Andrés Galarraga Atlanta Braves (1998-2000) What position did he play with the Braves? I don't know. What was his role with the Braves? He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. How many seasons was he with the Braves? I don't know. Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. Did he beat the cancer? Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. What records does he hold? he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300.
How many home runs did he hit?
How many home runs did Andrés Galarraga hit?
During his first season in Atlanta in 1998, Galarraga silenced his critics. He proved that he could still have great power production at lower altitudes, hitting .305 with 44 home runs and 121 RBI. This made Galarraga the first player in Major League history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams.  During 1999 spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. He was referred to a medical oncologist at Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI. When the diagnosis came in, the famous Galarraga smile disappeared. On his second lumbar vertebra in his lower back he had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving cancer chemotherapy. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey to honor Galarraga's cancer fight.  Galarraga returned to the field in the spring of the year 2000 in high spirits and good shape after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run, and he showed his big smile again. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300.  At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News.  Galarraga asked the Braves ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, Galarraga decided to become a free agent, and he signed with the Texas Rangers for two years. CANNOTANSWER
At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302 with 28 HRs and 100 RBIs.
Andrés José Padovani Galarraga (; born June 18, 1961) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball first baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Montreal Expos (– and ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Colorado Rockies (–), Atlanta Braves (–), Texas Rangers (), San Francisco Giants (2001 and ) and Anaheim Angels (). He batted and threw right-handed. During his playing days, Galarraga stood  tall, weighing .

Galarraga began his professional career in Venezuela at the age of 16. He was nicknamed The Big Cat (textually translated from English as El Gran Gato, although his nickname in his native Venezuela was El Gato) for his impressively quick reflexes and seamless defensive skills as a first baseman in spite of his large physical size. Galarraga was a five-time National League (NL) All-Star, won two NL Gold Glove Awards and two NL Silver Slugger Awards, and won two MLB Comeback Player of the Year Award, the second time after his successful return to baseball following cancer treatment.

Career

Venezuelan Winter League
Galarraga was signed by the Leones del Caracas  as a catcher and third baseman. He made his debut in the – season. Some of the players Galarraga had as teammates included big-leaguers Tony Armas, Bo Díaz, Manny Trillo, Gonzalo Márquez, and Leo Hernández. Galarraga originally started as a utility player, but three seasons later he became the regular first baseman of the team. At the recommendation of team manager Felipe Alou, he was signed by the Expos in 1979. At that time, some MLB scouts thought the 17-year-old power-hitting prodigy was too overweight to play professionally.

Galarraga played with this team until 1993, when he retired from Venezuelan Winter League.

Minor leagues
In Minor League Baseball (MiLB), Galarraga played for the West Palm Beach Expos (, –), Calgary Expos (1979–), Jamestown Expos (), Jacksonville Suns (), and Indianapolis Indians ().

Galarraga was named Double-A Southern League Most Valuable Player for Jacksonville in 1984, with a .289 batting average, 27 home runs and 87 runs batted in (RBI). He also led the league in total bases (271), slugging percentage (.508), intentional base on balls (10), hit by pitches (9), and in double plays (130) and total chances (1428) at first base. Prior to his  major league promotion, Galarraga hit .269/25/85, in 121 games with Indianapolis, being named as the Triple-A International League (IL) Rookie of the Year.

Montreal Expos (1985–1991)
Galarraga made his debut with Montreal on August 23, 1985. During that season’s last six-plus weeks, he struggled, hitting .187 (14-for-75), with two homers, and four RBI, in 24 games. Galarraga had a promising start in , but it was interrupted, when he suffered a knee injury; at the time, he had already posted eight home runs and was leading all NL rookies with 25 runs batted in. Galarraga underwent arthroscopic knee surgery, on July 10. He was activated one month later, only to be re-injured the following day after pulling muscles in his rib cage. Galarraga returned to action in September, ending with .271, 10 home runs, and 42 RBI, in 105 games.

