Heath "Heathcliff" Slocumb (born June 7, 1966) is a former

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(MLB)

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. He batted and threw right-handed.

Early life and amateur career

As a child, Slocumb was nicknamed "Heathcliff" after the comic strip cat of the same name. Slocumb did not play

Little League Little League Baseball and Softball (officially, Little League Baseball Inc) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization John Bowne High School John Bowne High School is a public high school located in Flushing, New York City and has an enrollment of nearly four thousand students.Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial and retail area, and the i ...

without a

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. According to a scout, his high school coach told him Slocumb was a

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player who had tried out for every team at the school. Despite a strong arm, Slocumb had poor pitching mechanics and was not selected in the 1984 MLB draft. Slocumb caught the attention of a

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scout who put him on an amateur team until July 17, 1984 when the Mets signed him for $5,000 ().

Professional career

In a 10-year career, Slocumb played with the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

Philadelphia 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) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

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 ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

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 ...

, and

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. An All-Star selection in , Slocumb compiled a career 28–37 record with 513

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s and a 4.08 ERA in 631 innings. He collected 98 saves, including 32 for the Phillies in 1995 and 31 with Boston in 1996. Slocumb was traded in mid-1997 from Boston to Seattle for pitcher

Derek Lowe Derek Christopher Lowe (born June 1, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. During his career, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Cleveland I ...

and catcher

Jason Varitek Jason Andrew Varitek (; born April 11, 1972), nicknamed Tek, is an American professional baseball coach and former catcher. He is currently the game planning coordinator, a uniformed coaching position, for the Boston Red Sox. After being traded ...

, in what is often cited in retrospect as one of the most one-sided trades in baseball history.Most lopsided MLB trades in recent memory

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. Published July 22, 2015. Accessed April 14, 2021. At the time, Lowe had pitched in only 12 major-league games with an ERA of nearly 7, and Varitek had never played in the majors. However, Lowe and Varitek both went on to make multiple All-Star teams and were major contributors to the 2004 World Series Champion Red Sox. In 2005, Varitek was named captain of the Red Sox. Although Slocumb helped the Mariners make the playoffs in 1997, his career had dissipated significantly by 1998 and he was never effective again.

Personal life

Slocumb married and had two daughters with his high school sweetheart, Deborah, before she died of

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in 1992. The daughters lived with their maternal grandmother in

Richmond Hill, Queens Richmond Hill is a commercial and residential neighborhood located in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Queens. The area borders Kew Gardens and Forest Park to the north, Jamaica and South Jamaica to the east, South Ozone ...

during his playing career.

References

External links

1966 births Living people National League All-Stars Major League Baseball pitchers Baltimore Orioles players Boston Red Sox players Chicago Cubs players Cleveland Indians players Philadelphia Phillies players Seattle Mariners players St. Louis Cardinals players San Diego Padres players Sportspeople from Queens, New York Baseball players from New York City African-American baseball players Kingsport Mets players Little Falls Mets players Peoria Chiefs players Winston-Salem Spirits players Charlotte Knights players Iowa Cubs players Memphis Redbirds players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople {{US-baseball-pitcher-1960s-stub