John Edward Hetki (May 12, 1922 – January 10, 2019) was an American long relief pitcher 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 ...

who played for the

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

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

and

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

in all or parts of eight seasons spanning 1945–54. Listed at , , Hetki batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to and causing it to be stronger, faster or more Fine motor skill, dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dext ...

. He was born in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. Part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Leavenworth is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, on the site o ...

Minor league career

Hetki first played in the

Minor Leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

at the age of 18. He had a promising debut, winning 16 games and losing 10 for the Albuquerque Cardinals of the

Arizona–Texas League The Arizona–Texas League was a Class D level American minor league baseball league that existed for nine seasons, from 1931–32, 1937–41, 1947–50 and 1952-54. In 1951, the Arizona-Texas loop merged with the Sunset League (based primarily ...

in 1941. Hetki then was signed by the Reds organization before the 1942 season, and he went 4–1 with a 2.16

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

with the

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 ...

before joining the

Ogden Reds The Ogden Reds were a minor league baseball team in the western United States, based in Ogden, Utah. They played in the Pioneer League for a total of 14 seasons between 1939 and 1955. They were affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds of Major League ...

, where he was 13–8 and led the Pioneer League with a 2.24 ERA. Overall, he finished the split season with a 17–9 record and a 2.22 ERA in 29 games pitched. His career was interrupted, however, by two years of military service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Major league career

Returning to baseball in early 1945, Hetki made his major league debut with the Reds in September of that year. He went 1–2 with a 3.58 ERA in two starts and three relief appearances. His most productive season came in 1946, when he finished 6–6 with a 2.99 ERA in 32 games, including 11 starts and four

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s. Hetki was with the Reds through the 1950 season, spending part of this time in the minor leagues. As a result, in 1949 he went 16–14 for the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...

of the

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

, ending fifth in the league in wins and second in innings (250) behind Al Widmar (294). He then was purchased by the St. Louis Browns from Cincinnati in October 1950. Hetki spent 1951 with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

, and this time he led the International League with 19 victories and 256 innings pitched, while tying for second in ERA with

Karl Drews Karl August Drews (February 22, 1920 – August 15, 1963) was an American professional baseball right-handed pitcher, whose baseball career spanned 21 seasons (1939–1959). He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1946 to 1949 and 1951 to ...

(2.85) behind

Jackie Collum John Dean Collum (June 21, 1927 – August 29, 2009) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for eight different teams between the 1951 and 1962 seasons. Listed at , , Collum batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Victor, I ...

(2.80). He was called up by the Browns in 1952 and appeared in only three outings for St. Louis, going 0–1. After that, he was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Browns in the 1952

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. Working mostly out of the bullpen, Hetki won 3 and lost 6 for the Pirates in 1953 and went 4–4 in 1954, leading the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is the ...

(46) in that last season. Overall, Hetki posted an 18–26 record with a 4.39 ERA and 13 saves in 214 pitching appearances (23 starts),

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Television in the Republic of Ireland, Irish television legal drama television series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017, based on ''The Good Wife'' by Robert King (writer), Robert and Michelle King. Prod ...

175 batters while

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined as an " inverted pendulum" gait in which the body vaults o ...

185 in 525 innings of work. Additionally, he went 101–71 with an ERA of 3.27 in eight Minor League seasons between 1942 and 1956. As a hitter, Hetki posted a .235

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(27-for-115) with no

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 ...

and 6 RBI in 214 games. Defensively, he committed only one error in 119

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

for a .992

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

Winter league career

In between, Hetki played winter ball from 1951–52 with the

Navegantes del Magallanes Navegantes del Magallanes B.B.C., commonly known as Navegantes del Magallanes (; ''Strait of Magellan, Magellan Navigators''), or simply Magallanes, are a professional baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), based in ...

club of the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (, or LVBP) is the top-level professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Background and predecessors Baseball had been play ...

, collecting an 18–12 record with a 3.26 ERA in 52 games during the two seasons. On February 14, 1952, Hetki made history during the longest game played in Winter League history, as Magallanes and

Cervecería Caracas The Caracas Base Ball Club C.A., better known by its commercial name as the Leones del Caracas, is a professional baseball team of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVPB). The owner and sole shareholder of the sports club is Ricardo C ...

battled to a 3–3, 18–inning tie game which lasted three hours and ten minutes. Hetki hurled all 18 innings for Magallanes, setting a record for a pitcher that still stands. Hetki later pitched two complete games for the VPBL champion Magallanes in the

1952 Caribbean Series The fourth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in 1952. It was held from February 20 through February 26, featuring the champion baseball teams of Cuba, Leones del Habana; Panama, Carta Vieja Yankees; Puerto Rico, Se ...

, including an 11-inning, 2–1 victory against

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

's champion

Carta Vieja Yankees The Carta Vieja Yankees (), also known as the Licoreros de Carta Vieja (English: ''Carta Vieja Distillers''), were a professional baseball team active in the Panamanian Professional Baseball League in the late 1940s and 1950s. The team's name orig ...

Later years

After baseball, Hetki worked for several years as a traffic foreman for Simpkins Industries in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

. He moved to

Parma, Ohio Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb south of Cleveland. The population was 81,146 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Parma is the List of municipalities in Ohio, seventh-most populous city in Ohio, ...

, after retiring. He died on January 10, 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hetki, Johnny 1922 births 2019 deaths Albuquerque Cardinals players United States Army personnel of World War II Baseball players from Kansas Birmingham Barons players Cincinnati Reds players Major League Baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Ogden Reds players Sportspeople from Leavenworth, Kansas Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players