Needed reminder: Jason Heyward isn’t a finished product
Jason Heyward says this isn't the first time in his baseball life he has had to come back from failure. (Jason Getz/AJC)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – This is what we do, and by “we,” I mean everybody – fans, media, ex-athletes who now clutch microphones, the occasional bitter coach or scout, certainly that anonymous subculture that exists behind wacky screen names and disseminates wonderful new damning statistics that were invented, like, seven minutes earlier.
In Year 1, we embraced and celebrated.
“Hitting a home run on Opening Day — that was awesome,” Jason Heyward recalled Wednesday.
In Year 2, we questioned and trashed.
“Unfortunately I got hurt and I can’t control that,” he added moments later. “And as far as fans, media, whatever — I can’t control that, either.”
Why do we do this?
Jason Heyward is 22 years old. Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that. Were you a finished product and ready for public consumption/dissection at 22? We watch and hear about athletes from the time they’re in high school now, and something in our brain says, “OK, I’ve known this kid for five years. He should be ready.”
Heyward was runner-up for the National League’s Rookie of the Year award in 2010. He hit .277 with 18 homers and 72 RBIs. His first major league at-bat: a three-run homer. He was projected as the Braves’ next great star. He was forecast as Atlanta’s next great sports icon. Young, athletic, good looking, Atlanta native, African American — marketing nirvana for the home franchise.
Everybody started erecting the scaffolding for the elevated stage a little too soon — because that’s what we do.
So when a few things started to go wrong last season – the slow start, the shoulder injury, the messed-up swing as a result of changes prompted by the injury, the drop in production that led some fans to scream, “We want more Jose Constanza!” – Heyward faced public criticism for the first time. When Chipper Jones said Heyward needed to learn what injuries he can play through, some concluded he was throwing Heyward under the bus. (He wasn’t.)
Fred McGriff's early pains were lower profile. (Jason Getz/AJC).
The spotlight can be overwhelming for a young athlete when so much is expected so soon. Former Brave Fred McGriff has been in camp this week and worked with Heyward, watching him in the cage and counseling him. McGriff said he had it easier when he broke into the majors with Toronto.
“When I came up, I played with Lloyd Moseby, George Bell, all those older guys,” he said. “They hit me eighth in the order, so I had a lot less pressure on me. If I did well, great. If I didn’t, that was OK, too. I could ease into it.”
Heyward says he’s fine. He also wants to correct a few misconceptions: This isn’t the first time in his baseball life that something has gone wrong. It’s just the first time on such a grand stage. So the obvious question: How does he respond?
“All of us got here by doing what we know how to do, whether it’s mentally, physically, what have you,” Heyward said. “You want to stay as close to that as possible. Keep having fun, keep trying to get better. I’m 22 years old, and I didn’t get here this quickly by not making adjustments, by not learning on the fly, by not handling pressure situations, by not knowing how fans or media might take things. I’ve done a lot of things the right way, and that’s why I am who I am and part of the reason why I’ve been successful.”
He has had a lot of people in his ear. Probably too many. As general manager Frank Wren said, “From the time you have an 0-fer, somebody’s got a reason why. It could be as simple as, ‘The pitcher’s better than me today.’ Sometimes we try to make it way too complicated. Sometimes you just have to take a deep breath and go after it again.”
Heyward will do that. Depending on how this season goes, he’ll be viewed as either the next Clemente or the next Francoeur. Because unfortunately, that’s what we do.
By Jeff Schultz
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103 comments Add your comment
George Stein
February 29th, 2012
6:29 pm
Eh, not a big deal, man.
"Chef" Tim Dix
February 29th, 2012
6:40 pm
George Stein
What does SM say about A Jones numbers as an argument for the HOF?
I say his numbers say “in”.
LakeDawg
February 29th, 2012
6:40 pm
Very well said, Schultz.
George Stein
February 29th, 2012
6:54 pm
That’s a good question, Chef. I want to say yes because he played a premium position at a remarkable level. His peak, from 1997 to 2006, was a run of sustained excellence in CF.
Not sure how into sabermetrics you are, but there is a metric they developed called WAR (wins above replacement). Generally 3 WAR per year is average, 5 WAR per year is All Star, and anything more is superstar. From 1998 to 2006, he was higher than 5, with five of those year more than 7. Plus, he did it in the steroid era, and I think we can all agree that his body type wasn’t really one that looked very juiced (unless the juice was cupcakes!). Plus, over the last 20 years, he is 13th in WAR. As a point comparison, Chipper is third, behind two known juicers, ARod and Bonds (which just shows how great he is).
