100 Greatest Phillies: 47 – Pinky Whitney

Pinky Whitney
Third Baseman
1928-1933, 1936-1939

Career w/Phillies: .307 AVG / 69 HR / 734 RBI / 34 SB

A Phillie for most of 10 seasons, Arthur Carter “Pinky” Whitney was a good-hitting third baseman who, with Chuck Klein, led the Phillies through some lean times. Make no mistake, he drove in runs — 103 in his rookie season, 115 and 117 in the next two seasons and a career-high 124 in 1932. He finished in the NL top 10 in RBI three times, and his .341 average in 1937 was fourth-best in the league. Whitney also got MVP votes in three seasons: 1928, ’29 and ’37. He was also named to the 1936 NL All-Star team. He was also a very strong defensive player.

Comment: Is No. 47 too low for Whitney? Take into account that he was playing during the best offensive period in history and in one of the best hitters parks in history. When compared to players of his day, he was merely an average offensive player. Still, one cannot underestimate his solid play. He is truly one of the franchise’s greats.

Tim Malcolm

Tim first found the Phillies as a little infant at Veteran’s Stadium, cheering on a Juan Samuel game-winning home run in his very first game. With the pinstripes in his blood, he witnessed Terry Mulholland’s 1990 no-hitter, “Steve Carlton Night” at the Vet, game three of the 1993 World Series, countless games during the charmed 2008 championship season and various road excursions. Since November 2007 Tim’s been writing about them daily at Phillies Nation, becoming one of the world’s most popular Phillies scribes. You can catch him on Twitter and Facebook, as well. When he’s not talking about the Phils he’s relaxing with a St. Bernardus ABT 12 or one of his many favored brews.