Overshadowed by some teammates, Galarraga survived a tough rookie year and quietly enjoyed a consistently strong  season. He hit .305 with 13 home runs, 90 RBI, and finishing second in the league in doubles (40). Despite his size, Galarraga displayed solid defense, being adept at scooping throws out of the dirt and excellent quickness turning the 3-6-3 double play. Cardinals' manager Whitey Herzog called him "the best-fielding right-handed first baseman I've seen since Gil Hodges."

In , Galarraga emerged from the shadows to become the best player on the Expos. He had an MVP-caliber season with a .302 batting average, 99 runs, 29 home runs, and 92 RBI. Galarraga also led the league in hits (184) and doubles (42), and earned an All-Star berth for the first time in his career. He was named the Montreal Expos Player of the Year at the end of the season.

 was a rough season however for the Big Cat. Galarraga became a target of Montreal fans' frustration when he tailed off after the All-Star game. That year, Galarraga led the league in strikeouts (158), dropping his production to .257, 23 home runs, and 85 RBI. He fell five RBI short of becoming the first Expo to string together three straight seasons with 90 or more RBI. Despite the rough season, Galarraga blasted his first grand slam, stole home for the first time in his career, and was rewarded with a Gold Glove Award for his stellar play at first base.

Galarraga's  season had Expos mumbling that the team should lower its expectations for the slick-fielding first baseman. For the second consecutive season, the Big Cat failed to repeat the standards he set in his first two full seasons. Galarraga hit .256 with 20 home runs and 87 RBI, almost a mirror image of his previous season. For the third consecutive year, he led the league in strikeouts; pitchers exploited Galarraga’s impatience at the plate and didn't give him good pitches to hit. Even without any improvement with the bat, Galarraga continued to make tremendous contributions on the field, scooping up infielder's errant throws, starting 3-6-3 double plays, and winning his second Gold Glove. That season he also had a six-RBI game, two four-RBI games, and hit his first career inside-the-park home run.

Slowed by injuries, Galarraga struggled through the worst offensive season of his career in . Disabled with a strained left hamstring between May and July, he later had arthroscopic surgery to repair damage to the undersurface of his left kneecap. Montreal missed Galarraga‘s glove as much as his bat, committing 43 infield errors in 53 games without him. That season, Galarraga hit .219, 9 home runs, and 33 RBI, in 107 games. He stole home for the second time in his career and hit his 100th career home run. At the end of the season, Galarraga was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for starting pitcher Ken Hill.

St. Louis Cardinals (1992)
Galarraga had a second chance with the  Cardinals; however, a pitch broke his wrist early in the season and he didn't recover until July. Galarraga batted .296 after the All-Star break and hit all ten of his homers after July 1 for a .497 second-half slugging percentage. He finished with a .243 batting average and 39 RBI, but made a good impression on Cardinals batting coach Don Baylor. When Baylor became the first Rockies manager in the off-season, he recommended that Colorado take a chance on Galarraga and sign him as a free agent.

Colorado Rockies (1993–1997)

National League batting champion (1993)

By joining the Rockies, Galarraga was given new life for his career. In a  season full of remarkable individual achievements, he solidified his stature as an accomplished hitter, and flirted with the .400 mark for much of the season. Galarraga‘s final .370 batting average was a 127-point increase over his previous year mark. He led National League batters in batting average, and it was the highest average by a right-handed hitter since Joe DiMaggio batted .381 in .

Despite missing 42 games with assorted injuries, The Big Cat compiled 56 multi-hit games to lead the league. He added 22 homers, 98 RBI, 71 runs, 35 doubles, four triples, a .403 on-base percentage, and his .602 slugging percentage was second in the league. Galarraga‘s .370 mark made him the first player on an expansion team as well as the first Venezuelan to win a batting title. Tony Gwynn hit .358 to finish as runner-up in the title race.

Galarraga finished 10th in the MVP selection, but won The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award. After the season, and for third time, he underwent arthroscopic knee surgery.

