Slade Heathcott

A first-round draft choice of the New York Yankees, Slade Heathcott had just a cup of coffee in the majors. He hit two home runs – one an especially memorable blast – but problems with alcohol curtailed his career.

Heathcott has Cherokee heritage. “A Cherokee is who I am,” he said. “That’s what I stand for. I always have a deep tie to it. … I have been to a point in my career where I was told my career might be over and to realize the mental side of it. With the right process and with the right mentality, we can do anything we want.”1

Born in Texarkana, Texas, on September 28, 1990, Heathcott attended Texas High in Texarkana. After batting .457 with 4 home runs and 28 RBIs, he initially committed to Louisiana State University.2 New York drafted Heathcott 29th overall in 2009, a draft most notable for the selections of Stephen Strasburg as the first overall pick and Mike Trout as the 25th. “Heathcott had a rough childhood,” a journalist wrote. “Homeless for a brief period of his senior year of high school, Heathcott lived in his truck … [He] developed a drinking problem by age 19, but the Yankees helped him … through Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.”3

The lack of male role models may help explain Heathcott’s substance-use disorder. “Maybe he was looking for a little bit of guidance,” said Barry Norton, Texas High’s athletic director and its football coach. “I know that after every single practice he told me he loved me.”4

Slade never met his biological father and once “pulled a shotgun on his stepfather” Jeff, who also had substance-use issues and died at the age of 47.5 In a 2011 interview, his mother, Kimberly Johnson, said, “We had already split up and gone our separate ways by the time [Slade] got in trouble with the law. [He] got addicted to painkillers.”6 Slade also has a younger brother named Zane.

As an 18-year-old, Heathcott, a left-handed batter and outfielder, got one hit in three games for the Yankees’ Gulf Coast League rookie league team in 2009. In 2010 he played 76 games for the Class-A Charleston RiverDogs, striking out 101 times in 298 at-bats. “I’ve never been a big strikeout guy,” Heathcott said. “That was frustrating.”7

Heathcott started with Charleston again in 2011 before advancing to the Tampa Yankees, where he homered in his first plate appearance8 before hurting his left shoulder and missing the rest of the season.9

Heathcott had a .307 batting average in his full season (2012) with Tampa. The Yankees invited him to spring training for the first time before the 2013 season.10 Heathcott played 103 games in 2013 for the Double-A Trenton Thunder where hitting coach Justin Turner touted his potential. “He’s a tremendous athlete and a tremendous ballplayer, and I think we’re just scratching the surface at age 22,” Turner said. “Once the kid starts clicking, he’s going to be a special player.”11

After knee injuries limited Heathcott to just nine games with Trenton in 2014, the Yankees dropped him from the 40-man roster but invited him to spring training in 2015. He responded by winning the James P. Dawson Award as the best Yankee rookie in camp. The Yankees sent Heathcott to the Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders and then recalled him in May to replace the injured Jacoby Ellsbury. “I think the kid’s had to overcome a lot, not only growing up but even here,” Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. “I think it’s a great story where he’s been and where he’s come from, and he’s got a chance to make it really good.”12

By the time he got to the majors, Heathcott had a family of his own, with wife Jessica and son Kysen.13 He debuted on May 20, 2015, as a pinch-runner and remained in the game to play center field. Heathcott started his first game on May 22. Batting ninth, he had two hits and scored a run in a 10-9 loss to Texas. Facing Colby Lewis, Heathcott hit a gapper into medium left-center that he ran into a double for his first big-league hit in his first Yankee Stadium at-bat.14 On the same homestand, Heathcott had two hits again on May 25, including a two-run homer off Kansas City’s Greg Holland into the short porch in right field15 for the final runs in a 14-1 New York rout. “Is this real?” Heathcott said of his reaction to the homer. “I come back to the dugout, and I see a lot of the veteran guys. [Brian] McCann, CC [Sabathia], guys like that, congratulating me. It’s awesome.”16

Heathcott entered a scoreless contest at Tampa in the bottom of the eighth to play right field. The Rays scored a run in the frame to take a 1-0 lead into the ninth inning. Tampa closer Brad Boxberger pitched in relief. With two outs, Brett Gardner walked and stole second base. Álex Rodríguez doubled to score Gardner and tie the game. Boxberger intentionally walked McCann to get to Heathcott for his first plate appearance in a Yankees uniform in more than 3½ months. “I was just trying to pretend that this game is the same everywhere I play,” Heathcott said. “Stay calm, get a good pitch to hit and hit it. That’s all you can do.” Still, he admitted, “I was trying to crush a ball.”19

Not quite crushing it, Heathcott took Boxberger the other way with a homer just over the wall in left field20 that proved decisive in New York’s 4-1 win. Rodríguez most enthusiastically celebrated Heathcott’s hit by coming off the bench to congratulate his teammate. “It’s a moment he will never forget,” Rodríguez said. “What a story.”21

After his debut season in 2015, Heathcott never played in the majors again.

Heathcott had a splendid spring training in 2015 but a horrible one in 2016. Slated to start a Grapefruit League game, he missed the bus and got pulled from the lineup. “It was an immature decision that was disrespectful to not only this team but all the fans, people who have to wake up and go to work every day,” Heathcott told the press.22

New York sent Heathcott to Triple A. In 23 games, he hit just .230 with no homers, and the Yanks released him in May. The White Sox signed him in June, and he hit .258 with two home runs in 34 games for Triple-A Charlotte. Heathcott signed with the Giants as a free agent before the 2017 season. San Francisco had “a good track record of not caring where their players come from, but when guys are producing moving them up,” Heathcott said. “Ultimately I just needed an opportunity to play again and have fun and take advantage of that opportunity.”23

Heathcott split his season between the San Francisco Double-A and Triple-A affiliates, batting .267 with 14 homers in 119 games. Oakland signed him as a free agent for 2018, but Heathcott played only 31 Triple-A games with one home run before getting released again. At the age of 27, he concluded his baseball career in 2018 with the Sugar Land Skeeters of the Atlantic League.

