Donald Elliott Heinkel (born October 20, 1959) is a retired

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 ...

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, ...

. He played during two seasons at the Major League level for the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

and

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 ...

. Heinkel notched his lone major league save on April 29, 1988. He went 2 scoreless innings to preserve a 9–6 victory over the Mariners. He was drafted by the Tigers in the 30th round of the 1982 amateur draft. Heinkel played his first professional season with their Rookie league

Bristol Tigers Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

, Class A-Advanced

Lakeland Tigers Lakeland is primarily a toponym. It may refer to: Places Australia *Lakeland, Queensland Canada *Lakeland (electoral district), a federal electoral district in Alberta *Lakeland County, a former municipal district in Alberta * District of La ...

, and Double-A

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The Baron ...

in 1982, and his last with the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

' Double-A

Wichita Wranglers The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994 and the Kansas City Royals fro ...

in 1993. Heinkel now resides in Alabama with his wife and 11 children. He practices medicine in the Muscle Shoals, Alabama area.

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1959 births Living people Alacranes de Campeche players All-American college baseball players Birmingham Barons players Bristol Tigers players Canton-Akron Indians players National College Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Detroit Tigers players Evansville Triplets players Glens Falls Tigers players Lakeland Tigers players Leones del Caracas players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Louisville Redbirds players Major League Baseball pitchers Nashville Sounds players Rimini Baseball Club players American expatriate baseball players in Italy St. Paul Saints players St. Louis Cardinals players Baseball players from Racine, Wisconsin Toledo Mud Hens players Wichita State Shockers baseball players Wichita State University alumni Wichita Wranglers players Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub