When Jason Heyward takes right field Monday for the Braves opener, fans get to see the latest homegrown talent.
Heyward, 20, who grew up in Stockbridge, will wear his loyalty -- literally -- through his jersey number. He’ll swing with the advice of a local hitting coach in his mind. The afternoon opener is during Henry County High School’s spring break, so more of his friends can make it.
Also on deck are Braves fans who have only heard about Heyward and his massive home runs. They’re feeling the fever, too.
“I’m ridiculously excited about the start of the season, and Heyward in particular,” said lifelong Braves fan Dean Schaub, 29, who started the Jason Heyward Fan Club on Facebook. He designed an Obama-esque “Hope” T-shirt to wear Monday in the right-field bleachers.
“I’m kind of getting that Braves junkie feeling again because Heyward is something so fun to follow,” Schaub said. “I have a lot of hope it will continue and get the city excited again.”
The No. 22
“Bobby Cox just called me into his office and told me I’m officially on the team ! They made the announcement to the media just now!”
Heyward texted that message March 26 to Tammie Ruston, his favorite teacher at Henry County High School. She immediately choked up and turned her classroom TV to ESPN, where the news was confirmed.
By the end of the day, she was crying more after learning Heyward was trading his No. 71 for 22. That was her only child Andrew Wilmot’s number. The boys played on Henry County’s AAAA state championship team. In college, Wilmot died in a car accident.
“My heart split wide open,” Ruston said. “What an amazing young man he is, to be in the moment where his lifelong dream is coming true and want to share it in such a thoughtful way.”
Heyward, who the Braves drafted out of high school, is the school's hero.
“We are not surprised he made it, but the fact he has made it so soon is a credit to him and his family,” said athletics director Chuck Miller.
Ruston and others from Henry County High plan to attend Heyward’s debut.
“Jason was the kind of player that wanted the best for everyone,” said baseball coach Jason Shadden. “People in our community and baseball team are very proud of Jason. They are proud to answer yes when asked if Jason once played at Henry County High. They look up to Jason and appreciate all he has done for them.”
The swing
Five years ago, Heyward began working with hitting instructor C.J. Stewart, a former Cubs outfielder who runs Diamond Directors in Cherokee County. He says Heyward knows his swing mechanics so well that “when he does experience failure he can make the adjustments necessary. Over a period of years, I have seen his mental side develop to convert tools to skills.”
In that span, Stewart watched Heyward’s dream come true.
“We’d drive past Turner Field in the back seat of his parents’ car, and Jason wanted to be an Atlanta Brave,” Stewart said. “Now he can drive there in his own car ... Seeing him on that field is going to be very emotional for me. I hope I’m sitting in the front row when he goes into [the Baseball Hall of Fame in] Cooperstown.”
Across the city, an infamous place also has indirectly influenced Heyward: Hollywood Courts, the housing project where Stewart was raised.
Stewart and Heyward are African-American, and Major League Baseball has pushed to bring more blacks into the game. Stewart has enlisted Heyward to help introduce baseball to city of Atlanta public-school kids through his nonprofit Launch, Expose, Advise, Direct (L.E.A.D.) Through Heyward’s connections, those kids just joined the Junior Braves league for more resources and exposure to baseball careers.
“With Jason, it’s a cool thing to be humble,” Stewart said. “For many of these kids, it’s not popular to be the guy who’s not saying a lot. What I like about Jason is that he talks about getting to this point because of access. That’s what’s missing. The numbers of African-Americans in baseball are low not because of interest, but because of access."
