Bob Dernier

From BR Bullpen

Robert Eugene Dernier (The Deer or White Lightning)

Bats Right, Throws Right
Height 6' 0", Weight 165 lb.
School Longview Community College
Debut September 7, 1980
Final Game October 1, 1989
Born January 5, 1957 in Kansas City, MO USA

[edit] Biographical Information

An unsigned 12th-round draft pick in 1977, Bob Dernier caught on with the Philadelphia Phillies organization and had an impressive September cup of coffee with the Phillies' World Championship team in 1980. By 1982, he was a semi-regular, and was a platoon regular on the Phillies' 1983 pennant winners. Traded to Chicago, Dernier played a Gold Glove center field for the 1984 NL East champions, the high-water mark of his career.

Dernier was called "White Lightning" because he was fast (218 career stolen bases) and because the stereotypes of his day assumed that all fast players must be black. He was a platoon hitter, however, batting only .238 in his career against right-handed pitching, a weakness that limited his usefulness. He was eventually limited to the role of fourth or fifth outfielder for Chicago and Philadelphia in the late 1980s.