Jeff Heath

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John Geoffrey Heath (April 1, 1915 - December 9, 1975) was a Canadian left fielder in Major League Baseball who played most of his career for the Cleveland Indians. He was one of the American League's most promising power hitters of the late 1930s and early 1940s, twice leading the AL in triples, and batting at least .340 with over 100 runs batted in each time. From 1945 to 1955 he held the major league record for career home runs by a player born outside the United States.

Heath, who batted left-handed and threw right-handed, was born in Fort William, Ontario, and broke in with the Indians in 1936, appearing in 32 games over his first two years. In his first full season in 1938, he batted .343 – just six points behind batting champion Jimmie Foxx – while leading the league with 18 triples. He also had 21 home runs and 112 RBI, collected 58 hits in August alone, and was among the league leaders in slugging average and total bases; he and New York Yankees second baseman Joe Gordon were the league's top two rookies. He had increasing struggles at the plate over the next two years, but came back with a 1941 campaign in which he again led the AL with 20 triples, batted .340 (fourth in the league), and was third in slugging behind Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio. He also finished second in total bases and RBI (behind DiMaggio) as well as second in hits, made his first All-Star team, and finished eighth in the MVP voting.

He continued to turn out productive years with Cleveland, and was among the league leaders in home runs in 1943 and 1945, batting .305 in the latter season; he was again an All-Star in 1943 and 1945, although the 1945 game was cancelled. In 1943 he became the second player born outside the U.S. to hit 100 home runs, and he surpassed fellow Canadian George Selkirk with his 109th home run in 1945. In December 1945 he was traded to the Washington Senators in exchange for George Case; they sent him to the St. Louis Browns in mid-1946. In 1947 he had a career high of 27 home runs for St. Louis, and the team sold his contract to the Boston Braves after the season. In 1948 he batted .319 with 20 home runs for the Braves as they won a surprise National League pennant, but he missed the World Series after breaking his ankle in a collision at home plate in the last week of the season. The injury forced his retirement after 36 games in 1949, in which he still batted .306 with 9 homers and 23 RBI.

In a 14-season career, Heath posted a .293 batting average and a .509 slugging average, with 194 home runs, 1447 hits, 887 RBI, 777 runs, 279 doubles, 102 triples and 56 stolen bases in 1383 games played. Bobby Thomson surpassed him in 1955 to become the major leagues' home run leader among foreign-born players.

Heath played briefly in the minor leagues for the Seattle Rainiers, and died of a heart attack in Seattle, Washington at age 60.

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