Jonah Nathan Heim (born June 27, 1995) is an American 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 ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

for the Texas Rangers of

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). He previously played in MLB for the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. Born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, Heim attended Amherst Central High School, where the cold weather limited how often he played outdoors. The

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) 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 America ...

selected him in the fourth round of the

2013 MLB Draft The 2013 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in reverse order of t ...

, and he took several years to develop his offensive abilities in the Orioles'

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

. Heim was traded twice in the minor leagues, first to the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. They are one of two major ...

and then to Oakland, where he made his MLB debut in 2020. The following year, the Athletics traded Heim to Texas, where he became the Rangers' starting catcher, represented the team at the 2023 MLB All-Star Game, and was a member of the

2023 World Series The 2023 World Series was the World Series, championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2023 Major League Baseball season, 2023 season, and the 119th edition of the World Series. It was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American ...

champions.

Early life

Jonah Nathan Heim was born June 27, 1995, in

. A childhood fan of the

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

(MLB), Heim's favorite players were

s like

Jorge Posada Jorge Rafael Posada Villeta (born August 17, 1970) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees. Posada recorded a .273 batting average, 275 home runs, and ...

and Russell Martin, and he grew up watching the

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

, the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Since 1989, the team has p ...

' Triple-A affiliate, although they were part of the

Cleveland Guardians 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) Central Division. Since , the team has played its home gam ...

organization at the time, play at

Sahlen Field Sahlen Field is a baseball park in Buffalo, New York, United States. Originally known as Pilot Field, the venue has since been named Downtown Ballpark, North AmeriCare Park, Dunn Tire Park, and Coca-Cola Field. Home to the Buffalo Bisons of t ...

. Heim began playing baseball when he was two years old, and around the age of 12, he took up

switch hit A switch hit is a modern cricket shot. A switch hit involves the batter effectively changing from a right-hander to a left-hander (or vice versa) just before the ball is delivered by the bowler for the purpose of executing the shot. It is a varia ...

ting, telling his father, "hitting from the right side is boring". Heim attended

Kenmore East High School Kenmore East High School (nicknamed Ken-East; also Kenmore East Senior High School) is a high school in the Town of Tonawanda, New York. Its name refers to the Kenmore, New York, Village of Kenmore in New York. The school's mascot is a bulldog. ...

for one year before his parents moved out of the school district, requiring him to transfer to Amherst Central High School. The harsh climate in Buffalo meant that Heim could only play 20 outdoor baseball games in a season, and the team's stadium lacked an

outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield. In association football, the outfield players are positioned outside the goal area. In bat and ball games ...

wall, so

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 ( ...

s landed in nearby backyards or soccer fields. After batting .470 and picking off 12 baserunners during his

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Aircraft * Ekolot JK-05L Junior, a Polish ultralight aircraft * PZL-112 Junior, a Polish training aircraft * SZD-51 Junior, a Polish-made training and club glider Arts and entertainment Characters * Bowser Jr., ...

year of high school, Heim was invited to play in several national

exhibition game An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, scrimmage, demonstration, training match, pre-season game, warmup match, or preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the playe ...

s, where he caught the attention of professional

scouts Scouting or the Scout Movement is a youth social movement, movement which became popularly established in the first decade of the twentieth century. It follows the Scout method of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activi ...

and college recruiters. Amherst

retired Retirement is the withdrawal from one's position or occupation or from one's active working life. A person may also semi-retire by reducing work hours or workload. Many people choose to retire when they are elderly or incapable of doing their j ...

Heim's No. 6 jersey shortly after his 2013 graduation.

Career

Baltimore Orioles

The

selected Heim out of high school in the fourth round, 129th overall, of the

. At the time, Heim had committed to playing

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

with the

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 Varsity team, varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan Army, Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the sc ...

, but he turned down the commitment and joined the Orioles on a $389,700

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. After signing, Heim was assigned to the

Rookie-level Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National L ...

GCL Orioles The Florida Complex League Orioles are a Rookie-level affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, competing in the Florida Complex League of Minor League Baseball. Before 2021, the team was known as the Gulf Coast League Orioles. The team plays its home g ...

of the

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the low ...