In the strike-shortened  season, Galarraga set a new National League record in April by driving in 30 runs in a month. He seemed to be on his way to a terrific year again, but he fractured his right hand on July 28. At the time of Galarraga‘s injury, Colorado had climbed to within a half-game of the first place Los Angeles Dodgers. Without him however, the Rockies went 3–10 the rest of the way. Galarraga paced the club with 31 homers (fifth in the league), and batted .319 with 85 RBI.

On June 25, 1995, Galarraga hit a home run in three consecutive innings to tie an MLB record. He finished the season hitting .280, with 31 homers, and 106 RBI. Galarraga’s numbers were helped by the fact that he stayed healthy for the first time in four years. That season, the Rockies had four players with 30 or more home runs, matching the  Dodgers. On August 29 of the same season, in a game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Galarraga spoiled Paul Wagner's bid for a no-hitter, by singling with two out in the ninth; it was the only hit Wagner would allow in defeating the Rockies 4–0.

Over the next few seasons, Galarraga developed into one of the best RBI-men in baseball, driving in a combined 411 runs between  and  (150, 140, and 121). In the same period, he batted .304, .318, and .305, with 47, 41, and 44 home runs, respectively. Some critics argued that Galarraga‘s achievements were possible thanks to the thin-air, mile-high, hitter-friendly Coors Field, but he also belted many homers on the road that traveled over .

NL RBI leader (1997)
Perhaps the most famous home run Galarraga hit was a mammoth grand slam off Kevin Brown on May 31, 1997, which landed 20 rows deep into the upper deck at Florida Marlins' Pro Player Stadium.  It may also be his most debated home run with a distance initially measured at  and then .  At the time, it set a record for both the Rockies and the stadium. In 2011, ESPN's Home Run Tracker recalculated the distance to . Previously, Galarraga smashed two homers in two games that traveled  and  respectively, totaling , an average of  each.

The Rockies released Galarraga at the end of the season to make room at first base for prospect Todd Helton. At the time of his release, Galarraga was the club's all-time leader in home runs (172) and RBI (579). As a free agent, he signed a three-year contract with the Atlanta Braves.

Atlanta Braves (1998–2000)
In Galarraga’s first season in Atlanta (1998), he hit .305, with 44 home runs, and 121 RBI. This made him the first player in MLB history to hit 40 or more homers in consecutive seasons for two different teams.

During  spring training, Galarraga developed a sore back. Treatment from the team's trainers and team doctor included hydrobaths, massages, muscle relaxers, and stretching, but would not stop the nagging soreness. Galarraga was referred to a medical oncologist in Atlanta for a thorough physical exam and an MRI.  On the second lumbar vertebra in his lower back, Galarraga had a tumor known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of lymphatic cancer. He missed the entire 1999 season receiving chemotherapy treatments. Rockies third baseman and ex-teammate Vinny Castilla switched briefly from his traditional number 9 to number 14 on his jersey, to honor Galarraga's cancer fight.

In Spring , Galarraga returned to the field after undergoing chemotherapy and a strict workout routine. In his third at-bat of opening day of the 2000 season, Galarraga knocked in the winning run with a home run. In April and May, he was tied for first place in home runs in the National League and he was batting .300.

At the end of the season, Galarraga had batted .302, with 28 home runs, and 100 RBI. He was awarded his second National League Comeback Player of the Year Award by The Sporting News.

Galarraga asked the Braves’ ownership for a two-year contract, but the most that it would offer was a one-year contract. Hence, he decided to become a free agent, and signed with the Texas Rangers, who were willing to offer Galarraga the contract for two years that he sought.

Rangers, Giants, and Expos (2001–2003)
The change of baseball leagues affected Galarraga badly in . At age 40, he found himself "lost" in a different league, facing different pitchers, and stuck in a back-up position with the star Rafael Palmeiro as the main first baseman for the Texas Rangers. Galarraga was used mainly as a designated hitter (DH), as a pinch-hitter, and occasionally as a starter against left-handed pitchers. After a disappointing .235 batting average, 10 home runs, and 34 RBI, in 72 games, he was traded to the San Francisco Giants, at mid-season.

