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Robert Frederic Heffner
Boston Red Sox
Pitcher
Born: September 13, 1938, Allentown, PA
Signed: Signed by the Boston Red Sox as an amateur free agent, June 12, 1957
Major League Teams: Boston Red Sox 1963-1965; Cleveland Indians 1966; California Angels 1968
Bob Heffner appeared in 114 games in his big league career, with nearly half those games pitched during his career year of 1964. Heffner appeared in 55 games that season for an 8th place Red Sox club, and was their second best reliever behind regular closer Dick Radatz (#295). Radatz led the team with 29 saves with Heffner collecting five saves over 158 2/3 innings pitched - an inning more than Radatz. Over five seasons in the majors, Heffner was 11-21 with a 4.51 ERA. He found more success in the minors, winning at least 15 games twice and pitching to a 88-61 record with a 3.19 ERA over an 11-year minor league career.
June 5, 2021 from Tomball, TX - Card #295
To celebrate the unofficial beginning of summer, I took advantage of a 15% Memorial Day Weekend sale hosted by one of my favorite dealers, The Battersbox, from Tomball, Texas. With the second series now complete, I spent an enjoyable hour or so over the long (and rainy) holiday weekend picking 20 commons from the third series to add to our set and I'll feature those cards in the next 20 posts. The package of cards arrived on June 5th and in total, the lot cost me a little more than $63. This Heffner card cost around $1.50 after applying the discount.
The Card / Red Sox Team Set
This is one of three Topps flagship cards to feature Heffner, with his rookie card appearing in the 1964 Topps set. The note about the Reds needs a little clarification. Heffner was signed as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox in 1957. He was left unprotected in 1962 for the annual rule 5 draft and was selected by the Reds on November 26, 1962. A little over four months later, in March 1963, the Reds returned Heffner to the Red Sox and he never pitched a game in the Reds' system.
1965 Season
Heffner made the club's opening day roster, but struggled with the Red Sox throughout April and May. He was demoted to the Triple-A Toronto Maple Leafs, where he'd pitch throughout June, making 11 appearances. Heffner went 2-4 with a 2.67 ERA for the Maple Leafs, earning a return to the majors in July. He was injured that month and struggled the rest of his season. In 27 games with the Red Sox, including one start, he was 0-2 with a 7.16 ERA over 49 innings pitched. He was left unprotected following the season, and the Indians selected him in the annual rule 5 draft on November 29th.
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First Mainstream Card: 1964 Topps #79
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (3): 1964-1966
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1966 Topps #432
11 - Heffner non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 7/23/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
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