Wally Whitehurst

Infobox MLB retired
bgcolor1=darkblue
bgcolor2=maroon
textcolor1=white
textcolor2=white
name=Wally Whitehurst
position=Pitcher
bats=Right
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date and age|1964|4|11|
debutdate=July 17
debutyear=by|1989
debutteam=New York Mets
finaldate=August 29
finalyear=by|1996
finalteam=New York Yankees
stat1label=ERA
stat1value=4.02
stat2label=Record
stat2value=20-37
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=313
teams=
*New York Mets (1989-1992)
*San Diego Padres (1993-1994)
*New York Yankees (1996)
highlights=

Walter Richard Whitehurst (born April 11 1964 in Shreveport, Louisiana) is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played from by|1989 to by|1996 with the New York Mets, San Diego Padres and New York Yankees. Standing at 6'3" and weighing 195 pounds, Whitehurst attended the University of New Orleans.

Originally selected by the Oakland Athletics in the third round of the by|1985 draft, Whitehurt found his way into the Mets organization when he was part of a three-team trade that took place on December 11, by|1987. He was sent by Oakland, with Kevin Tapani, to the Mets. The Los Angeles Dodgers sent Bob Welch and Matt Young to the Athletics, and Jack Savage to the Mets. The Athletics then sent Alfredo Griffin and Jay Howell to the Dodgers, and the Mets sent Jesse Orosco to the Dodgers.

He stayed in the minor leagues until July 17, by|1989, which is when he made his big league debut at the age of 25. In one inning of work, he allowed one hit and walked three batters, surrendering two earned runs. He season did improve though, and he finished with a 4.50 earned run average in nine games.

He was used entirely as a reliever in by|1990, appearing in 38 games, which was tied for third most on the team. In 65+ innings, he walked only nine batters and posted a solid 3.29 ERA.

He appeared in 36 games in by|1991, starting more than half of them. His 7-12 record was the worst among all the pitchers who had started more than 10 games with the Mets that year, as was his 4.18 ERA. Perhaps it was his poor performance as a starter that limited him to the bullpen during the last month of the season.

Although he posted a respectable 3.62 ERA in by|1992, his record was a poor 3-9. Perhaps that is what prompted his trade to the Padres after the season-he was sent with D.J. Dozier and Raul Casanova for Tony Fernández. He spent two seasons with the Padres, by|1993 and by|1994, posting a record of 4-7 each season. After that season, he was released by the Padres and picked up by the San Francisco Giants. In April by|1995, the Giants released him and he was signed by the Boston Red Sox. He was released by the Red Sox in July, but picked up by the Toronto Blue Jays a short time later. After the 1995 season-a year in which he saw no major league action-he was granted free agency and picked up by the Montreal Expos. In June by|1996, he was selected off waivers from the Expos by the New York Yankees, and he started two games with them, winning one and losing one. In eight innings of big league work in 1996, he struck out only one batter (José Herrera).

He played his final big league game on August 29, by|1996. Overall, he went 20-37 with a 4.02 ERA. He walked 130 batters and struck out 312 batters in 487+ innings of work. He batted .150 in 107 career at bats, and his fielding percentage was .948. Overall, he compares statistically to Joe Moeller. He wore number 47 while with the Mets, 41 with the Padres and 55 with the Yankees. He spent five seasons with Dwight Gooden and David Cone-longer than any other teammates.

Since his playing days ended, he has been a pitching coach. He coached the Arizona League Padres in 2004, the Eugene Emeralds in 2005 and 2006, and he is set to coach the Fort Wayne Wizards in 2007.

He is currently serving as a substitute teacher at his old high school, Terrebonne High School in Houma, Louisiana and is also the San Diego Padres' pitching coach.

External links

*baseball-reference|id=w/whitewa02