In , Galarraga signed with the Expos for the full season. He then returned to the Giants in , after signing a minor league contract, prior to the season. As a part-time player with the Giants, Galarraga batted .301, with 12 home runs, and 42 RBI.

Anaheim Angels (2004)
In , Galarraga's cancer recurred and he underwent two three-week periods of chemotherapy and was hospitalized for 23 days for additional treatment. This was the same non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that had sidelined Galarraga in 1999, but he beat it for the second time and began play with the Anaheim Angels' Triple-A affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stingers. When rosters were expanded in September, Galarraga came back to the major leagues. Although he served mostly as a bench player in Anaheim, Galarraga was highly regarded in the clubhouse, especially among younger players such as Vladimir Guerrero, for whom Galarraga became a voice of experience. He saw action in a few games, hitting one home run — the 399th and final home run of Galarraga's storied big league career.

New York Mets (2005)

In , Galarraga again found himself with a new team, the New York Mets, who had invited him to spring training, not knowing if the 43-year-old would be a good fit for their roster. Galarraga showed that he had some gas left in the tank offensively by socking 3 home runs, but appeared very tentative on the defensive end. Galarraga eventually retired during spring training on March 29, 2005, saying it was "the right time to give a younger guy a chance to play." He finished his career with a .288 batting average, 399 home runs, and 1,425 RBI. Falling just one home run short of 400 career home runs, Galarraga ranked 36th all-time at the time of his retirement.

Highlights
 Led National League in Hits (184 in 1988)
 Led National League in Total Bases (329 in 1988)
 Led National League in Doubles (42 in 1988)
 Led National League in Runs Created (113 in 1988)
 Led National League in Extra-Base Hits (79 in 1988)
 Led National League in Batting average (.370 in 1993)
 Led National League in Home Runs (47 in 1996)
 Twice led National League in RBIs (150 in 1996 and 140 in 1997)
 Ranks 69th on MLB All-Time Total Bases List (4,038)
 Ranks 83rd on MLB All-Time Doubles List (444)
 Ranks 43rd on MLB All-Time Home Run List (399)
 Ranks 57th on MLB All-Time RBI List (1,425)
 Ranks 58th on MLB All-Time Extra-Base Hits List (875)
 Ranks 95th on MLB All-Time Intentional Walks List (106)
 Was inducted into the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2007(1st Rockies Baseball Player to be inducted)
 Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award 2001 (Atlanta Braves)
 The Sporting News Comeback Player of the Year Award winner 1993 (Colorado Rockies) 2001 (Atlanta Braves)
 First Rockies player ever represented at All-Star Game (1993)
 Rockies Career Leader in At Bats per Home Runs with 15.5.
 His 150 RBI season in 1996 is still a single season record for the Rockies.
 Won the three Triple Crown categories (BA, HR, RBI) although in different seasons
 Set Rockies record for RBI before the All-Star break (84 in 1997)
 Became the first player in history to win two NL Comeback Player of the Year Awards
 Honored in the docudrama movie Galarraga: puro béisbol (Galarraga: Nothing But Baseball – Venezuela, 2000)
 Honored in the book Andrés Galarraga – Real Life Reader Biography, by writer Sue Boulais (2003)
 Gained induction into the Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (2010)

See also

 List of athletes on Wheaties boxes
 List of Colorado Rockies team records
 List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career hits leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career home run leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career doubles leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career putouts leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
 List of Major League Baseball career runs batted in leaders
 List of Major League Baseball single-game hits leaders
 Major League Baseball titles streaks
 Venezuelan Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

References

External links

Andrés Galarraga at SABR (Baseball BioProject)
Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Almanac
Andrés Galarraga at Baseball Library
Andrés Galarraga at Stars IQ
Smiles and homers are plenty—the Big Cat is back - Andres Galarraga, baseball player The Sporting News

