William DeKova White (born January 28, 1934) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. He played 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York / San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, and Philadelphia Phillies. He was an eight-time All-Star and seven-time Gold Glove winner who earned a championship as a top contributor in the 1964 World Series.
White became a full-time sportscaster after his playing career ended in 1969 and was the play-by-play man and color analyst for New York Yankees television and radio broadcasts for 18 years.
In 1989, White was elected President of the National League to replace Bart Giamatti, who succeeded Peter Ueberroth as Commissioner. White served as NL president until he retired in 1994.
In White's first game with the Giants on May 7, 1956, he hit a home run in his first major league at bat in the second inning.[8] White played 138 games that year as the Giants first baseman, hitting .256 with 22 home runs. He did not play in 1957, due to military service.[2] White rejoined the team in July 1958, after the Giants had moved to San Francisco, playing in only 26 games.[5][2] If he stayed with the Giants, White would have to compete for the first base job with future Hall of Fame player Orlando Cepeda,[9] the 1958 Rookie of the Year, and up and coming future Hall of Fame first baseman Willie McCovey.[10][5] On March 25, 1959, White was traded with Ray Jablonski to St. Louis Cardinals for Sam Jones and Don Choate.[11]
White played for the Cardinals from 1959 through 1965, never hitting below .283, and surpassing .300 four times.[2] He made the National League (NL) All-Star team every one of those years except 1962. However, in 1962, he had his highest career batting average (.324), his career-high OPS (.868), along with 93 runs scored, and 102 RBIs. He also won a Gold Glove at first base that year, and was 13th in NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) voting.[2][12]
His best statistical year came in 1963 when he posted career highs with 200 hits, 106 runs scored, 27 home runs, and 109 RBIs.[2] White was a consistent performer, particularly during the 1962-64 seasons. During those three seasons, he had highly productive and notably consistent numbers for hits (199, 200, 191), runs (93, 106, 92), home runs (20, 27, 21), runs batted in (102, 109, 102), and average (.324, .304, .303).[2] During the 1964 Cardinals championship season, White placed third in the league MVP voting for his overall seasonal performance. He had a subpar postseason, batting only .111 (3–27 with 2 RBIs) in the World Series.[2][13][14]
A capable baserunner, White stole 12 or more bases four times.[2] He was also one of the top defensive first basemen of his time, winning seven straight Gold Glove Awards (1960–66).[12] White hit for the cycle on August 14, 1960,[15] and once hit three home runs in a game, on July 5, 1961 against the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.[16] Also in July 1961, White tied Ty Cobb's 49-year Major League record by collecting 14 hits in consecutive doubleheaders, both against the Chicago Cubs at Sportsman's Park, going 4-for-5 in both games on July 17 and 3-for-4 in both games the very next day.[17] Ironically, the first doubleheader was played on the same day Cobb died and 49 years to the day after Cobb collected eight hits to begin his feat