John Edward Hetki (May 12, 1922 – January 10, 2019) was a long relief pitcher in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

who played for the Cincinnati Reds,

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

and Pittsburgh Pirates in all or parts of eight seasons spanning 1945–54. Listed at , , Hetki batted and threw

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

. He was born in Leavenworth, Kansas.

Minor league career

Hetki first played in the

Minor Leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

at the age of 18. He had a promising debut, winning 16 games and losing 10 for the

Albuquerque Cardinals The Albuquerque Cardinals were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Albuquerque teams played exclusively as a member of the Arizona-Texas League in 1932 and from 1937 to 1941, winning three league championships. The team ...

of the

Arizona–Texas League The Arizona–Texas League was a Class D level American minor league baseball league that existed for nine seasons, from 1931–32, 1937–41, 1947–50 and 1952-54. In 1951, the Arizona-Texas loop merged with the Sunset League (based primarily ...

in 1941. Hetki then was signed by the Reds organization before the 1942 season, and he went 4–1 with a 2.16

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

with the Birmingham Barons before joining the Ogden Reds, where he was 13–8 and led the Pioneer League with a 2.24 ERA. Overall, he finished the split season with a 17–9 record and a 2.22 ERA in 29 games pitched. His career was interrupted, however, by two years of military service during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Major league career

Returning to baseball in early 1945, Hetki made his major league debut with the Reds in September of that year. He went 1–2 with a 3.58 ERA in two starts and three relief appearances. His most productive season came in 1946, when he finished 6–6 with a 2.99 ERA in 32 games, including 11 starts and four complete games. Hetki was with the Reds through the 1950 season, spending part of this time in the minor leagues. As a result, in 1949 he went 16–14 for the

Syracuse Chiefs Syracuse may refer to: Places Italy *Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa'' *Province of Syracuse United States *Syracuse, New York **East Syracuse, New York **North Syracuse, New York * Syracuse, Indiana *Syracuse, Kansas *Syracuse, Miss ...

of the International League, ending fifth in the league in wins and second in innings (250) behind Al Widmar (294). He then was purchased by the St. Louis Browns from Cincinnati in October 1950. Hetki spent 1951 with the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

, and this time he led the International League with 19 victories and 256 innings pitched, while tying for second in ERA with Karl Drews (2.85) behind

Jackie Collum John Dean Collum (June 21, 1927 – August 29, 2009) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for eight different teams between the 1951 and 1962 seasons. Listed at , , Collum batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Victor, I ...

(2.80). He was called up by the Browns in 1952 and appeared in only three outings for St. Louis, going 0–1. After that, he was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Browns in the 1952 Rule V Draft. Working mostly out of the bullpen, Hetki won 3 and lost 6 for the Pirates in 1953 and went 4–4 in 1954, leading the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

games finished In baseball statistics, a relief pitcher is credited with a game finished (denoted by GF) if he is the last pitcher to pitch for his team in a game. A starting pitcher is not credited with a GF for pitching a complete game. Mariano Rivera is th ...

(46) in that last season. Overall, Hetki posted an 18–26 record with a 4.39 ERA and 13 saves in 214 pitching appearances (23 starts),

striking out ''Striking Out'' is an Irish television legal drama series, broadcast on RTÉ, that first aired on 1 January 2017. Produced by Bl!nder F!lms for RTÉ Television, ''Striking Out'' stars Amy Huberman as Dublin-based solicitor Tara Rafferty, who is ...

175 batters while

walking Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

185 in 525 innings of work. Additionally, he went 101–71 with an ERA of 3.27 in eight Minor League seasons between 1942 and 1956. As a hitter, Hetki posted a .235

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(27-for-115) with no home runs and 6 RBI in 214 games. Defensively, he committed only one error in 119

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

for a .992 fielding percentage.

Winter league career

In between, Hetki played winter ball from 1951–52 with the

Navegantes del Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes ( Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP championships and two (2) Caribbean Series. It w ...

club of the

Venezuelan Professional Baseball League The Venezuelan Professional Baseball League or Liga Venezolana de Béisbol Profesional (LVBP) is the professional baseball league in Venezuela. The league's champion takes part in the Caribbean Series each year. History Early years Baseball exp ...

, collecting an 18–12 record with a 3.26 ERA in 52 games during the two seasons. On February 14, 1952, Hetki made history during the longest game played in Winter League history, as Magallanes and Cervecería Caracas battled to a 3–3, 18–inning tie game which lasted three hours and ten minutes. Hetki hurled all 18 innings for Magallanes, setting a record for a pitcher that still stands. Hetki later pitched two complete games for the VPBL champion Magallanes in the

1952 Caribbean Series The fourth edition of the Caribbean Series (''Serie del Caribe'') was played in 1952. It was held from February 20 through February 26, featuring the champion baseball teams of Cuba, Leones del Habana; Panama, Carta Vieja Yankees; Puerto Rico, ...

, including an 11-inning, 2–1 victory against

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

's champion Carta Vieja Yankees.

Later years

After baseball, Hetki worked for several years as a traffic foreman for Simpkins Industries in Cleveland, Ohio. He moved to

Parma, Ohio Parma is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States, located on the southern edge of Cleveland. As of the 2020 census, its population was 81,146. Parma is the seventh largest city in the state of Ohio, the largest suburb in the state, an ...

, after retiring. He died on January 10, 2019.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hetki, Johnny 1922 births 2019 deaths Albuquerque Cardinals players United States Army personnel of World War II Baseball players from Kansas Birmingham Barons players Cincinnati Reds players Major League Baseball pitchers Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Ogden Reds players Sportspeople from Leavenworth, Kansas Pittsburgh Pirates players St. Louis Browns players Syracuse Chiefs players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players