The outfielder, a native of Woodburn, Oregon, appeared in 285 games in Major League Baseball over all or parts of six seasons (1946–1951) for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies.

On May 1, he started in center field and went five-for-five against the Chicago Cubs; the Dodgers won 5–1 to improve their record to 9–4 while Whitman's batting average rose to .263.

[2] But Whitman soon assumed the role of backup center-fielder to fellow rookie Carl Furillo, although he started another 40 games in center.

Then, in 1949, Whitman spent the full year with Brooklyn, but with drastically reduced playing time, his production slumped to a .184 batting average on only nine hits over 23 games.

Nevertheless, he appeared in the 1949 World Series as a pinch hitter, striking out against Allie Reynolds of the New York Yankees in Game 4 on October 8 to close out a 6–4 Dodger defeat.

The 1950 Phillies—immortalized as the "Whiz Kids" because of young stars like Robin Roberts, Richie Ashburn, Curt Simmons, "Puddin' Head" Jones, Del Ennis and Granny Hamner—won the second National League pennant in the club's history, outlasting Whitman's former team, the Dodgers, in the season's final game.

In 1951, he collected only two hits in 17 at bats as a pinch hitter and reserve outfielder for the Phillies, and was traded back to the Dodgers on June 8.