Heitmann had been called up to the majors after a glittering debut season in the minors with Rochester, where he went 17–6 with a 1.32 earned run average (ERA).

In both accounts, the four batters who reached safely all did so on base hits, and all came around to score the first four runs in a 22–7 St. Louis victory, tagging Heitmann with the loss.

Official baseball statistics went with the box score version, crediting Heitmann with pitching one-third of an inning and finishing his career with an ERA of 108.00.

As of 2011, Heitmann is now credited with facing four batters, giving up four hits and four runs, and being one of 19 players who retired from the major leagues with an ERA of infinity.

Heitmann enjoyed a relatively long and successful minor league career that lasted until 1928, switching from pitching to being primarily an outfielder/first baseman by the mid-1920s.