Cubs News: Jason Heyward again proves to be a good teammate

On Sunday, Jason Heyward of the Chicago Cubs again proved himself to be a good teammate.

The big news for the Chicago Cubs — and around Major League Baseball — yesterday was that Alec Mills threw a no-hitter in just his 15th career start. It was the highlight of what had been an incredible career, and he continues to be a key contributor for this team in 2020.

Yet an interesting subplot to the no-hitter was the fact that, as the Cubs were beating the Milwaukee Brewers in a 12-0 blowout filled with Brewers miscues? Jason Heyward reportedly did not want to come out of the game, as he wanted to be on the field to support Mills as he tried to get the final outs.

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Heyward has been known for his defense in right field since he broke in a decade ago with the Atlanta Braves. It makes sense that you’d want to have him in the game late in big situations. So, from that perspective, it was good to keep Heyward in the game.

The fact that a veteran that has meant so much to this organization would want to stay in the game for the relative newcomer Mills says a lot about what a good teammate Heyward is. Some may find it to be selfish, but any time a player wants to be in the game to help his team, I see that as a good thing.

Since signing that massive eight-year contract before the 2016 season, Heyward, before this season, had been a disappointment at the plate (though his defense has still been solid). Thus, he’s received a lot of criticism for that. Yet give him credit for continuing to be a strong presence for this club.

For example, even though he was struggling down the stretch in 2016, he still found the strength to give that famous speech during the rain delay of Game 7 of the World Series. We can debate how much that mattered in the outcome of the game, but it still proves Heyward’s character.

This year, the icing on the cake has been the fact that Heyward seems to have figured it out at the plate and is having perhaps his best season. Today’s game came less than 24 hours after he hit a three-run homer off Josh Hader in the ninth to win Saturday night’s game. Heyward seems to have endured himself to Cubs fans more so than ever this year.

Whether Heyward has indeed figured it out with the bat or this season ends up being by far his best moving forward, his legacy with the Cubs will mean much more than how much hitting he does. He will be remembered for being a good teammate, and Sunday’s game is just one example of that. Hopefully, he’ll get his due from fans for that.