White began gaining recognition as a premier ballplayer at Brewer High School, where he played for Coach Dennis Kiah. In 1989, White’s senior year, Kiah was quoted in the Bangor Daily News as saying, “Chad is someone who has been kind of overlooked before. He’s always been laid-back and just gone out and done his job. After being elected captain, he’s gone right to the forefront, stepped right in, and shown his leadership.” White also represented the Witches on the gridiron and the basketball court, earning all-conference recognition in both of those sports in addition to baseball.
In 1989, his senior year, White capped off his career with the Witches with an impressive batting average of .530 and a pitching record of 6-0, and led Brewer High School to the Eastern Maine finals. A litany of awards subsequently rained down upon him, including the Maine Gatorade Player of the Year and the Maine Sunday Telegram Baseball Player of the Year.
That summer, White played for the Brewer American Legion team. The team went 26-5 that season and White hit .514 with 31 RBIs on his way to All-Zone 1 First Team selection. As a pitcher, White went 5-1, with his only loss that season coming in a heartbreaking Northeast Regional Final, in which he tossed a complete-game nine-hitter that Brewer lost to Hamden, Connecticut.
White went on to play for four very successful years at UMaine Orono for legendary coaches John Winkin (MBHOF 1975), Mike Coutts (MBHOF 2009), and Jay Kemble. White’s outstanding speed on the base paths was an immediate asset to the Black Bears, such as in a 1990 victory over Central Connecticut State where the 6’2” White scored from second on a 6-4 fielder’s choice.
In 1991 White was the starting left-fielder as the team finished the season 48-18, a school record for the most wins in a single season. That fall, White approached Coach Winkin about becoming a switch hitter, since White had always been a strong hitter from the left side in wiffleball, and Winkin agreed.
During his senior season, in 1993, White posted a batting average of .354, which is particularly impressive as it was just his second season hitting from both sides of the plate, with 38 RBIs. The fleet-footed White stole a whopping 35 bases that season, a school record that he held until 2009, and set another UMO record with 11 career triples over his four years of playing. Not surprisingly, White received numerous accolades for his achievements, including 1993 North Atlantic Conference Player of the Year and All-Tournament Team, All-New England First Team, and Second Team All-American.
When he was signed by the Houston Astros in 1993, White joined the ranks of 11 other UMO players who were also drafted from 1990-1993, including fellow Maine Baseball Hall of Famers Jim Dillon (2002) and Mike D’Andrea (2005).
White played professional ball for five years, first in Class A for the Auburn Astros (New York-Penn League, 1993), the Osceola Astros (Florida State League, 1994), and the Quad City River Bandits (Mid-West League, 1995). He batted .244 in 75 games with the River Bandits before he was promoted to the Astros’ Double A affiliate, the Jackson Generals of the Texas League, in July of 1995. White also played two years (1996-1997) for the Bangor Blue Ox in the independent Northeast League, before retiring from professional baseball. Today White lives in Bangor and owns CMJ Construction, Inc.
For his many accomplishments in playing baseball at every level of the game, both in the state and beyond its borders, we congratulate Chad White and enthusiastically welcome him to the Maine Baseball Hall of Fame.
From Brewer High School Hall of Fame
Chad White graduated from Brewer High School in 1989 and brings with him an impressive resume from his baseball playing career at Brewer High, the University of Maine and beyond. His former coach at Brewer, Dennis Kiah says Chad White was “one of the best baseball players to ever play for Brewer High.” White was the first winner at BHS of the “Gatorade Player of the Year” for the State of Maine in 1989. In 1989, he was also named the Maine Sunday Telegram Baseball Player of the Year as well as the USA Today Athlete of the Year
