As coach Dustin Eli Whiteside (born October 22, 1979) is an American former professional baseball catcher who is currently a roving catching instructor for the San Francisco Giants.
He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants, and Chicago Cubs.
In 2010, he remained the backup catcher and was on the Giants' roster when they won the World Series, despite not playing any playoff games.
After an injury to Buster Posey in May 2011, Whiteside split time catching with Chris Stewart for the rest of the year.
He lost the role of backup to Héctor Sánchez in 2012 and appeared in just 12 games for the Giants during their second World Series-winning season in three years.
Following 2012, Whiteside was claimed off waivers multiple times by different clubs before finally winding up with the Texas Rangers, who assigned him to their Triple-A team in 2013.
[1] At Delta State, he was an All-American, an All-Gulf South Conference, and an All-Region player all three years with the baseball team, in which he batted .390/.440/.620.
[4] He had two-home-run games against the Akron Aeros on May 17 and the Erie SeaWolves on July 28, finishing fourth in the Orioles' organization on the season with 18 home runs.
Following the season, he played for the Peoria Javelinas of the Arizona Fall League, batting .329 with 20 RBI in 18 games.
[1] Whiteside moved up to the Triple-A Ottawa Lynx of the International League in 2005, and the Orioles signed veteran catcher Sal Fasano to mentor him.
[6] He made his major league debut the next day, entering as a defensive replacement for Fasano in a 12–3 loss to the New York Yankees.
[7] Four days later, making his first major league start, he got his first hit, an RBI single against Scott Cassidy in a 9–1 victory over the Boston Red Sox.
[1] In 2007, Whiteside attended spring training but was reassigned to the minors on March 27, coinciding with the Orioles' acquisition of Alberto Castillo.
[13] Whiteside began the season with the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate, which was now the Norfolk Tides, but after he batted .180 in 18 games he was reassigned to Bowie on May 11.
He played in eight games with the Rochester Red Wings of the International League, batting .167 before getting released on April 30 when Ryan Jorgensen returned from serving a suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.
[4] However, after an elbow injury prevented Pablo Sandoval from catching, the Giants called up Whiteside to be the backup catcher for Bengie Molina on May 24, 2009.
"[20] He hit a grand slam, his first Major League home run, against Brian Moehler of the Houston Astros in a 10–6 Giants' victory on August 5, 2009.
[21] He joined Bobby Bonds, Dave Kingman, Brandon Crawford and Brian Dallimore as the only Giants to hit a grand slam for their first home run.
However, following Posey's season-ending leg injury on May 25, 2011, he moved into a more prominent role, splitting starting time with Chris Stewart.
However, the Giants ultimately decided to give the role to prospect Héctor Sánchez, a promising hitter who had been expected to start the season with Fresno to work on his defense.
[14] This time, he was left off the playoff roster as the Giants went on to win the World Series in a four-game sweep against the Detroit Tigers.
[45] He was designated for assignment by the Rangers on January 3, 2013, and removed from the 40 man roster to make room for Jason Frasor.
[46] Whiteside cleared waivers the next day and was assigned to the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate Round Rock Express of the Pacific Coast League.
[1] He played 2013 with the Round Rock Express, where he split time at catcher with Robinson Chirinos and José Félix.
[4] On November 15, 2013, Whiteside signed a minor league contract with the Chicago Cubs, with an invitation to spring training.
[49] His contract was selected from Iowa on June 3 when Welington Castillo was placed on the disabled list.