I guess that’s a roundabout way of saying “yes.” But because of his precipitous decline, his greatness may be a little forgotten.
Stinger2
February 29th, 2012
7:17 pm
George: Would you please tell us the measure value of WAR`s
Thanks
George Stein
February 29th, 2012
7:23 pm
Not sure I understand your question, Stinger?
Four ply swat
February 29th, 2012
7:35 pm
let the kid play and develop. everyone wants instant great players. all of the greats ones took a minute to get adjusted the show. no injuries will equal nice numbers from Heyward.
JSS
February 29th, 2012
8:23 pm
It (Sabermatic overload victims), they are like sitting in on one of those war college classes where the bureaucrat to be officer fail to see big picture warfare dynamics regarding battlefield strategy… They are always overwhelmed looking for matrix dynamics… Sad!
Jack in Macon
February 29th, 2012
8:55 pm
Jason. Stop the head first slide!!!
Sonny Clusters
February 29th, 2012
8:58 pm
It was painful watching Heyward last season and it was brutal that he was placed back in the lineup and the team tanked. We are pulling for him to get straightened out and play some decent right field because the Braves outfield was one of the worst in baseball last year and Bourn helped it but we have to remember Bourn was out there in September and didn’t make much difference. Having McLouth and Jordan Schafer out there could have ruined center field for anybody but Bourn will rebound and give the Braves a good season in 2012. There are holes in this team and there will continue to be holes unless everybody takes it up a notch or more from what they did last year. Being such a championship team though for so many years should get them through. Hahaha! We was kidding about that just like Schuerholz has been kidding us for so long. He’s pretty slick but this Clusters is on to him.
DetroitBraves
February 29th, 2012
9:55 pm
This is a little bit dated but as of 2010 Andruw Jones would have been below the average Hall of Fame centerfielder according to Jay Jaffe’s Jaws system for evaluating Hall of Fame candidates. There were 3 players behind him in the Hall and 2 ahead of him not – though one is Junior Griffey, who will be, and the other is Jim Edmonds. Recently, there has been a refinement to the system that has cost a lot of players a bit on the defensive side. I don’t know specifically how Jones is seen now through the system but my intuition tells me that Jones a) won’t get in, b) is, however, worth the discussion, c) may not get the discussion, at least for a while, due to a potentially crowded ballot and his precipitous decline, and d) in the end keeping him out may not be the wrong decision.
Larry30
February 29th, 2012
9:57 pm
If only he had the production of Francouer this article wouldn’t have been written. For that matter how many braves exceeded Francouer’s numbers last year? And I don’t care that he played for the royals. It is a MLB team.
DetroitBraves
February 29th, 2012
10:02 pm
One more note on Andruw, his peak was above the average Hall of Famer – validating George Stein’s assessment. But his greatest stat is, not surprisingly, runs saved. According to the metric, he is the second greatest defensive centerfielder ever, trailing only Willie Mays. A lot of people think Willie Mays was pretty good.
DetroitBraves
February 29th, 2012
10:07 pm
We’ll see on Francouer, Larry30. His walk rate was about the same as ever, and his K rate was maybe even a tick up. He swung at pitches outside the zone at least as much as he ever has. Sounds like the same undisciplined Francouer to me. I may end up being wrong but I would rather Kansas City take that bet than Atlanta.
DetroitBraves
February 29th, 2012
10:16 pm
@George Stein, fWAR is the Fangraphs version, right? Isn’t it true that totalzone ratings are less kind to defense than UZR? If you believe, as Fangraphs does, that UZR is superior then Andruw’s fWAR prior to 2002 may be understated. Obviously, much of his value came from his defense.
George Stein
February 29th, 2012
10:29 pm
Yep, I used fWAR. You make a good point about the pre-2002 defensive metrics.
As a point of comparison, Derek Jeter – who is viewed a no doubt first ballot HoF – has been worth only two more fWAR and he played the entire 1996 season, which Andruw didn’t. I am not sure I disagree about your assessment of his likelihood of admission, but I believe he merits strong consideration and, ultimately, admission.
George Stein
February 29th, 2012
10:33 pm
I was happy to see Frenchy have a nice season last year. At least he merited inclusion on a big league roster. And he absolutely mashed against lefties. He would be a solid addition to a team that could platoon him if they could accept the contract.
