I will be the first to admit that I’m not the biggest baseball fan in the world. I probably paid more attention to baseball last year than I ever have, and this is due to the fact that summertime television leaves a lot to be desired. But in light of my love for all things Jeff Francoeur, I think it’s a big deal that I stuck with the Braves even AFTER they traded my favorite baseball player of all time to the Mets, of all teams.
And now maybe some of my fandom is paying off. I’ve been keeping an eye on the news re: spring training, and was mildly interested to see what this Star-Of-The-Future Jason Heyward was going to do after being invited to camp. Sure, there’s been buzz. For instance, I know that he was ranked the top prospect by more than one definitive organization/magazine that knows a thing or two about baseball. I’d heard he’d put up some impressive batting averages and such while playing AA baseball, and had been brought up to AAA at the end of the season to see how he handled things. I also knew he tweaked something during winter league and got sent home early to recuperate. So I kept my ears open just a smidge to see what was being said about the future Brave.
And oh, my heavens, what news there has been! It’s always pretty interesting when you hear that the new kid hit a car during batting practice. But say that he broke the sunroof . . . of the assistant GM’s car . . . parked way, way far away from the stadium; now he’s got buzz. He’s hitting moving targets (i.e., Coca-Cola trucks driving in the parking lot). He’s consistently putting the ball into play as he comes up to bat. And apparently he is the size of an inside linebacker.
But here are the things that impress me the most: First of all, despite all the hype, apparently the kid is quite grounded. No one has said the first word about diva-like behavior, and in fact, everyone marvels at the fact that he seems humble but confident (a hard combination to achieve). He’s not overwhelmed, nor is he underwhelmed, by all the attention.
Secondly, I find it interesting that lots of opposing team managers talk about Heyward’s discipline as a player. He’s not swinging at anything that crosses the plate, and actually takes walks during the games. He has made really smart decisions with baserunning and the like. This tells me the kid’s got brains, and with that kind of ability, he is going to be a very special player in the MLB.
So I’m all about following the Braves and Heyward now. I really hope that he makes the team and opens the season with the Braves. I hope that all these flashes of brilliance he’s showing in spring training translates during the season. If that’s the case, I might be able to forgive the Braves for trading Frenchy.
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