Reincarnation: “He Cometh with Clouds”

Written by: on 8th March 2010

Reincarnation: “He Cometh with Clouds” | read this item

If you’re a theology major, yes, I mixed two religions – Hinduism and Christianity. Sue me.* What you should really be putting your energy into is the emergence of the Atlanta Brave’s new outfielder, Jason Heyward.

He’s the second coming in Atlanta, a team that hasn’t reached the Promised Land in over a decade. They’ve been waiting a long time for fresh power and a star that can go supernova at anytime.

Alright, so I entitled this piece “Reincarnation.” The ironic part being that he has “come back” as a player who isn’t dead and hopefully won’t be anytime soon: Fred McGriff.

Yes, that Fred McGriff.

Future Hall of Famer Fred McGriff.

Former Atlanta Braves slugger Fred McGriff.

Tom Emanski spokesman Fred McGriff.

Let’s compare some pedigree information.

Fred McGriff: 6’4”

Jason Heyward: 6’4”

Fred McGriff: Lefty

Jason Heyward: Lefty

Fred McGriff: Most games played with Atlanta Braves

Jason Heyward: Most games played with Atlanta Braves (yes, I know, but zero is a number)

Fred McGriff: Born in Florida, the state that decided the 2000 Presidential Election

Jason Heyward: Born in New Jersey, the state that decided that Mike Sorrentino had the “situation” under control

Alright, the first two are the only true similarities, but let me go on.

I’ve been watching Heyward on the MLB Network and the two things that tell me he will have a McGriff-like career are 1.) His swing and 2.) His size.

McGriff’s swing and Heyward’s aren’t carbon copies of one another, but both start and finish with one common trait: balance. Balance is the key to life. It harmonizes the world, restores order, and when it comes to baseball, can make for one hell of a homerun swing.

Both have rather upright stances (McGriff crouches a bit), while Heyward positions himself more imposing, like Ryan Howard.

Before I go any further I’ll be using nerdy physics terminology, so you might want to consult Wikipedia or if you’re Sarah Palin, your hand. Too soon? Probably too late.

Moving on…

“Speed. Speed is what we need.” – Mick, Rocky II.

I don’t have video to show side by side slow motion of their swings, but they both generate their power through torque. Their upper bodies rotate violently like a tornado, with speed being the factor of effectiveness. This can only happen if the player has a great strike-zone discipline, (to which Baseball America gave Heyward the top ranking for the Braves), or your hips have more activity than Tornado Alley.

McGriff knew the strike-zone and played it to the tune of a .284 career batting average. Heyward is a .318 career hitter in the minors.

But the swing is something that can be taught and so can the strike-zone. It can be taught to the point of perfection through repetition of both exercises and game situations. What I’ve always been told was that, “You can’t teach size.” And that’s what both of these guys possess.

“It’s how you use it…” – Every man’s fallback plan.

McGriff’s Achilles’ heel was his inability to hit a splitter or any pitch that dove in front of him. He never lunged for pitches because he always stayed on the ball for as long as possible. Now, height doesn’t mean a longer reach and even if it did, it wouldn’t translate into power. Height does two things: it creates a longer arc for your arms which means more centrifugal force and it compensates for velocity. The pitcher has to throw slightly up to hit your strike-zone, thus minimizing the maximum point of velocity. McGriff only needed to wait for the ball to come to him, much like we see Heyward doing now.

When I first watched Heyward take a swing I saw that his feet weren’t quiet and thought, “Gee, not another empty-brained slugger.” What I didn’t realize was that he was balanced until the very last second, and this has to do with his height. (Remember, he can wait on pitches until they’ll almost past him). Heyward creates so much force with his swing through impact, that if his feet didn’t move he’d snap his left leg. Look at Tiger Woods swing a club and watch his left leg. It’s as stiff as a telephone pole. The reason Tiger had to have surgery was because he was exerting so much force and not much release. So when you see Heyward “come out” of his shoes it’s mainly because he needs a release point.

Heyward’s height will take his career to another level, maybe even higher than McGriff’s. He has forty more pounds of muscle than McGriff ever had and that helps when it comes to covering the plate. While McGriff couldn’t hit those diving curveballs or splitters, a bulkier player like Heyward can go down and get one because he swings a heavier mass at the same rate of speed without losing force.

“Imitation is the sincerest form of fakery.” – Me, upon realizing the unfounded argument of the article.

In McGriff’s first season with the Braves in 1993, he took them to the NLCS where they lost to the Phillies (last year’s World Series runner up). The Braves showcased another young rookie named Chipper Jones (the only remnant of the 1993 team on the 2010 team) and they signed a former twenty game winner Greg Maddux (the 2009 Brave’s signed former twenty game winner Derek Lowe). Not to mention the 1993 Braves had a 32 year old Terry Pendleton who had already played in three World Series’, sort of like 32 year old Eric Hinske, who had also played in three World Series’.

It is a bit of a stretch, but history has a tendency to repeat itself and trends always come back in a big way. While McGriff was not a rookie, his insertion into the 1993 lineup was exactly what the Braves needed – a bat to compliment David Justice. Heyward is going to be a tremendous help to upping McCann’s numbers and taking some pressure off Chipper Jones.

Look, McGriff was a lanky lefty who played 19 seasons of whiplash baseball and was a healthy player for most of his career. It’s yet to be seen whether Heyward will produce for 19 years, but given his strong similarities to McGriff, it really boils down to a question of faith. In the short amount of time I’ve studied Heyward, he’s made a believer out of me.

*Note – please do not sue me. I have challenged many readers to sue me already and thus far I have lost every time. For now on, simply write a comment or send me a mean email at stephen.okawa@gmail.com.

Stephen Okawa is the College Baseball Editor for Gotham Baseball and the Co-Executive Producer of Gotham Baseball LIVE. You can contact him here, or follow him on Twitter and add him on Facebook.

Topics: Atlanta Brave, Atlanta Braves, Carbon Copies, Emergence, Fred Mcgriff, Fresh Power, Future Hall, Hall Of Famer, Hinduism And Christianity, Homerun, jason heyward, Key To Life, Lefty, Outfielder, Presidential Election, Ryan Howard, Second Coming, Situation Under Control, Sorrentino, Tom Emanski