Rangers Catcher Jonah Heim embraces North Texas as his home, makes early impact in the ALCS
Rangers Catcher Jonah Heim broke a scoreless tie early Sunday night. He drove in the first run of this year’s American League Championship Series.
Heim has quickly become a fixture in the Rangers lineup.
Behind home plate, Heim feels at home. You might call it fate that the 28-year-old and his family now call North Texas home.
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"Probably was in the cards at one point and didn’t know it," he said.
Heim grew up in Buffalo, New York, but says he gravitated toward Texas as a kid.
"My dad being in the military, we spent maybe a month or two here. Just my dad stationed here and just kind of fell in love with it," he said.
Heim’s dream school was UT Austin. But in 2013, the Baltimore Orioles drafted Heim out of high school.
Heim began a minor league career. In 2020, he had his first big league shot with the Oakland Athletics but was traded to the Rangers the next season.
Trades can be disheartening, but Heim says professionally it’s the best thing to ever happen to him.
"We rented a nice little house, and my wife was like, ‘We gotta move here.’ So then we bought a house, and we’re stationed here now," he said. "So we’re happy to be here, and we want to be here for a very long time."
In 2023 after two modest seasons with the Rangers, Heim started a career-high 116 games behind the plate.
On offense, Heim drove in 95 RBIs and was a first-time all-star. The unsung hero of the Rangers’ postseason run, according to the team’s pitching coach, Mike Maddux.
"Watching Jonah grow this year has been great," the coach said. "He’s not the loudest guy in the world, needless to say, but his heart’s big. And he gives a damn, and that’s the one thing we can’t overlook with Jonah just because he’s a quiet guy."
Heim and his wife have a 2-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl. They’ll be in the stands for home and away games this postseason.
"They traveled pretty much all year. And it’s nice because the kids aren’t in school yet," he said. "They’re young enough to make all the trips so they follow me around pretty much everywhere we go. Wouldn’t be able to do this without their support. So they’ll be in Houston and hopefully rocking out."
And if there’s not enough baseball for Heim at work, he says his son makes sure he gets extra reps at home.
"When we get home, all he wants to do is play baseball and hit home runs," he said. "So probably raising a little monster when it comes to baseball, but it’s awesome."