| Eli Whiteside | |
|---|---|
 Whiteside with the San Francisco Giants | |
| Catcher / Bullpen Catcher | |
| Born: October 22, 1979 New Albany, Mississippi, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 5, 2005, for the Baltimore Orioles | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| June 21, 2014, for the Chicago Cubs | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .210 |
| Home runs | 10 |
| Runs batted in | 45 |
| Stats at Baseball Reference | |
| Teams | |
| As player
As coach
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Dustin Eli Whiteside (born October 22, 1979) is an American former professional baseball catcher who is currently a roving catching instructor for the San Francisco Giants. He stands 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall, weighs 220 pounds (100 kg). He batted and threw right-handed. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants, and Chicago Cubs.
Whiteside attended Delta State University before being drafted in the sixth round of the 2001 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft by the Baltimore Orioles. He played in their organization through 2007, though he only played nine games in the major leagues with the Orioles, all coming in 2005. He signed with the Minnesota Twins in 2008 but was released after playing for their Triple-A team for a month. The San Francisco Giants then signed him, assigning him to the minor leagues. He was called up to be their backup catcher in May 2009, and he caught Jonathan Sánchez's no-hitter on July 10. In 2010, he remained the backup catcher and was on the Giants' roster when they won the World Series, despite not playing any playoff games.
After an injury to Buster Posey in May 2011, Whiteside split time catching with Chris Stewart for the rest of the year. He lost the role of backup to Héctor Sánchez in 2012 and appeared in just 12 games for the Giants during their second World Series-winning season in three years. Following 2012, Whiteside was claimed off waivers multiple times by different clubs before finally winding up with the Texas Rangers, who assigned him to their Triple-A team in 2013. In 2014, he competed for a spot on the Cubs' roster but was beaten out by John Baker and sent to the minors.