA was over double Australia's next-worst pitchers, Mark Ettles and Mark Hutton. It was his last appearance for the national team.

After a winter off, David was 1-0 with three saves and a 5.14 ERA in the 2002 Claxton Shield as Victoria took the title. He was named Baseball Victoria Pitcher of the Year but did not play for the Aces in the Claxton Shield.

In 2005, David became head coach of the Aces. He took them to a national title in 2007.

Sources[edit]

Retrieved from "https://www.baseball-reference.com/bpv/index.php?title=David_White_(minors04)&oldid=849551"