Elliott: It's Whyte riding the mustangs, Green stood proudly
By Bob Elliott
Canadian Baseball Network
St. MARYS _ Now, what would you expect the daughter of a five-time Golf Glove winner to do as a grown up?
Maybe running a basketball camp after two years in the WNBA?
Repairing the leather on the latest Rawlings model?
Or working in an office with a 9-to-5 job.
Not quite.
Davellyn Whyte, daughter of new Canadian Hall of Fame member Devon, breaks wild mustangs,
Yep, there was a cowgirl in St. Marys for induction ceremonies.
Wearing red Miranda Lambert boots and a black Cody James cowboy hat Davellyn was as proud as her siblings of papa Devon. Likewise his five grandchildren.
As they say in Wyoming “the world needs more cowboys (and cowgirls).” Davellyn is based near Salt River, Az.
“I break mustangs,” Davellyn said. “Tennessee Walkers and standardbreds who have been pulling a buggy around. We have to get them used to wearing a saddle.
I recall the day Joe Carter phoned and asked “why are you ignoring Devo’s daughter.” Davellyn was a star for the Arizona Wildcats women’s hoops ream in 2011 and it was my first story on Arizona hoops.
Devo’s daughter (or Double D) ended her career at Arizona as one of the best players in history, scoring 2,059 points for the second-highest scorer in history and the second to reach 2,000. DD started and every game in her career, playing more games than any player in history (126) and more minutes than any player in history (4,243).
When leaving school, Davellyn was on 14 of the top-10 all-time career numbers lists, including three-pointers attempted (first, 813), three-pointers made (second, 274), total steals (second, 266), field goals made (third, 666), average minutes played (third, 33.7), free throws attempted (third, 671), scoring average (third, 16.3 ppg), free throws made (fourth with 449), field goals attempted (fourth with 1,314), total number of double-doubles (seventh with 12), assists (eighth, 431), free throw percentage (eighth .756), rebounding average (at 5.5 rpg) and three-point percentage (ninth at .338).
Davellyn was inducted into the Arizona Ring of Honor. Now her pops, who helped the Blue Jays win back-to-back in 1992-93 has been indicted to St. Marys. Davellyn could score, while Devon prevented opposing teams from scoring.
Next came two seaons with the San Antonio Spurs, who have now moved to Las Vegas.
* * *
NOT A TYPO: As we have been written before it is W-H-Y-T-E, not W-H-I-T-E.
When Devon emmigrated from Kingston, Jamaica to Washington Heights, NY a spelling mistake was made -- just like how they got the name wrong in The Godfather.
“I think I was about seven-years-old when we discovered the misspelling,” Davellyn said. “So my father said we should change all the documents to get it right.
* * *
SALL RISE: tubby Clapp, Hall of Fame inductee, asked for his former teammates, coaches and players to stand.
Steve Green proudly stood.
The right-hander (Greenfield Park, Que.), a 10th round pick of the Anaheim Angels in the 10th in 1997 from Fort Scott Community College, was pitching at class-A Lake Elsinore when Greg Hamilton phoned to ask him to pitch for Canada at the 1999 Pan Am Games in Winnipeg.
“Here’s Stubby, he takes out his teeth puts them on the dugout bench, we take the field and Stubby does that back flip,” said Green. “I’m a young guy and we had an older team. We had Andy Stewart, Ryan Radmanovich, who had both had big-league time, some independent league guys. I was a kid ... 21. I remember thinking ‘this is a lot different from Lake Elisnore.’”
Canada edged Team USA in extras and Green had a scoreless outting beating Cuba.
“The Cuba game was crazy,” Green said. “Aaron Guiel cracked the Cuba catcher on a close play and the benches sort of cleared. Now it’s 6-0 or so for us., Guiel is on third and we hit a fly ball to left. Deep enough to score. But their catcher is standing on the plate. Guiel cracks him again -- twice in three or four innings. Eventually the umpires got together and eject Guiel. He ran by the Cuban dugout pointing at their guys one-by-one.
“We were Gods in that town. After one game we all went to Earl’s to eat. We skipped the line.”
Canada won the round-robin pool going 4-0, beat Guatemala, 12-2 as a Radmanovich homer landed in the street outside CanWest Global Park. But Omar Linares hit a three-run homer as Cuba edged Canada 3-2 in the semi-final.
Green grabbed the save when Canada beat Team USA 8-6 in the first World Baseball Classic in Phoenix. The next day, before the game against Mexico, Green and I came out of the dugout at the same time.
“HEY!” yelled somone from behind the dugout. “Get Steve Green to sign this.”
It was the front page of the New Times with Green’s picture on it after the final out. Green looked at it, then looked into the crowd and said “I’m Steve Green.”
* * *
One from the crowd: Former Blue Jays president Paul Beeston attended the first week of 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Norway. Beeston found out where Geirge Steinbrenner, part of the USA Olynmpic committee, was going to stay.
Beeston arranged for two dozen Blue Jays caps to be shipped to Steinbrenner’s hotel in Norway. And when the Yankees owner arrived, the hotel staff was wearing Jays hats by the time Steinbrenner checked into the hotel.