“Who will be the Cubs’ 2018 team MVP?”
Jason Heyward: “Me!”
No hesitation, no pause. Just an honest answer from a confident 28-year old with a $184 million contract.
Nobody wants to succeed more at the plate than the Cubs’ two-time Gold Glove award winner, but the offense has been downright ugly (.243, 18 HR, 108 RBI in 268 games).
Despite not performing up to a megadeal, Heyward has no problem talking about his contract:
“It is what it is, I earned it," Heyward said. "I earned that part of it. For me, it’s awesome. To be where I want to be, that’s the most important thing.”
After spending time talking at Cubs Convention speaking with Heyward, his manager and six of his other teammates, it’s no surprise that it was Heyward who delivered the now-famous Game 7 “Rain Delay Speech.”
MLB
His teammates adore him.
Question to Ben Zobrist: “Who’s your favorite teammate of all-time at any level?”
After a 10-second pause: “Jason Heyward.”
That definitely says something coming from a 36-year-old, three-time All-Star and World Series MVP.
For the true blue Cubs fans that can’t stand Heyward and his untradeable contract, sorry, his teammates and manager have nothing but good things to say.
By all accounts, Heyward is a quality human being despite his shortcomings in the batter’s box the last two seasons.
And his goals for an offensive renaissance in 2018 are simple and basic:
“Just being in the lineup every game.”
His teammates will be behind him 100 percent, even if the fans are not.