page_title: Harry Heilmann
section_title: 1922 season
hierarchical_section_title: Harry Heilmann / Professional baseball career / Detroit Tigers / 1922 season
caption_attribution_description: English: 1922 American Caramel baseball card of Harry Heilmann
context_page_description: Harry Edwin Heilmann, nicknamed "Slug", was an American baseball player and radio announcer. He played professional baseball for 19 years between 1913 and 1932, including 17 seasons in Major League Baseball with the Detroit Tigers and Cincinnati Reds. He was a play-by-play announcer for the Tigers for 17 years from 1934 to 1950.
  Heilmann won four American League batting championships, securing the honors in 1921, 1923, 1925 and 1927. He appeared in 2,147 major league games, including 1,525 games as a right fielder and 448 as a first baseman and compiled a career batting average of .342, the 12th highest in major league history, and third highest among right-handed batters. At the time of his retirement in 1932, Heilmann ranked sixth in major league history with 542 doubles and eighth with 1,543 RBIs. He remains one of only five players in American League history to hit .400 for a season, having accomplished the feat in 1923 with a .403 batting average. At his peak from 1921 to 1927, Heilmann compiled a .380 batting average, .452 on-base percentage, .583 slugging percentage, and averaged 116 RBI, 41 doubles, 11 triples, and 104 runs scored per season.
context_section_description: In February 1922, Heilmann refused to sign his contract, demanding to be paid $15,000.  On March 3, 1922, Heilmann signed a contract for $12,500 with the Tigers, agreeing to report to spring training the following week.  His spring training was then interrupted again in late March when he returned to Detroit to be with his wife for the birth of their son on March 28, 1922.
  By late June, Heilmann was batting .387 and battling George Sisler for the American League batting championship. On August 26, 1922, Heilman's season came to an end when he sustained a complete break of his collarbone when he crashed into Frank Brower while trying to beat out an infield hit. Heilmann had to have his collarbone rebroken and reset, and it was then discovered that Heilmann had also broken his shoulder. The injuries were so severe that Heilmann remained hospitalized until a week before the end of the season, and even after leaving the hospital, he feared he might never play again. Despite missing the last five weeks of the season, Heilmann hit a career high 21 home runs, fourth in the American League, and also ranked among the league leaders with a .356 batting average (fourth), a .432 on-base percentage (fifth) and a .598 slugging percentage (fourth).
caption: 1922 baseball card of Heilmann
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