DetroitBraves
February 29th, 2012
10:53 pm
You know, Francouer has always been playable against left-handed starters. That’s a really good point. My assessment of him was as an everyday player, which he was last year and will likely be again this year. As an everyday player I believe he will disappoint.
phil
February 29th, 2012
11:20 pm
Wayward is a bust.
This year will erase the doubt and end all this idle chatter about an improved swing.
If he hits even.250, it will be on par with the 1980 miracle on ice.
Larry30
February 29th, 2012
11:22 pm
Everybody has been putting Francouer down as an everyday player for years. All he does is drive in runs wherever he goes and plays a great right field. I guess if his name was Uggla it would be ok if he batted .230.
Loyal Fan
February 29th, 2012
11:38 pm
And you wonder why they say Atlanta has the worst fans. Give it time, and stop trying to give your dumb opinions out. Hershel Talker, no one wants to hear your debbie downer comments.
Loyal Fan
February 29th, 2012
11:40 pm
We should freeze frame this message board, and skip to 3 months into the season, when Heyward is playing like he did his rookie year. We will have the same naysayers being complete hypocrites as of today’s board.
SilentCC
March 1st, 2012
12:25 am
Mr. Schultz — (just to change the subject a bit, but still somewhat related) Sometime, you might think about doing a study and column series on baseball injuries. Seems to me that there is a problem with the game of baseball itself in that it’s requirements of motion and the relatively little time in executing those motions on the field contribute GREATLY to baseball related injuries. Almost all other sports’ motion requirements help keep the player in shape because the motions are repeated on a regular basis throughout the game or activity.
Tennis players are always running and swinging, therefore the sport itself keeps them in shape. Football players are using their entire bodies on most every play, therefore they are keeping in shape just by playing. Basketball requires constant running and direction changes plus jumping. Swimming and skiing require a constant use of the arms and legs.
BUT — Baseball. There is nothing in the game of baseball itself that encourages, or contributes to, reinforcing conditioning. Batters swing the bat only every third inning or so. A ball hit to the playing field only involves two, maybe three players, and that for only a few brief seconds. Guys who reach base are standing around for minutes before anything might happen.
The only baseball players that do anything repetitively and for a length of time are pitchers.
So, the apparent softness and vulnerability of baseball players just might be countered by better and more intense and consistent weight and motion training. It’s for sure they’re not going to get it from being on the field.
And of course — I can be totally shot out of the water if in fact training for baseball players is already intense and adequate and they are doing all right things, and I just don’t know it.
But I WOULD like to see a writer ask the questions, and do an in-depth exploration of baseball injuries and their occurrences and prevention.
tim scott
March 1st, 2012
6:44 am
Janis Heyward will fold like a cheap tent at the first sign of a boo boo
Trojan
March 1st, 2012
7:58 am
He was rushed. Great thoughts Jeff. Go Heyward. If Heyward plays good the Braves will be great.
Shug
March 1st, 2012
8:01 am
Wouldn’t it be simpler to just bring Frenchy back? That guy is marketable, his not being an “African American” notwithstanding.
DePort
March 1st, 2012
8:23 am
Too many people think their opinion is fact these days … Why cant we go back to just enjoying the game of baseball… Stop picking out every flaw of every player and lets just enjoy the game… Every day I read these negative posts written by all you baseball professionals and it just makes me sick to think how negative everyone has gotten… I just wanna go back to being a kid and loving the game for what it is suppose to be… FUN!
Tell It Like It Is
March 1st, 2012
8:58 am
I like Jason but I believe that he would be better served in a market that is not his home. Francouer comes to mind. He never recovered from the decline in his sophomore season. Local fans and the press are a terrible influence when your mom and dad are around to hear the crap from yahoos who could not make the little league team. There is more involved than just learning how to hit left handers up the middle.
A Father
March 1st, 2012
9:01 am
Francouer is a huge liability in right field, he is very slow getting to fly balls. In the first games of his last time in Atlanta, the first week 5 balls were not caught that have to be at the professional level.
Francouer is now in the American League where he belongs with small right field pards to play in, arm strength is very good but to many balls drop in.
I wish Francouer good luck, but since MLB stopped the ability to take illegal performance enhancing drugs, he abilities continue to tank.
Francouer should have move to the position of a pitcher, I really think that he would have been tremendous MLB player if he had done so.
