Albert James Whaling (June 22, 1888 – January 7, 1965) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1913 to 1915 for the Boston Braves. Whaling was a member of the "Miracle" Braves team that went from last place at mid-season to win the 1914 National League pennant and the 1914 World Series.

Whaling excelled defensively as a catcher with a strong throwing arm however, his fielding prowess was not enough to overcome his deficiencies as a hitter at the major league level so, he played the majority of his career in the minor leagues.

Whaling was born in Los Angeles, California on June 22, 1888 to Canadian immigrant parents. He began his professional baseball career at the age of 20 with the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League in 1908. He started the 1909 season with the Salt Lake Mormons of the Inter-Mountain League before the team relocated to Livingston, Montana at mid-season, but the league was disbanded at the end of the season.

Whaling then appeared in 11 games for the Seattle Turks of the Northwestern League in 1909. At the end of the season, he returned to Los Angeles and played for the Vernon Tigers in the Semi-professional California Winter League.

In August 1911, he was signed by the Cleveland Naps of the American League, but did not play at the major league level and returned to play for the Seattle Giants where, he posted a .264 batting average in 29 games toward the end of the 1911 season. He reported to spring training in March 1912, but was released by the Naps in April.

Whaling then resigned with the Seattle Giants where he began the 1912 season as their starting catcher. He posted a .264 batting average along with 10 home runs in 138 games. His defensive skills were made evident as he threw out 188 baserunners attempting to steal a base during the 1912 season. During the deadball era, catchers played a huge defensive role, given the large number of bunts and stolen base attempts, as well as the difficulty of handling the spitball pitchers who dominated pitching staffs. A newspaper report in 1912 called Whaling the best catcher to have ever played in the Northwestern League (The league had been created in 1905, 7 years prior to the newspaper report).

Whaling signed a contract to play for the Boston Braves in October 1912, and made his major league debut with the team on April 22, 1913 at the age of 25. He posted a .242 batting average in 79 games while sharing starting catching duties with Bill Rariden. Whaling led the league with a .990 fielding percentage that year, becoming the first rookie catcher in major league baseball history to win a fielding title. Only four other rookie catchers in Major League Baseball history have accomplished the feat.

Before the 1914 season began, Rariden left the Braves to join the Federal League leaving Whaling as their main catcher with Hank Gowdy as his back up. When Whaling failed to provide much offense, Braves manager, George Stallings gave Gowdy the starting catcher's job. The Braves had been in last place in the National League on July 4 before going on an extended winning streak. The team went from last place to first place within a two-month period, becoming the first team to win a pennant after being in last place on the Fourth of July. Whaling hit .206 in 60 games as Gowdy's back up and led National League catchers in baserunners caught stealing percentage with 54.5%. The Braves went on to sweep Connie Mack's heavily favored Philadelphia Athletics in four games in the 1914 World Series, although Whaling never got a chance to play in the series. The team became known as the "Miracle" Braves and remain one of the most storied comeback teams in baseball history.