Neal is our Pitching Analyst–In this role, he will be providing a constant stream of how-to articles, individual rankings and pitching-drill videos for our Exclusive aXcess members.
He is a 1978 graduate of Sachem HS, where he won the coveted Carl Yastrzemski Award playing under Head Coach Bill Batewell. He was selected by the New York Mets in the first round of the January 1979 draft, but chose to attend the University of Miami. He went on to have an illustrious career, setting the program record for wins in a season (18), victories in a career (42), most strikeouts in a game (23), most strikeouts in a season (172) and most strikeouts in a career (381)–despite only pitching for three seasons. He was elected to their Hall of Fame in 1993 and had his No. 26 jersey retired.
Heaton was then drafted by the Cleveland Indians in the second round of the 1981 draft. He went on to pitch for 12 seasons, compile 80 wins and was named to the National League’s All-Star team in 1990 while a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates.
He is a former coach at Bellport HS and currently gives private pitching lessons to young athletes at All-Pro Sports in Bellport.
