If you’ve found it tough to watch the Braves at times since Jason Heyward was sidelined by a broken jaw 3-1/2 weeks ago, imagine how it’s been for him, reduced to observing his team in the throes of a playoff race. That’s tough.
“Absolutely, it is,” said Heyward, who continued his recovery progress Saturday when he took batting practice and fielded fly balls for the second consecutive day. “It’s tough to watch them lose, it’s tough to watch them win, because either way you’re not contributing physically.
“I know I’m there in mindset and things like that, but at the same time I’d like to be out there affecting the ballgame, kind of making everybody’s minds at ease in certain areas of the game. And again, I look forward to doing that as soon as possible.”
The Braves want to have Heyward back for at least the last few games of the regular season, so the big right fielder can get back to game speed and — they hope — provide a spark as the Braves enter the postseason.
Heyward gave the lineup a much-needed jolt after being moved to the leadoff spot in late July, and it’s been a considerably less productive offense since he went on the disabled list.
He hit .357 with six doubles, five homers, 15 RBIs and 24 runs in his last 22 games beginning July 28, the day after he was moved to leadoff. He had a .426 on-base percentage and .607 slugging percentage during that torrid stretch, and the Braves as a team hit .267 and averaged 5.2 runs while going 18-4.
In 21 games since he got hurt, the Braves were 11-10 and hit .230 while averaging 3.4 runs per game before Saturday.
Until Friday, Heyward was restricted to hitting balls flipped to him or placed on a tee, but he’s taken batting practice the past two days wearing a helmet with a protective guard bolted to the right ear flap and extending across his right cheek and jaw to the middle of his mouth.
He’ll bat wearing the special helmet this year, and also wear a football-type mouthpiece at all times on the field. Heyward said the helmet attachment didn’t obstruct his view or otherwise encumber him during batting practice.
“I haven’t had to really think about it at all,” he said. “I just feel safe, and that’s the main thing. Got a mouthpiece to wear as well. No big deal; I’ve worn a mouthpiece before. My main focus is just getting ready to play baseball, getting in shape….
“It’s been fun hitting on the field again. Just really anxious. Really anxious to play baseball as soon as possible. Everything’s going in the right direction.”
He didn’t drive many balls as far as the warning track on his first day of batting practice, but Heyward hit a few over the fence Saturday, including one halfway up the right-field foul pole.
“Each day on the field it’s going to begin to come back more and more,” he said. “I’ve been swinging the bat – I don’t know if you can tell or not – but I’ve been swinging in the (indoor) cage and working just to be ready for these last two days. Now the outdoor process begins. Getting ready to do things physically outside on the baseball field.”
Braves officials will meet at some point Sunday, after he takes batting practice again, to determine whether Heyward should accompany the team when it flies to Washington after the game to begin a week-long, two-city road trip.
Another option is for him to travel to spring-training headquarters in Florida to take batting practice in the instructional league and face live pitching as soon as he’s ready for that next step. Or, he could go to Washington for the first stop, then head to Florida when the Braves continue on to Chicago for a series that starts Friday.
There will be about 70 Braves minor leaguers on hand when the instructional league opens Monday. Although they won’t start playing games against other organizations’ players right away, manager Fredi Gonzalez said the Braves could create any sort of controlled situation or simulated game for Heyward by using their own players.
“He could probably do more (in Florida),” Gonzalez said. “I’m sure we could find some young pitchers down there who we trust throwing strikes, and he could see live pitching. I mean, I don’t know. We’ve discussed it, but we don’t know what the timetable is. But yeah, there’s plenty of things he could do down there.”
Heyward also ran some and fielded fly balls during batting practice Friday and Saturday, activities that he’ll increase in the coming days.
“If I’m going to be in baseball shape, I need to go do that,” he said. “I’m not out of shape physically, but I need to have fast-twitch muscles and be ready to make quick reads and things like that, basically let my body catch up to mind with things like that. But other than that, everything’s good. I’m having fun in this process. I wish I didn’t have to go through it, but I’m having fun working my way back.”
Asked whether he lost strength during his down time after surgery, Heyward said, “I lost energy because I couldn’t eat. I don’t really have a gauge to read, because I wasn’t doing too many things physically (after surgery). But once I was able to eat some better prepared foods – they weren’t solid foods, but regular foods just kind of chopped up so I could handle it – once I was able to do that, energy starting coming back and I was able to work out in the gym and some cardio stuff. Energy starting coming back week by week.”
Perhaps more than anything, what’s kept him upbeat during the past few weeks has been the support of teammates. After being away from the team on its road trip last week, he was happy to be back on the field Friday and Saturday.
“We have a good group here and I think everybody really missed me while I was down,” he said. “They missed me not being out there playing every day. Not just at the plate, but as a person. I really care about this group of people, and I’m pulling for them 100 percent when I’m not there, and I really want to be back with them soon.”
