Aaron Michael Heilman (born November 12, 1978) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. Heilman was drafted by the New York Mets out of Notre Dame in 2001. He came up through the Mets system as a starting pitcher, but was converted to a relief pitcher in 2005.

High school years

Heilman was born in

Logansport, Indiana Logansport is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Indiana, United States. The population was 18,366 at the 2020 census. Logansport is located in northern Indiana at the junction of the Wabash and Eel rivers, northwest of Kokomo. H ...

and attended Logansport High School, where he was a letterman in baseball. As a senior, he was a team M.V.P. and an All-State selection. Heilman graduated from Logansport High School in 1997.

College career

After a successful college career at the

University of Notre Dame The University of Notre Dame du Lac, known simply as Notre Dame ( ) or ND, is a private Catholic university, Catholic research university in Notre Dame, Indiana, outside the city of South Bend, Indiana, South Bend. French priest Edward Sorin fo ...

, he was selected by the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

in the first round of the 2001 amateur draft with the 18th overall pick. Heilman was a management information systems and philosophy major in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. He was drafted by the

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

in the 55th round of the

1997 Major League Baseball Draft The 1997 First-Year Player Draft, Major League Baseball's annual amateur draft of high school and college baseball players, was held on June 2 and 3, 1997. A total of 1607 players were drafted over the course of 92 rounds. First round selections ...

and by the Minnesota Twins in the first round (31st overall) of the

2000 Major League Baseball Draft First round selections Compensation picks Background The Florida Marlins made Adrián González of Eastlake High School in Chula Vista, California the first overall selection in the 2000 First-Year Player Draft. González, who was rated as ...

, but did not sign either for either team.

Major League Baseball career

New York Mets

Heilman was selected by the Mets in the first round (18th overall) of the 2001 Major League Baseball Draft. He signed and made his professional debut that year with the Class-A Advanced St. Lucie Mets. He pitched for the Double-A

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mirab ...

and Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

in 2002, and began the 2003 season with the Tides. Heilman made his major league debut at

Shea Stadium Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.

on June 26, 2003 in a 6-1 loss to the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

. He posted an

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

of 5.93 as a starter for 2003, 2004 and the beginning of 2005. Heilman's finest game came as a starter on April 15, 2005, when he made a start in place of the injured

Kris Benson Kristin James Benson (born November 7, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball starting pitcher who played for several teams between 1999 and 2010. A highly touted prospect, Benson was drafted first overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1996. ...

and pitched a one-hit complete game

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

. However, he was converted to a

relief pitcher In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weat ...

for the rest of 2005 and excelled with an ERA of only 2.18. In the second half of the 2005 season, he held a 0.68 ERA, leading the league. In Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, Heilman surrendered a tie-breaking, two-run home run in the top of the ninth inning to

Yadier Molina Yadier Benjamín Molina (; born July 13, 1982), nicknamed "Yadi", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher who played his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely considered one of the grea ...

of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, putting St. Louis ahead 3-1. St. Louis would hold on to the lead to win the National League pennant, while Heilman suffered the loss for the Mets.

Seattle Mariners

After a dismal 2008 season, Heilman was traded to the

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

in a three team trade for J. J. Putz.

Chicago Cubs

On January 28, 2009, the Mariners traded him to the Chicago Cubs for

Ronny Cedeño Ronny Alexander Salazar Cedeño (born February 2, 1983), is a Venezuelan former professional baseball shortstop, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Mets, Houston As ...

and

Garrett Olson Garrett Andrew Olson (born October 18, 1983) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Seattle Mariners, Pittsburgh Pirates and New York Mets and in the KBO League for ...

Arizona Diamondbacks

On November 19, 2009 Heilman was acquired by the

Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

, in return for Scott Maine and Ryne White. He elected free agency on November 7, 2010. He re-signed with them on January 18, 2011. He was expected to compete for a spot in the starting rotation. He was released on July 19, 2011.

Philadelphia Phillies

The

Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

signed a minor league contract with Heilman on July 22, 2011. He was assigned to the Triple-A

Lehigh Valley IronPigs The Lehigh Valley IronPigs are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and are named in reference to pig iron, used in the ...

. He was released on August 20, 2011.

Pittsburgh Pirates

Heilman signed a minor league contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates on August 21, 2011, and was assigned to the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians. He elected free agency on November 2, 2011.

Seattle Mariners

Heilman signed a minor league contract with the

on January 10, 2012, with an invite to Spring Training. He was released on April 1.

Texas Rangers

Heilman signed a minor league deal with the Texas Rangers on April 4, 2012 and was assigned to the Triple-A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home games at the Dell Diamond. The team is named ...

. He elected free agency on November 2, 2012.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heilman, Aaron 1978 births Living people New York Mets players Chicago Cubs players Arizona Diamondbacks players Baseball players from Indiana Major League Baseball pitchers Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball players People from Logansport, Indiana St. Lucie Mets players Norfolk Tides players Binghamton Mets players Lehigh Valley IronPigs players Indianapolis Indians players Round Rock Express players All-American college baseball players Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks players