{{short description|American baseball player (born 1957)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}} {{Infobox baseball biography | name = Kelly Heath | image = Kelly Heath - Omaha Royals - 1980.jpg | caption = Heath in 1980 | position = Second baseman | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|9|4}} | birth_place = Plattsburgh, New York, U.S. | death_date = | bats = Right | throws = Right |debutleague = MLB | debutdate = April 20 | debutyear = 1982 | debutteam = Kansas City Royals |finalleague = MLB | finaldate = April 20 | finalyear = 1982 | finalteam = Kansas City Royals |statleague = MLB | stat1label = Batting average | stat1value = .000 | stat2label = At-bats | stat2value = 1 | teams = * Kansas City Royals (1982) }} '''Kelly Mark Heath''' (born September 4, 1957) is an American professional baseball player and scout. A second baseman, Heath played in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Royals in 1982, and played in minor league baseball for fourteen years. He currently scouts for the Royals, and previously scouted for the Oakland Athletics and Cincinnati Reds.

==Career== Born in Plattsburgh, New York, Heath attended Louisburg College, a junior college (JUCO) where he played college baseball. In 1977, he was named to the JUCO All-Tournament Team.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jucogj.org/juco-all-tournament-teams/89-1977-all-tournament |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415050016/http://www.jucogj.org/juco-all-tournament-teams/89-1977-all-tournament |url-status=dead |archive-date=2013-04-15 |title=1977 All-Tournament Team |publisher=Jucogj.org |date= |access-date=2012-09-17 }}</ref> The Kansas City Royals drafted Heath in the seventh round, with the 177th overall selection, of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft.<ref name=mlb/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/?query_type=year_round&year_ID=1977&draft_round=7&draft_type=junreg |title=7th Round of the 1977 MLB June Amateur Draft |publisher=Baseball-Reference.com |date= |access-date=2012-09-17}}</ref>

Heath spent 24 days with the Kansas City Royals in the major leagues in 1982, and appeared in one game.<ref name=mlb/> On April 20, Heath served as a defensive replacement for Frank White.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=KC&p_theme=kc&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=118DD112F74AD4B8&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM|title= Heath subbed once for Frank White Kelly Heath, April 20, 1982: 0–1, lined to CF|date=2007-05-01|page=C6|newspaper=Kansas City Star|access-date=September 16, 2012}} {{subscription required|date=September 2012}}</ref> White opted to leave the game due to a case of hemorrhoids.<ref>{{Cite book | last=Lewis | first=Michael D. | author-link=Michael Lewis (author) | title=Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game | year=2003 | publisher=W. W. Norton | location=New York | isbn=0-393-05765-8 |page=21}}</ref> Heath lined out in his only at-bat.<ref name=mlb/>

After the 1983 season, in which he led the Omaha Royals, Kansas City's Class AAA minor league affiliate, in home runs (13) and runs batted in (65), Heath signed as a free agent with the New York Yankees organization.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hZoyAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jOgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3949,1112353&dq=kelly-heath+frank-white&hl=en Lawrence Journal-World&nbsp;– Google News Archive Search<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KnogAAAAIBAJ&sjid=p2cFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4085,735772&dq=kelly-heath+yankees&hl=en The Lewiston Daily Sun&nbsp;– Google News Archive Search<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> He played for the Atlanta Braves organization in 1986 and 1987, the Toronto Blue Jays organization in 1988 and 1989, and the Philadelphia Phillies organization in 1990.

Heath played for Milano in the Italian Baseball League.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Chetwynd |first1=Josh |title=Baseball in Europe: A Country by Country History, 2d ed. |date=2019 |publisher=McFarland |isbn=978-1-4766-7912-9 |page=330 |edition=2d |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w5W1DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA330 |access-date=3 January 2021 |language=en}}</ref>

After retiring as a player, Heath was a coach for the Reading Phillies of the Class AA Eastern League in 1992.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=0pA0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=qqYFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1798,4878283&dq=kelly-heath+reading&hl=en Reading Eagle&nbsp;– Google News Archive Search<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> He then coached for the Martinsville Phillies of the Rookie-level Appalachian League.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=GB&p_theme=gb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EAF854DA5074A0F&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM |title=Search : News-Record.com : Greensboro & the Triad's most trusted source for local news and analysis |publisher=Nl.newsbank.com |date=1993-12-07 |access-date=2012-09-17}} {{subscription required|date=September 2012}}</ref> He managed for Martinsville in the 1997 season.<ref>[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB32E19C6680115&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM Philadelphia Inquirer: Search Results<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{subscription required|date=September 2012}}</ref>

Heath has been a scout for the Oakland Athletics. He joined the Cincinnati Reds as a scout in 2004<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=i7xBAAAAIBAJ&sjid=uqkMAAAAIBAJ&pg=6432,2529794&dq=kelly+heath+cincinnati+reds&hl=en Point Pleasant Register&nbsp;– Google News Archive Search<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and joined the Royals in 2007.<ref name=mlb>{{cite web|url=http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110502&content_id=18534412&vkey=news_kc&c_id=kc |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110506141908/http://kansascity.royals.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20110502&content_id=18534412&vkey=news_kc&c_id=kc |url-status=dead |archive-date=May 6, 2011 |title=The Royals have adapted to the times by changing their advance scouting protocol |publisher=Kansascity.royals.mlb.com |date=2012-06-19 |access-date=2012-09-17}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{baseballstats|br=h/heathke01|brm=heath-001kel}}, or [http://www.retrosheet.org/boxesetc/H/Pheatk101.htm Retrosheet]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heath, Kelly}} Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:American expatriate baseball players in Italy Category:Baseball players from New York (state) Category:Cincinnati Reds scouts Category:Columbus Clippers players Category:Daytona Beach Islanders players Category:Jacksonville Suns players Category:Kansas City Royals players Category:Kansas City Royals scouts Category:Louisburg Hurricanes baseball players Category:Major League Baseball second basemen Category:Minor league baseball coaches Category:Minor league baseball managers Category:Oakland Athletics scouts Category:Omaha Royals players Category:People from Plattsburgh, New York Category:Sportspeople from Clinton County, New York Category:Richmond Braves players Category:Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Category:Syracuse Chiefs players Category:Tigres de Aragua players Category:American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Category:20th-century American sportsmen