Mike Heath, American baseball player and manager
Michael Thomas Heath (born February 5, 1955) is an American former professional baseball catcher. He played fourteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the New York Yankees (1978), Oakland Athletics (1979–1985), St. Louis Cardinals (1986), Detroit Tigers (1986–1990), and Atlanta Braves (1991).
While Heath played most of his games as a catcher, he started his professional baseball career as a shortstop and played every position except pitcher during his major league career. He played 1,083 games at catcher, 142 games in right field, 79 games in left field, 39 games as a DH, 38 games at third base, four games each at first base and shortstop, and one game each at second base and center field.
Drafted by the New York Yankees in the second round of the 1973 Major League Baseball draft, Heath made his major league debut with the New York Yankees on June 3, 1978, at the age of 23. He hit .228 in 33 games with the 1978 Yankees and appeared in one game of the 1978 World Series.
On November 10, 1978, Heath went to the Texas Rangers in a ten-player trade that sent Dave Righetti to the Yankees. The following June, after never playing at the major league level for Texas, Heath was traded to the Oakland A's where he got substantial playing time in seven seasons with the A's. Heath hit .333 for the A's in the 1981 American League Championship Series.
While with the A's, Heath caught Mike Warren's no-hitter on September 29, 1983.Heath was known for his strong throwing arm. In 1989, playing with the Detroit Tigers, Heath led the AL's catchers with 66 assists and 10 double plays.
Heath singled in his last plate appearance vs. the Cincinnati Reds on July 2, 1991.
In 1325 games over 14 seasons, Heath posted a .252 batting average (1061-for-4212) with 462 runs, 173 doubles, 27 triples, 86 home runs, 469 RBI, 54 stolen bases and 278 bases on balls. He finished his career with an overall .981 fielding percentage. In nine postseason games, he batted .190 (4-for-21) with 2 runs, 1 home run and 2 RBI.

1955Feb, 5
Mike Heath
Choose Another Date
Events on 1955
- 7Jan
Metropolitan Opera
Contralto Marian Anderson becomes the first person of color to perform at the Metropolitan Opera in Giuseppe Verdi's Un ballo in maschera. - 13Feb
Dead Sea Scrolls
Israel obtains four of the seven Dead Sea Scrolls. - 18Feb
Nevada Test Site
Operation Teapot: Teapot test shot "Wasp" is successfully detonated at the Nevada Test Site with a yield of 1.2 kilotons. Wasp is the first of fourteen shots in the Teapot series. - 14May
Warsaw Pact
Cold War: Eight Communist bloc countries, including the Soviet Union, sign a mutual defense treaty called the Warsaw Pact. - 23Oct
State of Vietnam referendum, 1955
Prime Minister Ngô Đình Diệm defeats former emperor Bảo Đại in a referendum and founds the Republic of Vietnam.