Jeff Heath
| Jeff Heath | |||
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Heath's 1949 Bowman Gum baseball card
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| Outfielder | |||
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Born: April 1, 1915 Fort William, Ontario |
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Died: December 9, 1975 (aged 60) Seattle, Washington |
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| MLB debut | |||
| September 13, 1936, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 8, 1949, for the Boston Braves | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .293 | ||
| Home runs | 194 | ||
| Runs batted in | 887 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
John Geoffrey "Jeff" Heath (1 April 1915 – 9 December 1975) was a Canadian-born American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) 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 led the AL in triples, and batted at least .340 with over 100 runs batted in (RBIs) each time. In 1941 he was selected to his first All-Star Game and that same season became the first player from the American League to become a member of the 20–20–20 club when he hit 20 each of doubles, triples and home runs in the same season. His other All-Star Game selections were in 1943 and 1945.
Heath played for the Washington Senators and St. Louis Browns during the 1946 season and the National League's (NL) Boston Braves beginning in 1948. He incurred a compound fracture to his ankle in September 1948 and subsequently the Braves were without their starting left fielder for the 1948 World Series. In 1949, Heath's last season in the majors, sportswriter Franklin Lewis wrote, "There was the inimitable Heath who...should have been one of the greatest players in history. But there were no valves on his temper. He grinned in the manner of a schoolboy or he snarled with the viciousness of a tiger."
Heath was born 1 April 1915, in Fort William, Ontario. His family moved to Victoria, British Columbia before settling in Seattle, Washington. He attended Garfield High School in Seattle where he played baseball and football. As a freshman, he made the varsity baseball squad. Heath was a multi-sport athlete and was offered scholarships from various schools to play American football. University of Washington head coach Jimmy Phelan said Heath was the best fullback in the country. Heath chose a future in baseball, however, and in 1935, he signed with the Yakima Bears of the semipro Northwest League, where he hit .390. He was selected as an All-American amateur team member, managed by Les Mann and played games in Japan. For the tour his batting average was .483. Heath faced difficulties being allowed re-entry upon the team's arrival to the U.S. and became a naturalized U.S. citizen.
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