Whitson was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth round of the 1974 Major League Baseball draft out of Unicoi County High School in Erwin, Tennessee. He went 32-41 with a 3.56 ERA in four seasons as a starting pitcher in the Pirates\' farm system before making his début with the Pirates as a September call-up in 1977. He went 1-0 with a 3.45 ERA. His one win came on September 17, when he made an emergency start against the Montreal Expos in place of Jerry Reuss, who was a late scratch.\n', '

Whitson split the 1978 season between the Pirates and their triple A affiliate, the Columbus Clippers. He made seven starts with Columbus, however, was used strictly out of the bullpen by Pirates manager Chuck Tanner, going 5-6 with a 3.27 ERA as a relief pitcher, and earning four saves.\n', '

The Pirates were in fourth place, 6.5 games back of the Montreal Expos on June 28, 1979, when they sent Whitson, reliever Al Holland, and minor-league pitcher Fred Breining to the San Francisco Giants for third baseman Bill Madlock, utilityman Len Randle, and pitcher Dave Roberts. Madlock batted .328, and was a key member of the "We Are Family" Pirates that surged from fourth place to win the division by two games over the Expos, and go on to win the 1979 World Series over the Baltimore Orioles. For his part, Whitson was 2-3 with a 4.37 ERA splitting time between the bullpen and starts for the Pirates. Upon his arrival in San Francisco, Whitson was added to his new team\'s starting rotation. He went 5-8 with a 3.95 ERA.\n', '

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