Tommy White (baseball)

Tommy White
White with the LSU Tigers in 2023
Oakland Athletics
Third baseman
Born: (2003-03-02) March 2, 2003 (age 21)
St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S.
Bats: Right
Throws: Right

Thomas Anthony White (born March 2, 2003) nicknamed "Tommy Tanks", is an American professional baseball third baseman in the Oakland Athletics organization.

Early life

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White grew up in St. Pete Beach, Florida and initially attended Calvary Christian High School.[1] As a junior, he batted .444 with 18 RBIs and four home runs in 11 games before the season was cut short due to the coronavirus pandemic.[2] He transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida prior to his senior year. White batted .378 and was named an All-American in his only season at IMG.[3] He was the No. 1 ranked third base draft prospect coming out of high school in 2021, and No. 18 overall. [4]

College career

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White garnered national attention as a freshman at NC State after batting .588 with nine home runs in his first eight collegiate games.[5][6] He set records for the most home runs by a NC State player, and the most in a single season by a freshman in NCAA history. On May 28, 2022, White hit his fourth home run in two games at the ACC Tournament, marking his 27th of the season, and broke Todd Green's 1990 freshman home run record (26).[7] White was a consensus freshman of the year (ACC, Collegiate Baseball, Baseball America, NCBWA, ABCA), and a 1st Team All American.[8][9][10][11] White was a 2022 Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist, and a Golden Spikes Award Finalist.[12][13] After his freshman campaign, he entered the NCAA transfer portal.[14]

Ultimately committing to transfer to Louisiana State University, White made national news in Baton Rouge when his decision to give his NIL money back to the community was announced, in September of 2022.[15][16] In his first season with the Tigers, he batted .377 with 24 doubles, 24 home runs, 64 runs scored and led the nation with 105 RBIs. White was named a consensus All-American for a second straight year. LSU won the 2023 national championship, and White was selected for the 2023 College World Series All-Tournament Team.[17][18] In 2024, he batted .330 with 24 home runs and 70 RBIs, and was named second team All-America as well as All-Southeastern Conference as a junior.[19][20] White was a 2023 Golden Spikes Award Semifinalist, and a 2023 and 2024 Dick Howser Trophy Semifinalist.[21][22][23]

White finished his college career ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division I history for career home runs with 75.[24] He was only the fourth player in NCAA Division I history to reach the 75-home run mark in three seasons (2022-24).[24] The others are Pete Incaviglia of Oklahoma State (1983-85), Frank Fazzini of Florida State (1983-85), and George Canale of Virginia Tech (1984-86).[24] White is also the fourth player in NCAA Division I history to hit 20+ home runs in three separate seasons.[24] The others are Incaviglia, Canale and Todd Greene of Georgia Southern (1990-91, 1993).[24]

Professional career

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The Oakland Athletics drafted White with the first pick of the 2nd round (40th overall) in the 2024 Major League Baseball draft.[25] On July 23, 2024, White signed with the Athletics for a $3 million signing bonus.[26] White was assigned to the Stockton Ports of the Single-A California League to begin his professional career.[27]

References

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  1. ^ Hale, David M. (April 8, 2022). "NC State baseball's Tommy White has the look, the nickname and the game to back it up". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  2. ^ Askeland, Kevin (March 3, 2021). "Preseason MaxPreps All-America high school baseball team". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  3. ^ "Wolfpack slugger Tommy White makes smashing debut". North State Journal. February 23, 2022. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  4. ^ "Tommy White". perfectgame.org. Retrieved June 28, 2024.
  5. ^ Anderson, R.J. (March 4, 2022). "MLB Prospect Watch: How NC State freshman Tommy White is putting himself on the map". CBS Sports. Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  6. ^ Mintz, Jake (March 4, 2022). "All hail 'Tommy Tanks,' best baseball player on earth right now". Fox Sports. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  7. ^ Smith, R. Cory (May 28, 2022). "Tommy White breaks NCAA freshman home run record". 247sports.com. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  8. ^ "NC State's Tommy White named ACC Freshman of the Year". WRALSportsFan.com. May 23, 2022. Retrieved May 23, 2022.
  9. ^ "3 things to know about NC State baseball freshman Tommy 'Tanks' White". The Fayetteville Observer. May 23, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  10. ^ Bomberger, Ryan (June 14, 2022). "N.C. State's White, Tennessee's Burns are National Freshman Players of the Year". sportswriters.net. Retrieved June 26, 2024.
  11. ^ Cahill, Teddy (July 5, 2022). "2022 College Baseball Freshman All-American Teams". baseballamerica.com. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
  12. ^ "NCBWA names 2022 Dick Howser Trophy semifinalists, presented by The Game Headwear". MLB.com. May 19, 2022. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  13. ^ "Golden Spikes Award 2022 Semifinalists". usabaseball.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  14. ^ "NC State baseball star Tommy White enters transfer portal after record-setting season". The News & Observer. June 2, 2022. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  15. ^ "LSU picks up freshman home run record-holder from North Carolina State". The Advocate. June 24, 2022. Retrieved June 25, 2022.
  16. ^ Nagy, Zack (September 28, 2022). "LSU Baseball: Tommy White Donating NIL Money to Give Back to Community". si.com. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  17. ^ "Crews, Skenes, White Named 2023 First-Team All-Americans". LSU. 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2024-06-16.
  18. ^ "ELEVEN NAMED TO MEN'S COLLEGE WORLD SERIES ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM". jerseysportingnews.com. June 30, 2023. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  19. ^ Richardson, Kyle (June 18, 2024). "LSU baseball's Luke Holman and Tommy White named ABCA All-Americans". LSUTigersWire.com. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
  20. ^ Zack, Naggy (Jun 13, 2024). "LSU Baseball: Trio of Tigers Earn All-America Honors After Dominant 2024 Season". si.com. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  21. ^ "NCBWA names semifinalists for 2023 Dick Howser Trophy presented". sportswriters.net. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  22. ^ "Tommy White and Luke Holman named semifinalists for 2024 Dick Howser Trophy". tigerrag.com. May 17, 2024.
  23. ^ "USA Baseball Announces 2023 Golden Spikes Award Semifinalists". mlbdraftleague.com. May 22, 2023.
  24. ^ a b c d e Franques, Bill (May 23, 2024). "Tommy White's Grand Slam Marks Career Milestone". lsusports.net. Retrieved June 27, 2024.
  25. ^ Schemmel, Jake. "MLB DRAFT: Athletics take Tommy White with 40th pick". wbrz.com. Retrieved July 14, 2024.
  26. ^ "Oakland A's Sign Second-Round Pick Tommy White". si.com. 23 July 2024. Retrieved July 24, 2024.
  27. ^ Gallegos, Martin (August 10, 2024). "Four '24 Draft picks moving up to Single-A". MLB.com. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
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