One of the popular members of the Texas Rangers’ 2023 World Series championship team has called it a career. Andrew Heaney, who pitched for Texas from 2023-24, announced his retirement from baseball on his social media accounts.
“I was never an All-Star and definitely not a Hall of Famer, so I can only hope that I was great to each fan, player, coach and staff member I got to be around,” he wrote. “I’m so thankful for all of the people involved in making my career more successful than I ever dreamed.”
Heaney was selected by the Miami Marlins in the first round of the 2012 MLB draft and spent 12 seasons in the major leagues with the Marlins, Angels, Yankees, Dodgers, Rangers and Pirates. He signed a two-year deal with the Rangers ahead of the 2023 season and compiled a 4.22 ERA in 66 appearances with Texas.
Texas Rangers pitcher Andrew Heaney tosses to first to get Arizona Diamondbacks right fielder Corbin Carroll on a groundout to end the fifth inning in Game 4 of the World Series, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023, in Phoenix.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
Rangers
Heaney made five appearances during Texas’ 2023 World Series run, including three starts. He had a 3.86 ERA in 14 innings and earned the win in his start in Game 4 of the World Series against the Diamondbacks after he allowed one run in five innings.
He became one of the popular members of the team not so much because of his role on the team, but because he was at the center of Creed’s song “Higher” becoming the unofficial soundtrack for the team. Heaney mentioned that the team blared the song in the clubhouse before games and credited the band as a big reason Texas turned its season around.
The team’s connection with Creed became so popular that the band even attended Game 3 of the ALCS against the Astros. As fans sang along to “Higher,” the four-man band was shown on the jumbotron wearing Rangers jerseys.
Heaney left Texas after signing a one-year deal with the Pittsburgh Pirates for 2025, where he spent the majority of his final season before he was released in August. He signed a minor league contract with the Dodgers in September and made one appearance for Los Angeles in the final week of the regular season.
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