This article is about the baseball player; for the linguist, see Jeffrey Heath.

John Geoffrey Heath (April 1, 1915 - December 9, 1975) was a Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 left fielder

Left fielder

In baseball, a left fielder is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound...

 in Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 who played most of his career for the Cleveland Indians

Cleveland Indians

The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...

. He was one of the American League

American League

The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...

's most promising power hitters of the late 1930s and early 1940s, twice leading the AL in triples

Triple (baseball)

In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

, and batting

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 at least .340 with over 100 runs batted in

Run batted in

Runs batted in or RBIs is a statistic used in baseball and softball to credit a batter when the outcome of his at-bat results in a run being scored, except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play. The first team to track RBI was the Buffalo Bisons.Common nicknames for an RBI...

 each time. From 1945 to 1955 he held the major league record for career home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s by a player born outside the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Heath, who batted left-handed and threw right-handed, was born in Fort William, Ontario

Fort William, Ontario

Fort William was a city in Northern Ontario, located on the Kaministiquia River, at its entrance to Lake Superior. It amalgamated with Port Arthur and the townships of Neebing and McIntyre to form the city of Thunder Bay in January 1970. Ever since then it has been the largest city in Northwestern...

, and broke in with the Indians in , appearing in 32 games over his first two years. In his first full season in , he batted .343 – just six points behind batting champion Jimmie Foxx

Jimmie Foxx

James Emory "Jimmie" Foxx , nicknamed "Double X" and "The Beast", was a right-handed American Major League Baseball first baseman and noted power hitter....

 – while leading the league with 18 triples. He also had 21 home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s and 112 RBI, collected 58 hits

Hit (baseball)

In baseball statistics, a hit , also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice....

 in August alone, and was among the league leaders in slugging average and total bases

Total bases

In baseball statistics, total bases refers to the number of bases a player has gained with hits, i.e., the sum of his hits weighted by 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run.Only bases attained from hits count toward this total....

; he and New York Yankees

New York Yankees

The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

 second baseman Joe Gordon were the league's top two rookies. He had increasing struggles at the plate over the next two years, but came back with a campaign in which he again led the AL with 20 triples, batted .340 (fourth in the league), and was third in slugging behind Ted Williams

Ted Williams

Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...

 and Joe DiMaggio

Joe DiMaggio

Joseph Paul "Joe" DiMaggio , nicknamed "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper," was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career for the New York Yankees. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak , a record that still stands...

. He also finished second in total bases and RBI (behind DiMaggio) as well as second in hits, made his first All-Star

Major League Baseball All-Star Game

The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...

 team, and finished eighth in the MVP

MLB Most Valuable Player Award

The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award is an annual Major League Baseball award, given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. Since 1931, it has been awarded by the Baseball Writers Association of America...

 voting.

He continued to turn out productive years with Cleveland, and was among the league leaders in home runs in 1943 and 1945, batting .305 in the latter season; he was again an All-Star in 1943 and 1945, although the 1945 game was cancelled. In he became the second player born outside the U.S. to hit 100 home runs, and he surpassed fellow Canadian George Selkirk

George Selkirk

George Alexander Selkirk was a Canadian outfielder and front office executive in Major League Baseball. In 1935, Selkirk succeeded the legendary Babe Ruth as the right fielder of the New York Yankees...

 with his 109th home run in .

Heath was physically very strong and a good athlete, but he was a bit of a trouble maker. Some writers at the time alluded to a general lack of intelligence. In December 1945 he was traded from Cleveland to the Washington Senators

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

 in exchange for very fast center fielder George Case

George Case

George Washington Case was an American left and right fielder in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Washington Senators...

 and was Washington's starting right fielder, but the Senators traded him to the St. Louis Browns

Baltimore Orioles

The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...

 in mid-1946. The reason: Washington had a weak hitting utility infielder, Sherry Robertson, who was related to Senator owner Clark Griffith. Heath loudly rode Robertson on the bench during games about being a lousy player and only there because he was the "owner's pet." Heath contemptuously hoped to cause a fight. This led to the mid season trade to the Browns. Washington could have used Heath, because in 1947 he had a career high 27 home runs for St. Louis, but the Browns, always needing cash to operate, traded him to the Boston Braves

Atlanta Braves

The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....

 after the 1947 season. He batted .319 with 20 home runs for the 1948 Braves as they won a surprise National League

National League

The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...

 pennant, but he missed the World Series

1948 World Series

The 1948 World Series matched the Cleveland Indians against the Boston Braves. The Braves had won the National League pennant for the first time since the "Miracle Braves" team of . The Indians spoiled a chance for the only all-Boston World Series by winning a one-game playoff against the Boston...

 after breaking his ankle in a slide toward home plate in the last week of the season. A widely published newspaper photograph of the play showed Heath sliding toward the plate, mouth open in shock, with his leg shattered mid-ankle with the lower ankle rotated ninety degrees to the upper ankle. The injury probably caused permanent damage to nerves and leg structure at the break site. He retired after 36 games into the 1949 season in which he still batted .306 with 9 homers and 23 RBI.

In a 14-season career, Heath posted a .293 batting average and an excellent .509 slugging average, with 194 home runs, 1447 hits, 887 RBI, 777 runs

Run (baseball)

In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...

, 279 doubles

Double (baseball)

In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

, 102 triples and 56 stolen base

Stolen base

In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

s in 1383 games played

Games played

Games played is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated ; the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested.-Baseball:In baseball, the statistic applies also to players who, prior to a game,...

. Bobby Thomson

Bobby Thomson

Robert Brown "Bobby" Thomson was a Scottish-born American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "The Staten Island Scot", he was an outfielder and right-handed batter for the New York Giants , Milwaukee Braves , Chicago Cubs , Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles .His season-ending three-run...

 surpassed him in to become the major leagues' home run leader among foreign-born players.

Heath played briefly in the minor leagues for the Seattle Rainiers

Seattle Rainiers

The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a minor league baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903-06 and 1919-68...

. He died of a heart attack in Seattle, Washington

Seattle, Washington

Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

 at age 60.

See also

• List of Major League Baseball players from Canada
• List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
• List of Major League Baseball triples champions

External links

• BaseballLibrary - career highlights
• The Deadball Era - Seattle Times obituary