Brian Friel
March 1st, 2012
9:02 am
Jason Heyward suffered from the sophmore jinks. He’s way to talented, and too smart a ball player and competitor, not to meet his seasonal goals. Injuries play a huge roll in the long baseball season, and if the Braves can stay healthy they will challenge for the divisional crown, or at least the wildcard spot.
Brian Friel
March 1st, 2012
9:03 am
A Father, you are totally right. Fracouer has a really strong arm.
Snake Doc
March 1st, 2012
9:04 am
Wait a minute… Everyone from GM to Manager to the Towel Washer including everyone at Al Jazeera Constipation told us all that this guy was the next Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth all rolled into one. Now he needs work, he’s an unfinished product?
Here’s an idea, before you self proclaimed all knowing, all seeing, savants pronounce anyone the next anything let their careers play out. Than determine what their place in history will be!
You idiots are not king makers, you are not all knowing you are not all seeing you are all just Baghdad Bob’s wannabes pretending to be the voice of all great knowledge that has anything to do with sports trying to dupe an unknowing public into thinking you are smarter than the average Joe.
Snake Doc
March 1st, 2012
9:08 am
@SilentCC – Remember what John Kruk said about being an athlete. “I’m not an athlete I’m a ballplayer!”
bvilebaron
March 1st, 2012
9:19 am
If you want proof that the Braves have some of the worst fans I offer Phil and Tim Scott. That’s right guys, Heyward is “washed up” at an age when most players haven’t even had a sniff of the bigs. Get real.
Don
March 1st, 2012
9:21 am
Truth is, major league pitching adjusted to Heyward; and thus far, he has not shown the ability (or perhaps the necessary understanding) to adjust back. The first and most important essential is for him to concentrate on making solid contact and make this his only priority – forgetting about the long ball and letting it take care of itself. Will he do so and make the necessary adjustments to be productive against major league pitching????? Who knows. But unless he does, he will not hit well enough to be a corner major leage outfielder – or even well enough to really be a fourth or fifth outfielder. And he may not be motivated to do this if the Braves continue the Bobby Cox policy of continuing to play a player whether of not he is making necessary adjustments.
Snake Doc
March 1st, 2012
9:45 am
@Don – You hit the nail on the head!
Joey
March 1st, 2012
9:50 am
And when Fred started his career, there were no sports blogs . . .
DetroitBraves
March 1st, 2012
10:31 am
The comment about Francouer transitioning to pitching made me think of an interview I heard with Schurholtz several years ago. The interviewer was talking about pitchers and he basically said something along the lines of (paraphrasing) “you can find a truck driver that can throw 96 mph but that doesn’t mean he will be a good pitcher” to which John Schurholtz replied ‘if you can find me a truck driver that throws 96 mph I’ll sign him”.
A long those lines, anybody remember Tony Pena Jr. who played a little for the Braves a few years back? Strong arm at short. Apparently he came into a game for KC a few years ago in one of those position players mops up a blow out roles and flashed a high 90s fastball with a slider. He never could hit so KC sent him back down after seeing that to see if he could be a real pitcher. Anybody know how that’s working out? I guess I could google it.
Biff Pocoroba Fan Club
March 1st, 2012
11:33 am
The next Francouer wouldn’t be such a bad thing. He has turned into a good everyday outfielder. Last season French batted .285 with 20 HR and 87 RBI. I am sure anyone would take a season like that from Heyward in a second.
Sonny Clusters
March 1st, 2012
11:37 am
We see where Celine Dion has gone on the disabled list over in the American League. We was also reading about a UGA coed putting hash browns in her pants. With all this going on it is no wonder Jason Heyward “isn’t a finished product.” We remember when he was crushing balls into the parking lot during spring training and everybody said not to park your car out by the wall. Some major league scout said, why don’t we throw him some pitches he can’t handle standing off the plate like that? And, lo and behold, last season Jason couldn’t hit the ball out of the park anymore. He did cut down on the gopher population at second base, though.
Brave Hokie
March 1st, 2012
12:39 pm
JH is the next Jermaine Dye ~ under-achieve w/that scarlet B-R-A-V-E-S on his chest, and will be borderline HOF’er once we give up and trade him.
“Crule fate ~ why do you mock me?”
