Heyward credits yoga, meditation for early-season rebound

After what he went through at the plate last season, Jason Heyward was willing to try anything to get his hitting back on track.

Although Heyward's Gold Glove-winning defensive work helped the Chicago Cubs win the 2016 World Series, things were very different for him as a hitter. He stumbled through the worst season of his eight-year career, hitting just seven homers with an OPS+ of 70 in 592 plate appearances (among other career worsts) before having an even worse postseason. That $184-million contract the Cubs gave him the previous winter was starting to look like an enormous albatross.

But Heyward's turned things around over the first two months of 2017, and he credits those improvements to a chance offseason encounter with former big-league outfielder Darnell McDonald, who retired four years ago and now works as the Cubs' mental skills coordinator. Heyward told Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci that McDonald introduced him to yoga and meditation and the pair worked together all through the winter and spring training; as a result, the 27-year-old now feels like his mind's been freed to succeed at the plate.

"He was there (at the Cubs' Arizona complex) all offseason, and it just worked out," Heyward told Verducci. "I hadn't done any meditation before. I thought, 'Am I going to be adding something else to think about?' But it actually simplifies that and allows you to not think about too much."

The old Heyward appears to have resurfaced. Through his first 31 games of 2017, he's hitting .257/.341/.394 with four homers - after hitting zero in his first 31 contests of 2016 - and an OPS+ of 95. While hitting coaches did play a role in his re-emergence, Heyward's giving all the credit to McDonald and his meditation techniques, which have moved last year's struggles into the rearview mirror.

"It's a change from last year for sure," Heyward said of the differences between himself now versus a year ago. "It didn't start off snowballing last year, but the more balls I hit hard became outs, and then you've got days you're not playing, it can begin to snowball.

"But now I've got nothing on that. It's back where I was before. I'm not afraid of anything. Whatever happens, happens."