Heathcott has dabbled in a variety of ventures since he stopped playing, including going to school to become a commercial pilot24 and serving as director of business development for More Than Baseball, which works to improve the living conditions of minor leaguers.25 In June 2022 his LinkedIn profile listed four positions. On the social-media site, Heathcott described himself as “specializing in curating sustainable relationships while maximizing existing partnerships to increase revenue and brand storytelling. Passionately obsessive servant and perspective shifter. Purpose driven business development, influencer and ambassador marketing, and 501c3 strategy / partnership consultant.”26

Fans may view first-round picks who last less than one year in the majors as disappointments, but in terms of Wins Above Replacement the Yankees did well by selecting Heathcott. New York picked him 29th overall, and as of May 2025 he ranked 25th in WAR among 2009 draftees.

Heathcott’s brief big-league career serves as a compelling tale of someone who admirably combatted adversity and shined for a moment under the brightest lights for baseball’s most successful franchise.

Last revised: February 18, 2026

Photo credit

Slade Heathcott, courtesy of Jerry Coli / Dreamstime.

Notes

1 Mark Dreadfulwater, “Heathcott Overcomes Injuries to Fulfill MLB Dream,” www.cherokeephoenix.org/news/heathcott-overcomes-injuries-to-fulfill-mlb-dream/article_d697b894-9e49-50a5-bd47-eb25e43d862b.html, March 18, 2016 (accessed June 10, 2022).

2 Tim Bontemps, “Slade Heathcott on Slade Heathcott,” New York Post, June 10, 2009.

3 Brendan Kuty, “Who Is Yankees’ Slade Heathcott?” NJ.com, May 20, 2015. https://www.nj.com/yankees/2015/05/who_is_yankees_slade_heathcott.html

4 Gene Sapakoff, “Tale of Salvation: Formerly a Tormented Teen, Riverdogs Star and Top Yankee Prospect Slade Heathcott Has Turned His Life Around,” Charleston (South Carolina) Post and Courier, May 12, 2011.

5 Brendan Kuty, “Former Top Yankees Prospect Who Overcame Demons Just Wants to Be the Father He Didn’t Have,” NJ.com, March 27, 2019. https://www.nj.com/yankees/2019/03/former-top-yankees-prospect-who-battled-demons-just-wants-to-be-the-father-he-didnt-have.html

6 Travis G., “Interview With Slade Heathcott’s Mother: Part 1 of 2,” www.pinstripealley.com/2011/6/21/2234557/interview-with-slade-heathcotts-mother-part-1-of-2, June 21, 2011 (accessed June 10, 2022).

7 Erik Boland, “Prospect Heathcott Hitting His Stride,” Newsday (Long Island, New York), April 28, 2011.

8 David Heck, “Heathcott Homers in Debut with Tampa,” MLB.com, June 29, 2011.

9 Marc Carig, “The Yankees This Week: Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada Set Mark, Bartolo Colon Implodes,” Newark Star-Ledger, July 17, 2011.

10 Andrew Marchand, “Get to Know: Slade Heathcott,” ESPN.com, February 27, 2013.

11 Steven Braid, “Slade Heathcott Showing Hustle in Minors,” Newsday, May 25, 2013.

12 Daniel Barbarisi, “Uncertain Return for Jacoby Ellsbury Means a Chance for Slade Heathcott,” Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2015.

13 George A. King III, “Yankees Once Feared Alcohol Would Kill Call-Up Slade Heathcott,” New York Post, May 20, 2015.

14 www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUxHYg9M3FM (accessed May 20, 2022).

15 www.youtube.com/watch?v=5M4OdzauXEE (accessed May 20, 2022).

16 Ryan Hatch, “Yankees’ Slade Heathcott on 1st Career Home Run: ‘Is This Real?’” NJ.com, May 25, 2015. https://www.nj.com/yankees/2015/05/yankees_slade_heathcott_on_1st_career_home_run_is.html

17 George A. King III, “Yanks’ Heathcott DL-Bound after MRI Exam Worse Than Expected,” New York Post, May 29, 2015.

18 Wallace Matthews, “Slade Heathcott put on DL with quad injury,” ESPN.com, May 29, 2015.

19 Wallace Matthews, “On Brink of Disaster, Heathcott Delivers Yankees’ ‘Biggest Win of the Year,’” ESPN.com, September 15, 2015.

20 www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7GafAXiVa4 (accessed May 20, 2022).

21 Kevin Kernan, “From Alcohol Struggles to Yankees Hero: Slade Heathcott’s Journey,” New York Post, September 15, 2015.

22 Anthony Rieber, “Yankees’ Slade Heathcott Apologetic, Regretful About Missing Bus to Bradenton,” Newsday, March 19, 2016.

23 Kyle Glaser, “Slade Heathcott Starts Fresh in Giants System,” BA Newsletter, May 10, 2017. https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/slade-heathcott-starts-fresh-in-giants-system/.

24 Mark W. Sanchez, “Former Troubled Yankees Top Prospect Slade Heathcott Becoming Pilot,” New York Post, January 14, 2019.

25 Scott Ortega, “‘More Than Baseball’ Aims to Help Minor Leaguers with Food, Housing, Equipment and Other Services,” Forbes, February 20, 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/scottorgera/2019/02/20/more-than-baseball-aims-to-help-minor-leaguers-with-food-housing-equipment-and-more/?sh=2b360e951279 (last accessed June 10, 2022).

26 www.linkedin.com/in/sladeheathcott/ (last accessed June 14, 2022).