Shaun
March 1st, 2012
1:26 pm
Francoeur’s problem wasn’t that the pitchers adjusted to him. Francoeur’s problem was that he actually never had the skills to play everyday in the majors but the Braves apparently didn’t recognize it or they couldn’t find anyone any better. In Francoeur’s best season, he was a league average hitter. In his other full seasons with the Braves he wasn’t close to league average and he displayed no skills that indicated he would ever be much more than a decent platoon option. Yet, because he racked up RBI (mostly because of the strength of the rest of the Braves’ lineup) some thought he was more productive than he actually was. People confuse RBI with production. But RBI, even RBI on an individual level, is a team stat. If a mediocre or poor player is in the right situation, he’ll rack up RBI anyway.
This is what bothers me about the anti-sabermetric crowd. (And I’m not an ardent saberist. I just want a better understanding of the game and don’t think things should be labeled. Sabermetrics has made most of us smarter, or should have. And that’s all I care about.) The anti-sabermetric crowd will criticize the 7-minute old stat, yet they’ll use RBI to judge a hitter’s production. If the old stat can be very misleading, perhaps there is a need for a new stat or at least more weight given to a better old stat.
Francoeur is not close to Heyward in skills. And, Don, we don’t know whether Heyward refused to make adjustments or whether he was worried about the long ball. It’s quite possible, I would argue likely, that Heyward’s 2011 season was a result of injury and the fact that he’s about 5-6 years from what is typical peak age for baseball players, and had little or nothing to do with some sort of unwillingness to adjust or a poor approach. I’ll let others make those assumptions and I’ll still to what was likely the case with Heyward.
Shaun
March 1st, 2012
1:43 pm
Biff Pocoroba Fan Club, .285 with 20 HR and 87 RBI doesn’t tell the full story.
.285/.329/.476 tells us more of a full story of Jeff Francoeur’s 2011 season. That is merely okay offense from a corner-outfielder. Sure, it’s better than Heyward’s 2011 season but a) Heyward has displayed better tools and skills and b) Francoeur was 27 and Heyward was 21.
We’re seeing Francouer’s peak, and it’s not all that good if your likely peak is somewhere around .285/.329/.476 and you’re a corner-outfielder. But Heyward putting up an all-star type season at age 20 and a league average season at age 21, while playing in the majors, is a good sign for the future. Sure, his 2011 didn’t help the Braves in 2011. But that performance at that age, along with his major league performance in 2010, along with the tools and skills he’s displayed throughout his pro career is a great sign going forward and is a sign that he’s no Francoeur.
Shaun
March 1st, 2012
1:46 pm
It’s easy to write about Heyward because, for a variety of reason, I think he is the most incorrectly evaluated (by most fans) players the Braves have had in recent memory.
I think a big reason for this is because Jeff Francoeur was incorrectly evaluated and Heyward plays the same position and is also a local product.
Mark's for the Braves
March 1st, 2012
1:51 pm
I think Heyward is the key to our season. He must produce as he did as a rookie for us to have a good shot at the NL East or the wild card.
Stinger2
March 1st, 2012
1:57 pm
Clusters: Do you think Schuerholtz cares if you are “on him”? Did you forget to say something negative about Chipper and Freddi this time? Come up with something new and constructive if you can.
Also, this is the second time you have mentioned the UGA
soccer player who made a mistake that has taken a toll on her and her family`s life. Why not offer a prayer instead of a wise comment?
Sonny Clusters
March 1st, 2012
2:02 pm
Stinger2 you need to find a hobby that doesn’t include us. If you want to match wits you should know you are overmatched from the start. You post your drivel and leave us alone to post as we see fit. As far as we’re concerned, we will ignore you from here on out.
p.s. the manager’s name is spelled F-r-e-d-i . A big fan like you should know that.
DetroitBraves
March 1st, 2012
2:21 pm
@Shaun, to back up your point the average line for a right-fielder with at least 450 PAs last year was .273/.352/.463. Given how important that middle number is it is fairly safe to say Francouer was no better than average, if that.
Shaun
March 1st, 2012
2:23 pm
Yep, DetroitBraves. And OBP and SLG aren’t exactly 7-minute old statistics. They are just more telling than other old statistics, like RBI.
Stinger2
March 1st, 2012
2:28 pm
Clusters: I would also ignore you if you would stop your never ending and uncalled for bashing of the Braves. However, as a true fan, I feel its important that other Braves fans know you for what you are…that is someone who craves attention. You do get it by incorporating your patented wit with your same old negative repeats of how bad Fredi, Chipper and the Braves organization is.