Heritage and Early Life
Whitesell is Jewish. When he made the majors, he joined, among other Jewish major leaguers, Brad Ausmus, Kevin Youkilis, Ian Kinsler, Ryan Braun, Gabe Kapler, Jason Marquis, Jason Hirsh, John Grabow, Craig Breslow, Scott Feldman, and Scott Schoeneweis.
Whitesell attended Rialto High School in Rialto, California, and pitched and played first base for the school's Rialto Knights, with teammate Ricky Nolasco who now pitches for the Florida Marlins. As a sophomore he was a 1st-team All-Citrus Belt League and 1st-team All-San Bernardino County selection, with an 8–4 record and a 1.88 ERA. He earned the same honors as a junior, finishing with a 7–4 record and a 2.95 ERA.
In his senior season he had an 8–2 record, 1.74 ERA, and a .520 batting average. He was also a 1st-team All-CIF Division I and 1st-team All-Citrus Belt League selection, voted San Bernardino County Player of the Year by the San Bernardino Sun, played for the San Bernardino County North All-Star team, selected to the CBCA Southern California All-Star team, and played for US Team in the Goodwill Games against Japan in Long Beach. He graduated in 2000 with a 4.2 grade point average, 2nd in his class of 685, and was class salutatorian.
Read more about this topic: Josh Whitesell
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