Born in Kingston, Jamaica on December 29, 1962, Devon White moved with his family to New York City at the age of nine. It was in New York that he found baseball, thus launching the career of a player who would become one of the sport’s premier defensive outfielders and an indispensable figure in Toronto Blue Jays history.
Drafted out of high school by the California Angels in the 6th round of the 1981 MLB Draft, White was a raw second base prospect with impressive speed. After moving to the outfield, he worked his way through the Angels system, including spending most of 1986 with the Triple-A Edmonton Trappers of the Pacific Coast League. White led Edmonton at the plate in runs, triples and steals, and from the outfield he topped the team leaderboards in putouts and assists (Item 1.1). After brief stints in the majors in 1985 and 1986, White became a full-time Angel in 1987, quickly gaining attention for his defensive skills and baserunning ability. White led the American League in outfielder putouts during his rookie season, and went on to win back-to-back Gold Gloves in the next two seasons.
(Item 1.2) A ticket for a game between the California Angels and Toronto Blue Jays played on July 5th, 1990 in Toronto. The Blue Jays won the game 9-2 over the Angels in a game which featured 5 future Canadian Baseball Hall of Famers: White and Kirk McCaskill (Class of 2003) for the Angels, vs. Tony Fernandez (2008), Dave Stieb (2005), Duane Ward (2020) and John Olerud (2020) for the Blue Jays.
(Item 2.1) A Blue Jays jersey worn in-game and autographed by Devon White during the 1994 season. The season would see White win his sixth Gold Glove (his fourth consecutive).
After a lackluster 1990 season that saw a brief return to Edmonton, White was dealt by the Angels to the Toronto Blue Jays (Item 1.2). White would soon come to love Toronto and its fans while dominating defensively, winning five straight Gold Gloves (the most ever for an outfielder with the franchise), and leading the AL in outfield putouts again in 1991 and 1992 (Item 2.1).
Often hitting lead-off for Toronto, White proved to be a formidable threat, batting .336 combined over the Blue Jays’ playoff runs from 1991-93. He also formed one fifth of Toronto’s formidable “WAMCO” batting order (White, Alomar, Molitor, Carter and Olerud: the first five batters in the Toronto lineup) during the 1993 season (Items 2.2 & 2.3).
(Item 2.2) A baseball bat signed by Devon White, Roberto Alomar, Paul Molitor, Joe Carter and John Olerud, the first five batters in the Jays 1993 lineup. The dominant starting five in the batting order were nicknamed WAMCO, all five made the 1993 All-Star Game, and three of them had the top batting averages of the season in the AL (Olerud, Molitor and Alomar).
(Item 2.3) A photo of White riding in the back of a convertible in the SkyDome during the Blue Jays’ 1993 World Series Parade. White put up a .373 batting average in that year’s playoffs while maintaining a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage
Devon White was a core element of the Blue Jays lineup, and became a key contributor on Toronto’s World Series teams, but perhaps his most famous moment as a Blue Jay came in Game 3 of the 1992 World Series. Scoreless in the top of the fourth inning with two runners on and nobody out, White chased down a ball hit to deep centre by the Braves’ David Justice, making the catch as he collided with the outfield wall. He then turned and made a long throw to Roberto Alomar to initiate a double-play (and some would argue, a triple-play!). A symbol of White’s excellence on defense, the moment became immortalized on cards and tickets (Item 3.1).
Devon White left Toronto after 1995 to sign with the Florida Marlins, with whom he would win his third World Series in 1997. After stints with the Arizona Diamondbacks, the Los Angeles Dodgers, and the Milwaukee Brewers, White retired in 2001. In retirement White has stayed active in Canada, working within the Blue Jays system as a coach and development specialist, volunteering with the Jays Care Foundation, and coaching Canadian high school prospects. White remains one of the top defenders in Blue Jays history, with his five Gold Gloves and 3.9 Defensive WAR season in 1992 still team records. He remains within Toronto’s all-time top ten in several statistics, including triples, stolen bases, and position player WAR.