Jack Seale Heidemann (born July 11, 1949 in

Brenham, Texas Brenham ( ) is a city in east-central Texas in Washington County, United States, with a population of 17,369 according to the 2020 U.S. census. It is the county seat of Washington County. Washington County is known as the "Birthplace of Texas, ...

) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and sk ...

baseball player. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

between and for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

. Heidemann was the 1st round draft choice by the Cleveland Indians in the

1967 Major League Baseball Draft The 1967 Major League Baseball draft (or "first-year player draft") recruits amateur baseball players into the American Major League Baseball league. The players selected in 1967 included many talented prospects who later had careers in the prof ...

Baseball career

Heidemann attended Brenham High School. Originally drafted 11th overall by the Indians in 1967, he made his debut on May 2, at the age of 19. The sixth youngest player that year in the Majors, he appeared in three games, collected three at-bats and hit .000 in that time. In , as the ninth youngest player in the league, Heidemann-at and 178 pounds-took the starting job at shortstop away from Larry Brown. As the team's starter, he hit only .211 with six home runs, although he did collect a hit in his first at-bat of the season. He was the only starting player not to hit 10 home runs for the 1970 Indians. He kept his job through the season, for the most part. In 81 games that year, he hit only .208 with no home runs and nine RBI. The former first round draft pick obviously wasn't living up to what was expected of him. He was injured for some time during the 1971 season, suffering from a

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include loss of consciousness (LOC); memory loss; headaches; difficulty with thinking, concentration ...

and knee injury. He suffered the concussion on May 17, when Tommy McCraw hit a 140 (one source says 250) foot pop fly that should have been an out. Instead, Heidemann,

Vada Pinson Vada Edward Pinson Jr. (August 11, 1938 – October 21, 1995) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a center fielder in Major League Baseball for 18 years (1958–1975), most notably for the Cincinnati Reds, for w ...

and John Lowenstein collided in the outfield, and McCraw actually got an

inside-the-park home run In baseball, an inside-the-park home run is a play where a batter hits a home run without hitting the ball out of the field of play. It is also known as an "inside-the-parker", "in-the-park home run", or "in-the-park homer". Discussion To score ...

. Heidemann played in only 10 games in , relinquishing his starting job to Frank Duffy. In those 10 games, he came to bat 20 times and hit only .150. He was traded along with

Ray Fosse Raymond Earl Fosse (April 4, 1947 – October 13, 2021) was an American professional baseball player and television sports color commentator. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from 1967 to 1979, most prominently as an All-Sta ...

from the Indians to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

for Dave Duncan and George Hendrick on March 24, 1973. He re-signed with the Indians prior to the 1974 season after spending all of in the minors. was Heidemann's best season, even though he hit only .247. He started the season out with the Indians, but after collecting only one hit in his first 11 at-bats, he was traded to the Cardinals for

Luis Alvarado Luis César Alvarado Martínez (January 15, 1949 – March 20, 2001), born in Lajas, Puerto Rico was an infielder in Major League Baseball (MLB). From 1968 through 1977, he played for the Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinal ...

and Ed Crosby on June 1. His average skyrocketed while with the Cardinals-he hit .271 with them in 47 games. He was traded to the Mets with Mike Vail for

Ted Martínez Teodoro Noel Martínez Encarnación (born December 10, 1947) is a Dominican former professional baseball infielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets, St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland Athletics, and Los Angeles Dodgers f ...

during the 1974/1975 offseason. Heidemann spent most of on the bench, collecting 145 at-bats in 65 games. He hit .214 with one home run-his first since 1970-and 16 RBI. He started the season with the Mets, but hit only .083 in his first 12 at-bats, so he was traded to the Brewers for minor leaguer Tom Deidel. With the Brewers that year, he hit .219 with two home runs. Overall, he hit .209 that year, collecting 10 RBI. He finished his career in , playing his final game on May 10 of that year. Used almost entirely as a defensive replacement/pinch runner in the five games he played that year, he collected no hits in one at-bat, although he did score a run. Overall, he hit .211 in his career with 9 home runs and 75 RBI. He was a .966 career fielder. He compares most statistically to Alvarado, and he spent 5 seasons with Dick Tidrow, John Lowenstein and

Phil Hennigan Phillip Winston Hennigan (April 10, 1946 – June 17, 2016) was a right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1969 to 1973 with the Cleveland Indians and New York Mets. Early life Hennigan was born in Jasper, Texas. He attended ...

-longer than any other teammates. He collected his final hit off Dave Roberts and his final home run off Bill Lee. Heidemann is the uncle of Brett Bordes, a former minor league pitcher in the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

organization. He is also related to Bordes' father, Charles Bordes – who played minor league baseball – and grandfather, Bill Cutler, who is the former president of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Ba ...

.SABR BioProject – Jack Heidemann article written by Chuck Johnson
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References

External links

Baseball Reference (Minors)Baseball GaugePura Pelota : VPBL batting statistics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heidemann, Jack 1949 births Baseball players from Texas Cleveland Indians players Florida Instructional League Indians players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Living people Major League Baseball shortstops Milwaukee Brewers players New York Mets players People from Brenham, Texas Sportspeople from Washington County, Texas Portland Beavers players Reno Silver Sox players Rock Hill Indians players St. Louis Cardinals players Spokane Indians players Tidewater Tides players Tucson Toros players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Wichita Aeros players