As the Cubs begin arguably their biggest series of the season today against the St. Louis Cardinals, Jason Heyward looks to continue to play a brand of baseball that has helped Cubs fans forget what turned into a miserable debut season for the Cubs right fielder.
I won’t bombard you with Heyward’s 2016 stats because I think we all know just how bad Heyward was offensively. He posted career lows in damn near every offensive category you can think of and the only thing that helped Heyward stay on the field was his sparkling glove (He’d go on to win his fourth Gold Glove of his career.)
Immediately following the 2016 season, Heyward moved out to the Cubs Spring Training facility in Arizona to begin work to rectify a disappointing 2016 season. I wrote extensively about the work Heyward put into changing the mechanics of his swing and although it looked really pretty at the time, I was very clear when I said, “I won’t get too excited until I see how it looks against big league pitching.”
Safe to say the swing looks pretty good.
Heyward has resurrected himself to be a legitimate offensive threat that Cubs fans used to fear when he was playing with those same Cardinals that invade Wrigley Field today. He’s slashing .269/.328/.415, which may not jump off the page at you, but if you’ve watched any Cubs games this season, you see a noticeable difference in Heyward’s approach. Instead of rolling over on pitch after pitch like he did last season, he’s making solid contact and spraying the ball all over the field.
Heyward Doesn’t Give A Shit What You Think
As great as Heyward has been for the Cubs this season, there are still a lot of Cubs fans that feel like Heyward owes them something after a disappointing 2016. For those that feel like Heyward stilll has to prove himself this season, the Cubs right fielder delivered a crystal clear message as reported by Sahadev Sharma of the Athletic.
“I don’t feel like I have to prove shit as far as what I can do,” Heyward said. “There are a lot of things I have done. As far as this season goes, I’m not thinking about any other season.”
Well alrighty then!
He’s right though. Although he struggled last season, Heyward was still the consummate teammate and clubhouse guy. We all know the speech he delivered to spark the Cubs during Game 7 of the World Series and while that is all fine and dandy, I’m more impressed with his work ethic during the off season. He spent weeks in isolation trying to figure out what went wrong with his swing and every Cubs fan is enjoying the rewards of his work ethic today.
What if he didn’t do that though? What if he sat back and realized that no matter what he did in the off season, he would still collect $184-million dollar contract. I think that’s the hidden value of Jason Heyward to the Chicago Cubs. He’s a team first guy that wants to win baseball games more than improve his individual statistics. When asked if he thought he was playing his best baseball as a Cub, Heyward stayed true to form when he stated,
“That’s not for me to assess. I show up every day and try and do my job the best I can.”
I think every Cubs fan will agree with me when I say that a dangerous Heyward bat will play a big part if the Cubs plan on making another post-season run. We all know he’s going to deliver rock solid defense in right field and now that he’s gotten his offensive issues resolved, he’s just another left-handed bat that has to be reckoned with throughout the rest of the season.
