Texas Tech University Athletics
Red Raider Catcher Improves Offensively
April 11, 2011 | Baseball
April 11, 2011
It's been a season of comebacks for Texas Tech junior Kevin Whitehead. After ending the 2010 season with a batting average of .309, Whitehead has seen his numbers increase from .154 (three weeks into the season) to .241 after the doubleheader against UTSA on April 5 in San Angelo. And it's still climbing. After this weekend's series against Texas A&M, Whitehead has seen his Big 12 batting average increase from .250 to .286, and from .241 to .257 overall.
So what has changed with the left-handed hitting catcher? According to Whitehead, or "Whitey," as his coaches and teammates call him, "I was pressing a little bit early," Whitehead said. "You've got Bo [Altobelli], he's hitting well, so it got me wanting to hit well, too. I was probably trying too hard. I just raised my hand a little bit and loosened up. I've been hitting the ball with a little more power lately, and not getting jammed like I was."
On Friday evening, Tech defeated No. 5 Texas A&M 4-3 in 12 innings in game one of the three game series which the Red Raiders eventually lost to the Aggies. Whitehead's double in the bottom of the eighth inning gave the Red Raiders a one-run lead that would have won the game for the Red Raiders had the Aggies not tied it up in the ninth. If the game had not gone into extra innings, it would have been Whitehead's third game in a row to give Texas Tech the go-ahead run to win the game.
"I just got off to a rough start," Whitehead said. "It's tough to tell with baseball. It's a streaky sport. I hit a few balls hard to people that weren't falling in, and then like you saw today, I hit a double that could have easily been caught, but you know, hey, it's a double. That's baseball. The first 25 at bats is just 25, you have 200 in a season."
Head coach Dan Spencer has also taken note of Whitehead's improvement. "He's getting more hits," Spencer said. "Whitey's the type of kid that spends a lot of time in the cage. He's a very diligent worker. And even though he got off to a slow start, it's good to see good things happen to good people."
Fellow catcher Bo Altobelli's influence on Whitehead has not passed Spencer unnoticed. "He's played well, he's throwing the ball well. We've got two really good catchers here, Whitey and Bo Altobelli. Obviously, they both played factors in this game tonight. Whitey's doing a great job getting himself back on the field, and he's starting to swing the bat like he's very capable of doing."
Whitehead, whose favorite player is Boston Red Sox catcher Jason Veritek, hails from Tacoma, Wash. Even though his family is a three-hour plane ride away from the South Plains, they are still one of the most important things in his life. "I've got a big family, five brothers and sisters. They all keep up with me. It might not seem like a big deal, but I'm 2,000 miles away. I know they're going to love me and be proud of me. I just want to do well for them, and represent them."
