Alfred Michael Heist (October 5, 1927 – October 2, 2006) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement * Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

. After a long career in 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 Bas ...

of the 1950s, the

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

made his Major League debut at the age of 32 and appeared in 177 big-league

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (su ...

for the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

(1960–61) and the Houston Colt .45s (1962). He threw and batted right-handed, stood tall and weighed . Heist was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

, and signed with the St. Louis Browns in 1949. Acquired by the top-level

Sacramento Solons The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909–1914, 1918–1960, 1974–1976). The current Sacramento River Cats began p ...

in 1955, he played almost six full seasons in California's capital before being traded to the Cubs on July 15, 1960. Two days later, he made his first Major League appearance, starting in center field against the St. Louis Cardinals and batting sixth in the lineup against right-hander Larry Jackson. In the seventh

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other tea ...

, he collected his first big-league hit, a single, one of four Chicago hits in a 6–0 shutout loss. He appeared in 41 games for the Cubs in , then in 109 more games in , starting 82 out of the team's 154 games played in center field, 26 more than the Cubs' former regular,

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball ...

r Richie Ashburn. On April 15, 1961, Heist hit a walk-off grand slam home run in the ninth inning at

Wrigley Field Wrigley Field is a Major League Baseball (MLB) stadium on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is the home of the Chicago Cubs, one of the city's two MLB franchises. It first opened in 1914 as Weeghman Park for Charles Weeghman's Chicago W ...

against the

Milwaukee Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

. That season, Heist batted .255 with seven

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

and 37

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

. After the campaign, he was Houston's fifth pick and the ninth overall selection in the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft. In the very first inning of the very first Colt .45 game, he stepped in a hole and broke his ankle. Heidt would play just 23 games for the 1962 Colt .45s during their maiden season as

Carl Warwick Carl Wayne Warwick (born February 27, 1937) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played six seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1966 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Colt .45s, Baltim ...

won the starting center field job. Heist then returned to Triple-A for three more seasons before becoming a coach on

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

Grady Hatton's

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

staff in 1966–67. He later served as a scout for the Astros, Cubs,

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

, with one season back in uniform as a coach for Padre manager

Jerry Coleman Gerald Francis Coleman (September 14, 1924 – January 5, 2014) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) second baseman for the New York Yankees and manager of the San Diego Padres for one year. Coleman was named the rookie of the year in 1949 by Ass ...

in . As a Major Leaguer, Heist registered 126 hits, including 20 doubles, six

triples TripleS (stylized as tripleS; Help:IPA/English, /ˈtɹɪpəl:ɛs/; ) is a South Korean girl group formed by MODHAUS. They aim to be the world's first decentralized K-pop idol group. The members will rotate between the group, sub-unit, and solo ac ...

and eight home runs. He died in

Tahlequah, Oklahoma Tahlequah ( ; ''Cherokee'': ᏓᎵᏆ, ''daligwa'' ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-cen ...

, at the age of 78.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heist, Al 1927 births 2006 deaths Baseball players from New York (state) Chicago Cubs players Chicago Cubs scouts Houston Astros coaches Houston Astros scouts Houston Colt .45s players Lewiston Broncs players Major League Baseball center fielders Major League Baseball third base coaches Oklahoma City 89ers players Redding Browns players Sacramento Solons players San Diego Padres coaches San Diego Padres scouts San Francisco Giants scouts Sportspeople from Brooklyn Stockton Ports players