Jason Heyward turned 25 on Saturday, and did so in the midst of one of his best offensive surges of his career. The right fielder hadn’t missed a beat since returning from a four-game absence for a low-back strain, going 10-for-20 with four extra-base hits in five games since returning to the lineup.
That’s significantly better than his performance immediately after returning from some past injuries. Heyward gave credit to a familiar figure, one of the retired guys who played in the Braves alumni softball game Saturday at Turner Field. Chipper Jones.
“Trying to get better at that part,” Heyward said of transitioning back after an injury. “I always wondered how Chip would do that whenever he missed time. I mean we saw him miss six weeks and he’d be right there. It’s just trying to keep it simple, do the little things, be on time (at the plate) and not try to do too much. After that you can just go out and play.”
Heyward hit .408 (31-for-76) in his past 21 games through Friday with eight extra-base hits, 11 RBIs, a .471 OBP and .553 slugging percentage. And in 55 games since the beginning of June, he had a .298 average, .382 OBP and .434 slugging percentage with 18 extra-base hits (four homers), 27 RBIs and 32 runs.
“He’s been playing pretty steady — a couple of hits, drive in a run, split a gap,” said Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez, who also took the opportunity to once again laud Heyward as the best defensive right fielder in the league.
