Rondell White

[William Malone]

Rondell Bernard White was born on February 23, 1972 in Milledgville, Georgia.

The Montreal Expos drafted him with the 24th overall pick in the 1990 MLB Draft. He made his Major League debut for them in 1993, and spent eight seasons north of the border. White hit .293/.348/.480 in 742 games with the Expos.

He then became a journeyman outfielder. White played for the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals and Detroit Tigers between 2000 and 2005. He was still a fairly productive offensive player during this stretch, batting .285/.340/.467 in 670 games. His lone career All-Star selection came in 2003 while playing for the Padres.

The Minnesota Twins signed White to a one year deal ahead of the 2006 campaign. Being used as a primary designated hitter for the first time in his career, White got off to a slow start. He was batting .182 with just 15 RBI and no home runs through 54 games. They played him on the disabled list with a shoulder injury on June 18th. During this rough stretch, Twins manager Ron Gardenhire had given him only four starts in left field. Gardenhire vowed to play White more in the outfield when he was healthy, believing it would help spark his bat.

White was activated on July 16th, and Minnesota began to play him regularly in left field. He homered in his first game off the disabled list, and slashed .321/.354/.538 in 45 games after his return to action. White finished the year with a .490 OPS as a designated hitter (205 PA) and an .874 OPS as a left fielder (142 PA). He was 5-for-12 (.417) with a home run and two RBI during the ALDS that fall, serving as the Twins starting left fielder.

Minnesota brought White back on a second consecutive one year deal in 2007. He strained his calf during the Twins third regular season game, and was out until after the All-Star break. White struggled in late-July and throughout all of August, piecing together a somewhat respectable September. It was too little, too late with the Twins having already fallen out of a playoff race. White ended his career on a five game hitting streak and a three game RBI streak.

He retired shortly after the 2007 season. White was named as a steroid user in the infamous Mitchell Report on December 13, 2007. It alleged he made several purchased human growth hormone from steroid dealer Kirk Radomski several times between 2000 and 2005. The last purchase confirmed by Radomski occurred on September 29, 2005. This was just weeks before White signed with the Twins as a free agent.

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[Doctor Wu]

Good recap of White's career and time with the Twins. I hadn't known that he was in the Mitchell report as a steroid user. A lot of good that did him. He spent most of his time with the Twins on the Disabled List, earning him the dubious nickname of Ron "DL" White among many on this site. Sad way to end a once very promising career when he had been a hot prospect with the Expos.