Robert Lowell Heise (born May 12, 1947) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field, between first base and third base. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns pla ...

, who played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for seven teams, from 1967 to 1977.

Early years

Heise was a "

military brat A military brat (colloquial or military slang) is a child of serving or retired military personnel. Military brats are associated with a unique subcultureDavid C. Pollock, Ruth E. van Reken. ''Third Culture Kids: Growing Up Among Worlds'', Revise ...

" born in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

, but he spent most of his youth in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. As a junior at Vacaville High School in

Vacaville, California Vacaville is a city located in Solano County, California, United States. It is located from Sacramento, California, Sacramento and from San Francisco, it is on the edge of the Sacramento Valley in Northern California. The city was founded in ...

, he was part of the Bulldogs team that won the Golden Empire League championship. Heise's American Legion Post 165 team, coached by his father, William, won the league championship in . In February 1965, Heise signed as an amateur free agent with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

Baseball career

New York Mets

Heise was a

Western Carolinas League The Western Carolinas League was a Class D level (1948–52; 1960–62) and a low Class A level (1963–79) full-season league in American minor league baseball. The Western Carolinas League changed its name prior to the 1980 season and has been ...

All-Star with the Greenville Mets in , earning a September callup in . In his major league debut, he collected his first hit, a single off

Atlanta 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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Eas ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Jay Ritchie, and was promptly caught stealing. Overall, Heise batted .323 in his first major league season. He spent in the minors with the AAA

Jacksonville Suns The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

, splitting his time evenly between

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

and

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

in Jacksonville. He received a second September callup to the majors, mostly playing shortstop. Heise was part of a proposed trade package along with

Ed Kranepool Edward Emil Kranepool III (November 8, 1944 – September 8, 2024) was an American professional baseball player. He spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Mets. He was predominantly a first baseman, but he also played in ...

and Amos Otis when the Mets attempted to acquire the Braves'

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre Jr. (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball Senior management, executive and former player, Manager (baseball), manager, and television color commentator. He has served as a special assistant to the Commiss ...

who went to the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

for

Orlando Cepeda Orlando Manuel Cepeda Pennes (; September 17, 1937 – June 28, 2024), nicknamed "the Baby Bull" and "Peruchin", was a Puerto Rican first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1958 to 1974, primarily the San Francisco G ...

instead. He spent playing shortstop for the triple A Tidewater Tides. He joined the Mets once again that September, going 3-for-10 in four games, but was not added to the postseason roster. Heise was sent along with Jim Gosger from the Mets to the

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

for

Ray Sadecki Raymond Michael Sadecki (December 26, 1940 – November 17, 2014) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He is best remembered as the left-handed complement to Bob Gibson, who in , won 20 games to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to their fi ...

and Dave Marshall on December 12, 1969.

San Francisco Giants

Heise enjoyed his first full season in the majors in . He spent most of the season backing up

Hal Lanier Harold Clifton Lanier (born July 4, 1942) is an American former infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Known as a brainy, defense-first player, he won National League Manager of the Year as a rookie manager for leading the ...

at short until an injury to

Ron Hunt Ronald Kenneth (Ron) Hunt (born February 23, 1941) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1963 to 1974 for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Mon ...

made him the starting

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

for the month of September. That year, Heise got a career-high 22

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

(RBI) over 154

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, ...

s. He also hit his first career

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * I ...

and only career

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

, on June 25 and 30, respectively.

Milwaukee Brewers

Heise had played in thirteen games, going hitless in 11 at bats when he was traded to the

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

for Floyd Wicker on June 1, . Upon his arrival in Milwaukee, Heise took over as the Brewers' starting shortstop. Heise began seeing more playing time at third base in . The move allowed Heise to attain career-highs in games (95) and ABs (271). Heise’s playing time was significantly cut in , due to many new acquisitions by the Brewers, including Don Money, Tim Johnson, and Pedro García.. He appeared in 49 games, batting .204. He was traded to the

for Tom Murphy on December 8, 1973.

St. Louis Cardinals

Heise spent the majority of his time with the Cardinals organization with the AAA

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tulsa ...

, with his only trial being in all three games of a series against the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

in July. Heise was then dealt to the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

for a

player to be named later In Major League Baseball, a player to be named later (PTBNL) is an unnamed player involved in exchange or "trade" of players between teams. The terms of a trade are not finalized until a later date, most often following the conclusion of the seaso ...

California Angels

While with the California Angels, Heise saw action in 29 games backing up second and third base. Heise was traded to the Boston Red Sox for

Tommy Harper Tommy Harper (born October 14, 1940) is an American former professional baseball outfielder, third baseman and second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for seven different franchises from 1962 to 1976, including six seasons with ...

at the

Winter Meetings Representatives of all 30 Major League Baseball teams and their 120 Minor League Baseball affiliates convene for four days each December in the Winter Meetings to discuss league business and conduct off-season trades and transactions. Attendees in ...

on December 2, 1974.Durso, Joseph. "Baseball Draft Is Skimpy," ''The New York Times'', Tuesday, December 3, 1974.
Retrieved October 30, 2020

Boston Red Sox

Heise batted .214 with 21 RBI in . Though he was on the Red Sox post season roster, he did not appear in any post season games. Though Heise was healthy throughout the season, he saw incredibly limited action. Heise appeared in only 32 games, and logged just 61

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

s. On December 6, 1976, Heise was purchased by the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

Kansas City Royals

Heise saw limited playing time in Kansas City in (54 games played). He was released by the Royals in January 1978, and subsequently retired from active play, at the age of 30.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Heise, Bob Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third basemen New York Mets players San Francisco Giants players Milwaukee Brewers players St. Louis Cardinals players California Angels players Boston Red Sox players Kansas City Royals players Greenville Mets players Durham Bulls players Jacksonville Suns players Tidewater Tides players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Baseball players from San Antonio 1947 births Living people Florida Instructional League Mets players