Jeff Heath

:"This article is about the baseball player; for the linguist, see Jeffrey Heath."Infobox MLB retired
name=Jeff Heath
position=Left fielder
bats=Left
throws=Right
birthdate=birth date|1915|3|1
city-state|Fort William|Ontario
deathdate=death date and age|1975|12|9|1915|3|1
city-state|Seattle|Washington
debutdate=September 13
debutyear=by|1936
debutteam=Cleveland Indians
finaldate=September 8
finalyear=by|1949
finalteam=Boston Braves
stat1label=Batting Average
stat1value=.293
stat2label=Home runs
stat2value=194
stat3label=Runs batted in
stat3value=887
teams=
* Cleveland Indians (by|1936-by|1945)
* Washington Senators (by|1946)
* St. Louis Browns (by|1946-by|1947)
* Boston Braves (by|1948-by|1949)
highlights=
* 2x All-Star selection (1941, 1943)

John Geoffrey Heath (April 1 1915 - December 9 1975) was a Canadian left fielder in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Cleveland Indians. He was one of the American League's most promising power hitters of the late 1930s and early 1940s, twice leading the AL in triples, and batting at least .340 with over 100 runs batted in each time. From 1945 to 1955 he held the major league record for career home runs by a player born outside the United States.

Heath, who batted left-handed and threw right-handed, was born in Fort William, Ontario, and broke in with the Indians in by|1936, appearing in 32 games over his first two years. In his first full season in by|1938, he batted .343 – just six points behind batting champion Jimmie Foxx – while leading the league with 18 triples. He also had 21 home runs and 112 RBI, collected 58 hits in August alone, and was among the league leaders in slugging average and total bases; he and New York Yankees 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 by|1941 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 and Joe DiMaggio. He also finished second in total bases and RBI (behind DiMaggio) as well as second in hits, made his first All-Star team, and finished eighth in the MVP 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 by|1943 he became the second player born outside the U.S. to hit 100 home runs, and he surpassed fellow Canadian George Selkirk with his 109th home run in by|1945.

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 to the Washington Senators in exchange for very fast outfielderGeorge Case, but the Senators moved him on to the St. Louis Browns in mid-1946. Washington had a weak hitting utility infielder, Sherry Robertson, who was related through marriage to Senator owner Clark Griffith. Heath rode Robertson on the bench during games unmercifully about this "owner's pet" situation hoping to cause a fight. This led to the mid season trade to the Browns. Washington could have used him, because in 1947 he had a career high 27 home runs for St. Louis, but the Browns, always needing cash to operate, sold his contract to the Boston Braves after the season. He batted .319 with 20 home runs for the 1948 Braves as they won a surprise National League pennant, but he missed the World Series after breaking his ankle in a collision at home plate in the last week of the season. A widely published newspaper photograph of the play showed Heath sliding toward the plate with his leg broken 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 a .509 slugging average, with 194 home runs, 1447 hits, 887 RBI, 777 runs, 279 doubles, 102 triples and 56 stolen bases in 1383 games played. Bobby Thomson surpassed him in by|1955 to become the major leagues' home run leader among foreign-born players. Heath played briefly in the minor leagues for the Seattle Rainiers. He died of a heart attack in Seattle, Washington at age 60.

ee also

*List of Major League Baseball players from Canada
*Top 500 home run hitters of all time
*List of Major League Baseball players with 100 triples
*List of Major League Baseball triples champions

External links

*baseball-reference|id=h/heathje01
* [http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/H/Heath_Jeff.stm BaseballLibrary] - career highlights
* [http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Heath.Jeff.Obit.html The Deadball Era] - "Seattle Times" obituary
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