William Chris Heath (born March 10, 1939) is an American former professional baseball player who played catcher in the Major Leagues in parts of four seasons between 1965 and 1969. He played for the Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Houston Astros, and Chicago White Sox.

Bill Heath
Catcher
Born: (1939-03-10) March 10, 1939 (age 85)
Yuba City, California, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
October 3, 1965, for the Chicago White Sox
Last MLB appearance
August 19, 1969, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
Batting average.236
Home runs0
Runs batted in13
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Biography

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Heath graduated from Thomas Downey High School in Modesto, CA. He batted left-handed, threw right-handed, stood 5 feet 8 inches (1.73 m) tall and weighed 175 pounds (79 kg). During his eleven-year career (1960–1970) as a professional, he never played a full season in the Majors, but he was a solid hitter at the minor league level, batting .285 in 760 games.[1]

As a Major Leaguer, Heath appeared in 112 games as a reserve catcher and pinch hitter; his 47 hits included six doubles and one triple.

Heath's wife and daughter were murdered during a home invasion in 1975.[2] His daughter, Courtney (named for catcher Clint Courtney) was kidnapped during the invasion and was the subject of a highly publicized search.[3]

References

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  1. ^ "Bill Heath Minor Leagues Statistics & History - Baseball-Reference.com". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "Waco Tribune-Herald from Waco, Texas on November 20, 1975 · Page 8".
  3. ^ "Bill Heath - Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org.
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