By Marni Whitehead

On Saturday, July 8th, Jonathon Whitehead attended a Port Angeles Lefties team baseball game. He entered a promotional contest to throw a ball closest to the target. Having been a pitcher most of his life, including playing on the varsity baseball team at Forks High School in the mi-1990s, he threw a few great pitches toward the target.

He won. His prize? A chance to play ball in the opening lineup for the PA Lefties West Coast League team on Sunday, July 9, 2023. His childhood dreams of playing baseball among elite athletes had come true, though he’s had a few pitching highlights in his younger years.

At 1:35 p.m., the Lefties announced their starting line-up for the game against the Redmond Dudes. And batting 10th as the designated hitter… was number 45 Jon Whitehead. He batted in the line-up four times.

The first was a strike-out seeing balls flying by him at 86 mph… faster than he’d batted in over 10 years. The second, a bunt. But an error to first landed Jon on 2nd base with an RBI to tie the game at 4 to 4.

His third at-bat was a walk with the bases loaded, scoring a 2nd RBI tying the game again at 5 to 5. His fourth at-bat was the one he’d waited for. A line drive single to the outfield landing him on base for a 3rd time. In the end, the Lefties won 8 to 7 and Jon Whitehead had contributed 25% of the runs scored.

This chance to play with the Lefties was a dream come true, as Jon was able to keep up with and contribute to a team comprised of boys half his age. He was also blessed to be supported by family and friends including his father, wife, daughter, sister, cousin, in-laws, and even his son who watched the game remotely via the internet. Jon has contributed so much to the Forks Community through his ownership of Whitehead’s Auto Parts, it’s nice to see that dreams are still alive for all of us.