We were all Gai-Jin - Terry Whitfield's Story

Terry Whitfield is not a household name, but he was a heck of a hitter in the Major Leagues and the Japanese Pacific League for most of the 1970s and 1980s. Terry's career batting average in the MLB was .281, in the Minors it was .286 and in Japan it was .289. He was never a superstar in the States, but his three years in Japan were extremely successful in being named to the league's "Best Nine" twice in three years and being the best player on the best team in the league in 1983. Terry's career was not too much of a struggle once he reached the professional ranks, but getting there took a ton of hard work. He did not grow up with wealth and privilege like some of his peers, but his family played a major role in helping him develop into a Major Leaguer. His father worked as a janitor and provided Terry with whatever he needed through hard work and dedication and those values transferred to Terry as a young child. Whitfield was not just a great baseball player, he was also a standout in football and basketball as well. While he was growing up, Terry thought he would actually play football at the next level, but after being drafted by the Yankees in the first round, he was given the opportunity to be a top baseball player.

As a young 1st round pick, Terry's experience in the early 1970s was split between the Deep South and Upstate New York. He spent time in Tennessee, North Carolina and Florida and dealt with some pretty serious challenges due to his race, but he also got to experience the best of Minor League Baseball in small town New York where he was welcomed like family. While playing in the Florida State League, Terry was one of only a few black players on his team and he dealt with some pretty serious racial discrimination. He had to live in a hotel with the other two black players because no apartments in the city would rent to them. They would be told by white teammates that there was a quality apartment available for rent, but when they'd show up, the vacancy would suddenly be "filled". Terry and his two black teammates eventually became stressed out by the living situation and began to argue with each other regularly. The frustration of the isolation from the rest of the team wore on all three of them and Terry suffered through the worst season of his career at any level. He batted just .163 in 49 games and his potential to reach the MLB was starting to look suspect due to this performance in A ball in the Florida State League.

For many players, that struggle in A ball would have been the end of the MLB dreams, but for Terry it was a different situation due to his status as a 1st round pick. The Yankees sent him to Oneonta with another black player (Larry Murray), a small city of about 15,000 residents that sits roughly a half hour south of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Oneonta is not a diverse city and has never been one, but it was a much more tolerant and accepting city for Terry and Larry in 1972. Both Terry and Larry had struggled mightily in Florida that year, but both thrived in Oneonta. Terry started becoming an extra-base-hit machine and Larry became a prolific base stealer. To think that these two young ballplayers could both go from batting below .165 to being two of the most dangerous players in the league simply from moving into a more welcoming environment, it makes you wonder how many ballplayers suffered a different fate and saw their careers dry up as a result. In Terry's words, "we got shipped to NY and it changed my life. They treated us well, bought us dinners for home runs and stuff. You didn't make that much money at that time, so it helped a lot." If not for his experience in Oneonta, who knows what would have happened to Terry Whitfield?

The next season Whitfield went to play in the Carolina League for the Kinston Eagles at the tender age of 20. The Carolina League was mostly guys around 22-23 years old and Terry was one of the 5 youngest hitters in the whole league. His youth did not mean he was overmatched by the league, however. Terry actually was the only hitter under the age of 23 to bat over .300 and was the league leader in batting average, home runs and on base percentage, and was one of the top 2 in the league in hits, runs scored, doubles and slugging percentage and was 4th in RBIs. Clearly Terry was an elite hitter, especially considering that he was so much younger than nearly everyone in the league. His success on the field did not mean he was immune to discrimination off the field. "I wanted to get a place close to the ballpark with a couple guys. But when I came down the stairs on the first morning there, there was a guy across the street with a shotgun. This was 1973 and it was still not an integrated neighborhood. I started hitting the ball just to get the heck out of there, so I won the batting title." At the end of the season when Terry was leaving town, the woman who rented him his apartment said to him "Terry, Boy, I thought you was gonna be something else. You turned out to be a good boy". This is a perfect example of a "micro-aggression", a comment or action that subtly and often unconsciously or unintentionally expresses a prejudiced attitude toward a member of a traditionally oppressed group.

For Terry's story, not all the white people with power were villains. One of the most polarizing figures in baseball history played a major role in Terry's rise to the Majors. George Steinbrenner was always a fan of Terry's and helped in his ascent. "Steinbrenner was the one guy that always liked me. Everything he did, he took care of me and that's one thing I'm really grateful for." After his big season in Carolina, Terry played the 1974 season in Syracuse, a AAA program and skipped the AA level entirely. The International League at the time was a pitcher dominated league and Terry had a decent, but not spectacular season. He struck out more than any other hitter in the league by a wide margin and was caught stealing 9 times in just 15 tries. He did end up a top 6 home run hitter and was second in doubles, so the power and hitting ability were still there, but it was not an ideal season for him. That said, he was still one of the youngest players in the league and his success caught the attention of the big league club. "When I got sent home in September, Steinbrenner called me and said 'get on a plane and come here to New York and get here before gametime'". That was the beginning of Terry's Major League Career and on September 29th, 1974 he made his Major League debut at the age of 21.

TO READ MORE OF TERRY WHITFIELD'S STORY, LOOK FOR THE REST IN MY UPCOMING BOOK "You're Not Welcome Here: Stories of Discrimination and Exclusionary Practices in Baseball"