1961 births
Anaheim Angels players
Atlanta Braves players
Calgary Expos players
Colorado Rockies players
Gold Glove Award winners
Indianapolis Indians players
Jacksonville Suns players
Jamestown Expos players
Leones del Caracas players
Living people
Louisville Redbirds players
Major League Baseball first basemen
Major League Baseball players from Venezuela
Montreal Expos players
National League All-Stars
National League batting champions
National League home run champions
National League RBI champions
Salt Lake Stingers players
San Francisco Giants players
Silver Slugger Award winners
Sportspeople from Caracas
Sportspeople from West Palm Beach, Florida
St. Louis Cardinals players
Texas Rangers players
Venezuela national baseball team people
Venezuelan baseball coaches
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in Canada
Venezuelan expatriate baseball players in the United States
West Palm Beach Expos players
Charles Bricker Keller (born February 9, 1955) is a former first baseman, catcher and designated hitter in Minor League Baseball  who played from 1976 through 1985 in the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and Toronto Blue Jays organizations. Listed at 6' 4", 210 lb., Keller batted and threw right handed. He was born in Royal Oak, Michigan.

Though he never played at the major league level, Keller played entirely at Triple-A – the classification directly below the major leagues – in seven of his 10 seasons and spent part of an eighth year there, as well. He hit over 200 home runs in his decade playing professional baseball.

Keller was drafted by major league teams twice. He was initially taken by the Montreal Expos in the 20th round of the 1973 draft out of Seaholm High School in Birmingham, Michigan, but did not sign a contract. He did sign after being taken by the Braves in the 10th round of the 1976 MLB Draft out of Eastern Michigan University, where he earned All-Mid-American Conference honors in 1975 and 1976.

In his first professional season, 1976, Keller hit a combined .339 average with 11 home runs, 54 RBI, a .425 on-base percentage and a .571 slugging percentage in 62 games between two teams. He played for the Kingsport Braves, with whom he hit .362 with six home runs in 41 games, and the Greenwood Braves, with whom he hit .296 with five home runs in 21 games.

Keller earned an invitation to major league spring training in 1977, to compete with Willie Montañez for the Braves' first base job. He did not make the big league club and was sent to Double-A. With the Savannah Braves in 1977, Keller hit .253 with 17 home runs and 86 RBI in 138 games to lead the Southern League in RBI. He tied Tom Chism and Al Javier for the league lead in home runs.  Though he spent four games with the Triple-A Richmond Braves in 1978 – hitting .400 in 15 at-bats – he spent most of the year with Savannah, hitting .251 in 124 games. Overall, he hit .255 with 21 home runs and 77 RBI in 128 games that year.

Keller joined Richmond again in 1979 and remained there until 1982. With the club in 1979, he hit .255 with 21 home runs and 75 RBI in 126 games to tie Sam Bowen with the International League lead in RBI. In 1980, he hit .197 with 20 home runs and 48 RBI in 117 games and in 1981, he hit .191 with 22 home runs and 60 RBI in 98 games. He hit .285 with 28 home runs, 93 RBI, a .402 on-base percentage and a .539 slugging percentage in 122 games during his final season with the team.

Upon joining the Phillies organization as a free agent for 1983, Keller hit .273 with 28 home runs and 75 RBI in 119 games for the Triple-A Portland Beavers. His slugging percentage was .543. The Phillies signed him for 1984 and he hit .249 with 28 home runs and 82 RBI in 124 games for the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs. That year, he led the International League in home runs and made the league's All-Star team. He returned to Syracuse in 1985, his final season, and hit .208 with seven home runs and 24 RBI in 69 games.

In between, Keller played winter ball with the Leones del Caracas and Tiburones de La Guaira clubs of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, playing for them in the 1979-80 and 1982-83 seasons, respectively.

Overall, Keller hit .251 with 203 home runs, 674 RBI, 523 runs, 942 hits, 146 doubles, 16 triples, 11 stolen bases, 546 walks and 805 strikeouts in 3,757 at-bats over 1,103 career games. He slugged .460 and had a .347 on-base percentage. He hit at least 20 home runs a year from 1978 to 1984, a seven-year stretch.

