Imrem: Heyward's slump is looking up

Nothing new in the first inning at Wrigley Field on Sunday night.

Cardinals first baseman Matt Carpenter drove a liner into right field and Jason Heyward made a stretching, diving, sprawling catch.

Heyward did a lot of that last season, his first with the Cubs.

What is new in 2017 is that Heyward is looking better at the plate.

Then again, he hardly could look worse.

After the Cubs came home with a six-game losing streak, Heyward was in the middle of rallies in all three games of the sweep over the Cardinals during the weekend.

No, Heyward isn't putting up Hall-of-Fame numbers but he still might win both the Most Improved and Comeback Player awards this season anyway.

Average: .258 isn't great but better than last season's .230. Home runs: 5 aren't great unless you had 7 all of last season. RBI: 23 aren't great but a better pace than 49 all of last season.

Better is better than not better and Heyward has been better.

As satisfying as this is for Heyward, it also is for those who have spent time around him since he arrived here.

Heyward is an athlete easy to root for as evidenced by a weird sensation that came over me during spring training.

I watched televised Cubs games from Arizona. I checked the papers for box scores. I called up the club's website for reports.

The Cactus League is something that should transpire in the dark regardless of how sunny it is down there.

So what was so interesting?

Jason Heyward, that's what.

So much was made of the Cubs outfielder's remodeled swing that the early results seemed to matter.

Oh, and there was something else that drew me toward Heyward's story: The way he carries himself.

From the time he arrived as a free agent prior to the 2016 season, this clearly was one classy athlete — and not a phony kind of classy.

Being pleasant isn't easy when you're in a season-long slump. It especially isn't easy when so much is expected after you signed a free-agent contract worth $184 million over eight years.

“He was upset with himself,” Cubs manager Joe Maddon said Sunday afternoon of Heyward's 2016.

Yet, instead of booing the struggling new guy, fans treated him with respect similar to how he treats them, the game, the media, teammates and opponents.

Part of the slack afforded Heyward was due to the Cubs winning, and then winning some more, and ultimately winning the World Series.

It didn't hurt that Heyward's teammates praised him for all the other qualities he brought to the game like defense, baserunning and leadership.

Jason Heyward could be a model for how professional athletes should conduct themselves if they want to be fully appreciated.

The rest of the story is that Heyward worked all offseason to change his batting mechanics and approach.

“He understood why the swing he had in the past was getting in the way of success,” Maddon said. “He wanted to do something about it.”

Heyward is much improved with, according to Maddon, much more improvement to come.

“I think the biggest jump you're going to see,” Maddon said, “is just more consistency with the power … the ball going out of the ballpark.”

Jason Heyward remains a work in progress but it's easy to pull for him to be all he's expected to be.

mimrem@dailyherald.com