. He struggled in his rookie season, batting .185 with four

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) in 27 games. Heim's poor hitting continued in the 2014 season, but Baltimore hitting coach

Jeff Manto Jeffrey Paul Manto (born August 23, 1964) is an American former journeyman baseball player and hitting coach. Manto is currently the head coach of the Conwell-Egan Catholic High School baseball team. He is the former manager of the Trenton Thunde ...

was unconcerned with the catcher's development, attributing it in part to his limited playing time in high school. Heim split the season between the GCL Orioles and the

Aberdeen IronBirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...

of the Low–A

New York–Penn League The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...

, batting .196 with one home run and seven RBI in 46 games. Heim began the 2015 season with the

Delmarva Shorebirds The Delmarva Shorebirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Salisbury, Maryland. They are members of the Carolina League and the Single-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. Their home games are played at Arthur W. Perdue Stadium. The Shor ...

of the Single–A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

, where he split time at catcher with Alex Murphy. He improved offensively to start the season, batting .258 with 10

extra-base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any hit (baseball), base hit on which the batting (baseball), batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error (base ...

s and 16 RBI in 36 games before going on the

injured list In Major League Baseball (MLB), the injured list (IL) is a method for teams to remove their injured players from the roster in order to summon healthy players. Before the 2019 season, it was known as the disabled list (DL). General guidelines ...

with a foot injury in May. He did not begin a rehab assignment until the end of August and returned to Delmarva on September 1. Heim finished the season batting .252 with one home run and 18 RBI in 45 minor league games. The Orioles promoted Heim to the

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for the "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team ...

for the 2016 season, where he was named a

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

All-Star. Although he had a lifetime .216 batting average in 88 games for the Orioles organization, Heim cited his time in Frederick as a turning point for his offensive development.

Tampa Bay Rays

On August 1, 2016, the Orioles traded Heim to the

in exchange for veteran utility player Steve Pearce. From there, he was assigned to the High–A

Charlotte Stone Crabs The Charlotte Stone Crabs were a Minor League Baseball team located in Port Charlotte, Florida, from 2009 to 2020. They competed in the Florida State League (FSL) as the Class A-Advanced affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

, where he recorded the game-winning RBI in his

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

debut. Between Frederick and Charlotte, Heim batted .217 in 2016, with eight home runs and 33 RBI in 102 games. Heim opened the 2017 season with the Low–A

Bowling Green Hot Rods The Bowling Green Hot Rods are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and play their home games at Bowling Green Ballpark, which ...

, where he batted .268 with nine home runs and 53 RBI in 77 games before being promoted back to the Stone Crabs in August. There, he added an additional eight RBI on the season while batting .218 in 16 games.

Oakland Athletics

Heim was traded to the

on December 19, 2017, as the

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 ...

to complete a trade for Joey Wendle. He spent 2018 with both the High–A

Stockton Ports The Stockton Ports are a Minor League Baseball team of the California League and the Single-A affiliate of the Athletics. They are located in Stockton, California, and are named for the city's seaport. The team plays its home games at Banner I ...

and the Double–A

Midland RockHounds The Midland RockHounds are a Minor League Baseball team based in Midland, Texas. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Athletics major league club. The RockHounds play in Momentum Bank Ballpark, which ope ...

, batting .258 with eight home runs and sixty RBIs in 119 total games between both teams. He split the 2019 season between Midland and the Triple–A

Las Vegas Aviators The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevada, a comm ...

, hitting a combined .310/.385/.477/.862 with nine home runs and 53 RBIs. On November 1, 2019, Heim was added to the Athletics'

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

. On June 30, 2020,

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

canceled the 2020 season due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, Heim was one of several Athletics prospects who began the pandemic-shortened season at an alternate training site as a member of the Oakland

taxi squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scout ...

. While not participating in games, he spent the first part of the season working with MLB pitchers during

bullpen In baseball, the bullpen (or simply the pen) is the area where relief pitchers warm up before entering a game. A team's roster of relief pitchers is also metonymically referred to as "the bullpen". These pitchers usually wait in the bullpen if ...

sessions and

batting practice This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See #count, coun ...

