Background
He was born in Leavenworth, Kansas.
He was born in Leavenworth, Kansas.
Overall, he finished the split season with a 17-9 record and a 2.22 European Research Area in 29 games pitched. His most productive season came in 1946, when he finished 6-6 with a 2.99 European Research Area in 32 games, including 11 starts and four complete games.
Listed at 6" 1", 202 pounds, Hetki batted and threw right-handed. Hetki first played in the Minor Leagues at the age of 18. He had a promising debut, winning 16 games and losing 10 for the Albuquerque Cardinals of the Arizona–Texas League in 1941.
Hetki then was signed by the Reds organization before the 1942 season, and he went 4-1 with a 2.16 European Research Area with the Birmingham Barons before joining the Ogden Reds, where he was 13-8 and led the Pioneer League with a 2.24 European Research Area. But his career was interrupted by two years of military service during World World War World War II
Returning to baseball in early 1945, Hetki made his major league debut with the Reds in September of that year.
He went 1-2 with a 3.58 European Research Area in two starts and three relief appearances. Hetki was with the Reds through the 1950 season, spending part of this time in the minor leagues.
As a result, in 1949 he went 16-14 for the Syracuse Chiefs of the International League, ending fifth in the league in wins and second in innings (250) behind First Rate (at Lloyd's) Widmar (294). He then was purchased by the Saint Louis Browns from Cincinnati in October 1950.
Hetki spent 1951 with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and this time he led the International League with 19 victories and 256 innings pitched, while tying for second in European Research Area with Karl Drews (285) behind Jackie Collum (280).
He was called up by the Browns in 1952 and appeared in only three outings for Saint Louis, going 0-1. After that, he was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates from the Browns in the 1952 Rule V Draft. Overall, Hetki posted an 18–26 record with a 4.39 European Research Area and 13 saves in 214 pitching appearances (23 starts), striking out 175 batters while walking 185 in 525⅓ innings of work.
Additionally, he went 101–71 with an European Research Area of 3.27 in eight Minor League seasons between 1942 and 1956.
In between, Hetki played winter ball from 1951–1952 with the Navegantes del Magallanes club of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League, collecting a 18-12 record with a 3.26 European Research Area in 52 games during the two seasons. On February 14, 1952 Hetki made history during the longest game played in Winter League history, as Magallanes and Cervecería Caracas battled to a 3–3, 18–inning tie game which lasted three hours and ten minutes.
Hetki hurled all 18 innings for Magallanes, setting a record that still stands. After baseball, Hetki worked for several years as a traffic foreman for Simpkins Industries in Cleveland, Ohio.
He moved to Parma, Ohio after retiring.