Whitman played college baseball at the University of Oregon and signed with Brooklyn prior to the 1942 baseball season. He played for two lower-level Dodger farm teams that year and hit a composite .313. Then he entered the United States Army for World War II service. Sent to the European Theater in December 1944, he was a veteran of the Battle of the Bulge, earning a Purple Heart, Bronze Star and three battle stars. \n', '

He returned to baseball in 1946, and in only his second pro season, he won a place on the Dodgers\' MLB roster. As a rookie, Whitman was the pennant-contending Dodgers\' starting left-fielder and #3 hitter on Opening Day, April 16 against the Boston Braves. Although he was held hitless in his first two National League games, he was Brooklyn\'s regular left-fielder for the season\'s first 13 games. On May 1, he started in center field and went five-for-five against the Chicago Cubs; the Dodgers won 5–1 to improve their record to 9–4 while Whitman\'s batting average rose to .263. But Whitman soon assumed the role of backup center-fielder to fellow rookie Carl Furillo, although he started another 40 games in center. In 104 games played, he collected 69 hits, 15 doubles, three triples, two home runs and 31 runs batted in—all of which were his MLB career bests.\n', '

Whitman then spent 1947 with the Triple-A Montreal Royals, hitting .327 in 141 games. The Dodgers recalled him in September and used him in four contests, but he was ineligible for the 1947 World Series. The 1948 campaign saw Whitman get into 60 games for the Dodgers, with 38 starts in the Brooklyn outfield. He batted a career-high .291, but he also was sent back to Montreal for 40 games. Then, in 1949, Whitman spent the full year with Brooklyn, but with drastically reduced playing time, his production slumped to a .184 batting average on only nine hits over 23 games. Nevertheless, he appeared in the 1949 World Series as a pinch hitter, striking out against Allie Reynolds of the New York Yankees in Game 4 on October 8 to close out a 6–4 Dodger defeat. The Dodgers then sold Whitman\'s contract to the Phillies in November.\n', '

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