Jason Heyward is back in the swing of things
by Cary Osborne
The lunchtime crowd of Dodger employees in the Vin Scully Pressbox witnessed a slow progression in shallow left field at Dodger Stadium earlier this month.
Around 1 p.m., Dodger outfielder Jason Heyward would emerge from the Dodger dugout daily and head to shallow left field with a team of training staff.
On the first days, he would do stretches and take short jogs. Then another day it was a more strenuous run. Eventually, it was throwing a baseball 45 feet. Another day it was longer.
Jason Heyward was off the Dodger active roster for 40 days, on the injured list because of a nagging lower back injury.
On Friday, he was back.
In the eighth inning at Dodger Stadium and with the Dodgers leading the visiting Reds by two runs, Heyward threw his hands violently. His bat wrapped around the Dodgers script on the front of his jersey and ended at his back.
The ball scraped the dark sky and landed in the seats beyond the short wall in right field for a two-run home run.
It capped the Dodgers’ 7–3 win against the Reds.
“It’s awesome to be back out there. I’ll never take that for granted — playing the game,” Heyward said. “It’s huge to get an at-bat like that, to add on, keep some pressure off of us.”
Heyward went 1-for-3 in the game. He was hit by a pitch in the fourth inning. But had he not done anything offensively, it was a win for him to be back in right field.
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The five-time Gold Glove Award winner was expected to be a big part of the Dodger plan in 2024, especially coming off a resurgent year in 2023. Layer on top of that, his leadership and influence added another dimension to the club last season. Heyward was the Dodgers’ Roy Campanella Award winner, an honor that goes to the team’s most inspirational player.
Coincidentally, Campanella’s daughter, Joni, was in attendance on Friday and part of a bigger crowd at Dodger Stadium who witnessed Heyward playing a Major League game for the first time since March 30.
“I hate missing games. I hate not being there for the guys. I hate not being on roadtrips and not being part of the vibe,” Heyward said. “It’s good to be back.”
Heyward said he kept sane by being part of group texts with his teammates and getting their support and the support of his family.
His teammates were elated when he had his moment in the eighth.
“It was huge,” said Mookie Betts. “It kind of put the game out of reach at that point. It’s a good welcome back. I’m glad he’s back.”
Betts hit the 51st leadoff home run of his career in the first inning. Shohei Ohtani hit a two-run home run in the third inning on the day that the Los Angeles City Council declared “Shohei Ohtani Day” in Los Angeles during a morning ceremony at City Hall. The Dodgers led 3–0 after Ohtani’s 13th homer of the year.
James Paxton had a strong day, keeping the Dodgers in it by going six innings and allowing three runs. And later Will Smith drove in the go-ahead run in the seventh inning with an RBI single after Freddie Freeman was intentionally walked for Reds pitcher Fernando Cruz to face the Dodger catcher.
It all led to Heyward’s blast.
The 34-year-old played two rehab games with Triple-A Oklahoma City on Tuesday and Wednesday. It was enough for him to declare he was ready. He emphatically showed that on Friday night.
“He’s such a team guy and all about his teammates and he was doing what he could to kind of keep morale up, but he was getting very antsy not playing,” said manager Dave Roberts. “And so certainly a two-game rehab is not extensive given the time he was off. But Jason even said, he’s like, ‘I just want to get back into this environment. I think this will make me better. It’ll kind of speed up the process of getting back into the flow of things.’ And tonight he showed that and came up with a big hit.”
