Major League Baseball

Cardinals' Heyward stays hot

Published Jun. 22, 2015 11:18 p.m. ET

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If you look across baseball, it'd be hard to find a hitter that's been hotter than Jason Heyward has been recently.

The Cardinals outfielder got off to a slow start this season, but has collected 11 hits in his first 20 at-bats of the current road trip.

So what's been the difference?

Well, manager Mike Matheny thinks the answer is simple. He thinks Heyward is simply doing what he knows how to do, without worrying about anything else.

“He was trying to (1) make an impression on his new team and (2) still trying to figure out the kind of hitter he wants to be,” Matheny told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. “And you always have free agency hanging over your shoulder. There are a lot of things going on all at once and it looks to me like he got rid of some of the clutter.

“He’s out there just being a pure athlete, which he is.”

While Heyward agreed with Matheny's assesment, he also gave credit to hitting coaches John Mabry and Bill Mueller.

“You get to know people," Heyward said. "You get a feel for terminologies and what kind of communications there are. When everybody’s on a common ground, it’s a more comfortable situation for everyone. It’s much easier to have conversations. I’d say it’s a good formula.”

(h/t St. Louis Post-Dispatch)

Photo Credit: Jeff Curry/Getty Images

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