References

External links

1955 births
Living people
Baseball catchers
Baseball first basemen
Baseball players from Michigan
Eastern Michigan Eagles baseball players
Eastern Michigan University alumni
Greenwood Braves players
Kingsport Braves players
Leones del Caracas players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
Sportspeople from Royal Oak, Michigan
Portland Beavers players
Richmond Braves players
Savannah Braves players
Syracuse Chiefs players
Tiburones de La Guaira players Harry Reuben "Bud" Heslet (February 27, 1920 – April 21, 2012) was a minor league baseball player from 1940 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1956 who hit 314 home runs and won five home run titles in his 14-year career. He was described as fiery-tempered, slow-footed and often lackluster defensively.

He was born in Topeka, Kansas and attended Seaman High School. He began his professional career in 1940, playing for the Norfolk Yankees and the Joplin Miners and hitting a combined .287 with nine home runs in 104 games. He was named the Western League's All-Star catcher. In 1941, he was with Joplin again and hit .281 with 12 home runs in 119 games. He again played with Joplin in 1942, hitting .343 with 13 home runs in 87 games. He was the Western Association leader in batting average.

He did not play from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II. He returned in 1946 to play for the Twin Falls Cowboys – that season, he hit .308 with 29 home runs in 124 games. He led the Pioneer League in both homers and RBI (124). He was fourth in league Most Valuable Player voting that year. With the Binghamton Triplets in 1947, he hit .288 with 24 home runs. He led the Eastern League in homers, two ahead of Ken Wood. At age 27, he made it to Triple-A as he played for the Newark Bears in 1948 and 1949, hitting .266 with a .349 on-base percentage and a .421 slugging mark with nine home runs and 43 RBI in 91 games in 1948 and .228/.322/.412 with 22 home runs and 75 RBI in 140 games in 1949. He began playing the outfield in addition to catching in 1948 and would mostly be a full-time outfielder by 1950. Heslet tied for 9th in the 1949 International League in homers with Chet Laabs, George Schmees and Coaker Triplett. Every other player in the league with 20 or more home runs would appear in the major leagues during their career.

Heslet played with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1950 and 1951. In his first year with the team, he hit .256/.354/.471 with 21 home runs and 71 RBI in 135 games. He became the first player in International League history to hit three home runs in a game when he did so that year. Russ Sullivan became the second to do so, in 1955. The following year, he hit .257/.350/.380 with six home runs and 27 RBI in 80 games to end his run in AAA. With the San Antonio Missions in 1952, he hit .283/.370/.491 with 31 home runs in 155 games; he led the Texas League in home runs by eight.

In 1953 and 1954, and for part of 1955, Heslet played for the Shreveport Sports. He hit .269/.350/.551 with 41 home runs and 100 RBI in 150 games in 1953, leading the Texas League in home runs by 11 over Jim Baxes and was second in slugging. In 1954, he hit .263/.368/.503 with 31 home runs and 100 RBI in 150 games. He split the 1955 season between the Sports and the Sacramento Solons, hitting .219 with 15 home runs and 37 RBI in 102 games.

He played his final season in 1956, with the Visalia Cubs. That year, he hit .334 with 51 home runs, 172 RBI and 175 hits in 140 games – all career highs. Both his home run and RBI totals were California League records. Heslet won his last home run title, seven ahead of Dick Greco and also led in both runs and RBI. His .685 slugging percentage tied Greco for second behind Joe Brovia. That campaign was considered "the greatest offensive season in California League history." Despite posting such solid numbers, 1956 would be his final professional season. He retired because, "...I had a boy [Joseph] who was two and a half years old, and I wanted to get him settled...The only way to do that was to give up baseball, stay home and be a dad. So I retired..."

Overall, Heslet hit .279 with 1,164 RBI, 266 doubles, 48 triples and 314 home runs in 1,711 games in his 14-year career. He never reached the major leagues.

He had a card in the 1950 Big League Stars baseball card set.

References

1920 births
2012 deaths
People from Wichita, Kansas