About Dean Whitney
While growing up in the North San Diego County community of Fallbrook, Dean Whitney dreamed of playing big league baseball for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Without the benefit of the internet or extensive TV coverage back then, much of what he learned about baseball either came from Vin Scully while listening to Dodger games on his transistor radio or from his older brothers and little league coaches. One of the highlights of the early years was meeting MLB Hall-of-Famer Duke Snider, who resided in Fallbrook while he played for the Dodgers.
Dean’s first love, however, was music. Inspired by Elvis Presley and the Beatles, he chose to pursue a music career after serving a four-year stint in the United States Air Force. While working as a DJ for radio stations in Georgia, Florida, and California, he endeavored to learn everything he could about the complex music business. Eventually ending up in Los Angeles, he began to write songs for an independent record company based in Nashville, Tennessee. After the company went belly-up, he started working as a veteran’s adviser at L.A. Valley College while attending classes on the G.I. Bill. It was there that he met his future wife, Judy Erwin, who was a full-time employee of the college.
In 1979, Dean landed a part-time job with a music production company that specialized in easy listening and background music. It was through that connection that he met and formed a production arrangement with Bill Shepherd—the erstwhile musical director of the Bee Gees. With $300 borrowed on a credit card, he formed a publishing/production company that eventually led to the creation of BrainChild Records—an independent record company specializing in “contemporary pop-jazz” music.
The first act Dean produced for his label was a local band called Pocket Change. While promoting their first album, he was introduced to a talented guitarist/composer who had recording aspirations. Initially hiring the young musician to write songs for his production company, it didn’t take long for Dean to see his potential as a recording artist. In the spring of 1986, BrainChild Records released “Nocturnal Playground”, the classic album that launched the recording career of Russ Freeman—better known as The Rippingtons featuring Russ Freeman, one of the most successful pop-jazz groups over the past twenty-two years.
Why would someone who spent the majority of his life in the music business choose baseball as the subject of his first novel? It’s very simple. Pinch Hitter was a story that Dean had carried around inside his head for over a year. Although it was unlikely to ever happen in the real world, he thought it would be interesting for a middle-aged man to defy all odds and—through a series of unusual circumstances—become a successful pinch hitter for a big league club. And then on a whim, he submitted a short satirical piece about baseball to the sports editor of the San Diego Union-Tribune, who published it in April, 2007. Inspired by the public response to that piece, he started thinking about writing a novel. Immediately following the end of the 2007 baseball season, he started writing the first draft. His ultimate goal is to see Pinch Hitter made into a motion picture.
Dean’s second novel is nearing completion and should be ready for publication by spring, 2009.
The satirical piece that was published in the Union-Tribune can be found here.