He was chosen to the first team All-Citrus Belt League and All-San Bernardino County in his sophomore and junior years.

[4] Whitesell played baseball for the Loyola Marymount University Lions (after having been recruited by California, UCLA, San Diego, Nevada, and Pepperdine), initially as a pitcher, from 2001 to 2003.

[6] Whitesell was named to the second team All-West Coast Conference in 2003, his junior (and final) year.

He was named to the Eastern League mid-season All-Star team,[10] and the Nationals signed him to a contract.

[11] On March 15, 2008, Whitesell was claimed off waivers by the Arizona Diamondbacks, and assigned to Triple-A Tucson.

He finished the PCL season ranked 2nd in RBIs, tied for 4th in hits, and 7th in batting average.

[21] Whitesell played part of the 2010 season with the Nationals' AAA team, the Syracuse Chiefs, batting .304/.406/.446 in 184 at-bats, before signing with Tokyo Yakult Swallows.

He collected his first major league hit, a single, against the San Francisco Giants on September 15, during his first start.

Whitesell hit his first home run on September 21, against Colorado Rockies pitcher Steven Register.

He deserves a shot, and Arizona could certainly benefit from replacing Clark with the youngster and allowing Whitesell to get his feet wet as a pinch hitter while also playing regularly at first base against right-handed pitching.

"[24] In February 2009, Diamondback President and CEO Derrick Hall, when asked whether Whitesell would be given a shot to make the major league team out of spring training, responded: "He sure will.

[27] During the last weekend before the season began, however, he was told that he had not made the team's opening day roster.

[30] On May 19, however, not even two weeks later, Melvin had been fired as manager and the team optioned Whitesell back to Reno.

Hinch said: "Really the only thing [Whitesell] hasn't conquered is the major-league side of it, because every time he goes down to Triple-A he performs very well".

[33][34] Clark was finally released in mid-July, and Whitesell was called back up for the third time in the season to replace him on July 16.

Asked what he had been told by Diamondbacks management, Whitesell responded: "I just know that ... the first base job for 2010 is up for the taking, so I'm going to get a fair opportunity."

[38] The Diamondbacks declined to tender Whitesell a contract on December 13, 2009, making him a free agent.

On June 7, 2010, Whitesell was acquired from Washington by the Tokyo Yakult Swallows, and signed for 30 million yen (roughly $327,000) for the remainder of the season.