. On August 24, the Athletics

optioned In the film industry, an option agreement is a contract that "rents" the rights to a source material to a potential film producer. It grants the film producer the exclusive option to purchase rights to the source material if they live up to the te ...

backup catcher Austin Allen and promoted Heim to the active roster in his place. Heim made his major league debut the next day, starting behind the plate in Oakland's 10–3 win over the Texas Rangers. In the seventh inning, Heim recorded his first MLB hit with a single off of Texas pitcher

Kyle Gibson Kyle Benjamin Gibson (born October 23, 1987) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers, Philadelphi ...

. Heim spent the remainder of the season as a backup for Sean Murphy. He appeared in 13 regular season games, all but one of which he started at catcher. In that time, he batted .211 with no extra-base hits and five RBI. Heim was named to the Athletics' postseason roster, but he did not appear in any playoff games for Oakland. After defeating the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

in the 2020 American League Wild Card Series, Oakland was eliminated by 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 the

2020 American League Division Series The 2020 American League Division Series were two best-of-five-games series in Major League Baseball’s (MLB) expanded 2020 postseason to determine participating teams in the 2020 American League Championship Series. Those matchups were: * (1) ...

(ALDS). After the MLB season, Heim planned to rejoin the Toros del Este for the 2020–21 Dominican Winter League season, but he recanted due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Texas Rangers

On February 6, 2021, Heim,

Khris Davis Khristopher Adrian Davis (born December 21, 1987), nicknamed “Khrush”, is an American former professional baseball left fielder and designated hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland Athletics and ...

, and Dane Acker were traded to the Texas Rangers in exchange for

Elvis Andrus Elvis Augusto Andrus Torres (born August 26, 1988) is a Venezuelan-American former professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Texas Rangers, Oakland Athletics, and Chicago White Sox. He was a two-time All- ...

and Aramis Garcia. Heim hit his first major league home run on April 6, 2021, off

pitcher Tommy Milone. On July 31, Heim hit home runs from each side of the plate, including his first career walk-off home run, off

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. The Mariners compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. The team joined the American ...

pitcher Diego Castillo. On August 1, he hit another walk-off home run versus Seattle to become the first player in Texas Rangers history, and the first rookie in MLB history, to record walk-off home runs in two straight games. Uniquely, in July 2021, the Rangers played the

in Heim's hometown of

due to the Blue Jays' temporary relocation to

as a result of not being able to play at the

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a retractable roof stadium in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it is home to t ...

during the pandemic, resulting in Heim getting the opportunity to play a major-league series in front of a hometown crowd. Heim went 2-for-7 in the two games he played, while the Rangers were swept by the Blue Jays. Over 82 games in 2021, Heim hit .196/.239/.358/.598 with 10 home runs and 32 RBIs. Heim hit his first major league grand slam on April 14, 2022, against

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

pitcher

Shohei Ohtani is a Japanese professional baseball designated hitter and pitcher for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "Shotime", he has previously played in MLB for the Los Angeles Angels and in Nippon Professional Basebal ...

in a 10–5 Rangers win; it was the first and to date, only grand slam Ohtani has given up in his major league career. Heim appeared in 127 games for Texas in 2022, in which he hit .227/.298/.399/.697 with 16 home runs and 48 RBIs. Heim was voted in as the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

starting catcher for the

2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game The 2023 Major League Baseball All-Star Game was the 93rd Major League Baseball All-Star Game, held between the American League (AL) and the National League (NL) of Major League Baseball (MLB). The game was played on July 11, 2023, and was broadc ...

. He went on the

with a sprained tendon in his wrist on July 28. Over 131 games for Texas in 2023, Heim hit .258/.317/.438/.755 with 18 home runs and 95 RBI. Heim and Texas won the

. Heim won the

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual Fielding (baseball), fielding performances. It is awar ...

for catcher in 2023, the first of his career.

Personal life

Heim now has three children with his wife Mackenzie. Their son Nash was born in January 2021, their daughter Luxx was born in April 2022, their son Champ was born in June 2024. He has a tattoo of the Buffalo skyline on his arm.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heim, Jonah 1995 births Living people Baseball players from Buffalo, New York American League All-Stars Gold Glove Award winners Major League Baseball catchers Oakland Athletics players Texas Rangers players Gulf Coast Orioles players Aberdeen IronBirds players Delmarva Shorebirds players Frederick Keys players Charlotte Stone Crabs players Bowling Green Hot Rods players Stockton Ports players Midland RockHounds players Las Vegas Aviators players Toros del Este players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Amherst Central High School alumni