Jason Heyward

Jason Alias Heyward (born August 9, 1989), nicknamed "J-Hey" is an American professional baseball outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and Chicago Cubs. Originally the Braves' first-round selection in the 2007 MLB draft from Henry County High School in Georgia, he began his minor league career at age 17. Heyward soon became one of the top-rated prospects in all of baseball for batting, speed, and defense, and debuted in MLB as Atlanta's starting right fielder on Opening Day 2010. There, he played until being traded to the Cardinals after the 2014 season. Standing 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) tall and weighing 245 pounds (111 kg), he throws and bats left-handed. He has worn uniform No. 22 throughout his major league career in honor of a high school friend and teammate who died in a traffic collision.

A three-time minor league All-Star game selection, Baseball America selected Heyward as the Braves' top overall prospect in 2007 and the organization's best power hitter; it cited Heyward as having the best strike zone discipline and excelling at multiple other skills. In 2009, he won a Minor League Player of the Year Award from both Baseball America and USA Today. That year, he batted .323 with 17 home runs (HR), 63 runs batted in (RBI), a .408 on-base percentage, and a .555 slugging percentage over 99 games. A consensus number-one MLB prospect entering the 2010 season, Baseball America, Keith Law of ESPN.com, and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com all listed Heyward as baseball's top prospect.

After making his MLB debut for Atlanta in 2010, Heyward was named to the National League (NL) All-Star team and finished second in the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Baseball America named him their MLB Rookie of the Year. Injuries limited his playing time in 2011 and 2013. With a breakout season in 2012, he hit 27 home runs with 82 RBI and 21 stolen bases while finishing tenth in the NL in runs scored with 93. Also recognized for his defense including coverage in the deepest parts of right field, he won both the Fielding Bible and NL Gold Glove Awards for right fielders in 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and Wilson's MLB Defensive Player of the Year in 2014. He is widely regarded as one of the best outfield defenders in baseball.

## Early life

The son of Dartmouth graduates, Jason Heyward was born on August 9, 1989, in Ridgewood, New Jersey. His father, Eugene, is from Beaufort, South Carolina, and mother, Laura, is from New York City; they met at Dartmouth. Eugene played basketball and majored in engineering and Laura studied French. Eugene's uncle, Kenny Washington, played basketball for two John Wooden-led NCAA championship UCLA teams in 1964 and 1965. Jason has one younger brother, Jacob (b. 1995), who attended the University of Miami and played baseball for the Hurricanes. Jacob was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in 2016 and has played in the minors since.

The Heywards moved to the Atlanta metropolitan area soon after he was born. Jason played and showed marked ability in baseball from an early age. Before he turned 10, he played for a national championship. Eugene helped fuel both of his sons' passion for baseball. He dedicated himself to driving them to every tournament and competition possible in the family Chevrolet Suburban, which racked up hundreds of thousands of miles between the events and his 90-minute work commute to and from Robins Air Force Base to the south in Houston County.

While his father emphasized that working hard and approaching the game with discipline were important, he also stressed that baseball was to be, above all else, fun. Heyward has maintained this same approach throughout his youth and professional career. One tournament in which he played was the renowned East Cobb Baseball program, where he was a standout and has produced other major league players. Heyward attended Henry County High School in McDonough near Atlanta. Heyward briefly played basketball in his youth but concentrated exclusively on baseball in high school at his father's urging. In February 2010, an Associated Press reporter learned from a varsity coach that Heyward's early batting practice exploits proved fatal to an oak tree in deep center field at the high school playing field.

Facing off against future Major League Baseball (MLB) catcher Buster Posey of Lee County High in the Georgia Class AAAA baseball championship during Heyward's sophomore year, Henry County won two of the best-of-three series. Posey was actually the starting pitcher in the first game as Henry Country prevailed, 2–1. Heyward hit a game-tying 400 feet (120 m) home run in Game 2 to cap an eight-run comeback, but Lee County prevailed 14–10. The next game, Heyward's three-run single was the game and series winner in a 16–14 outcome. During his junior season, he again helped lead the Henry County High Warhawks to the state championship. As a senior, he batted .520 with eight home runs (HR) and 29 runs batted in (RBI).

One of Heyward's close friends and teammates from the 2005 AAAA Georgia state championship team, Andrew Wilmot, died in a traffic collision while attending college. Wilmot was a catcher who wore the uniform number 22, the number Heyward would later wear in his major league career to honor him. Wilmot's mother, Tammie Ruston, was Heyward's high school literature teacher in his senior year.

Numerous colleges showed interest and recruited Heyward, including UCLA, which offered a full-ride scholarship due in part to the family connection. Heyward was also especially interested in Clemson and Georgia Tech. Concurrently, the hometown Atlanta Braves had followed and scouted him for years, while attempting to conceal their excitement.

## Professional career

### Draft and minor leagues

Heyward was the 14th overall selection by Atlanta in the 2007 Major League Baseball draft. Despite signing a National Letter of Intent with UCLA, he chose professional baseball over college and signed a contract with the team worth \$1.7 million – \$170,000 more than MLB's slot recommendation of \$1.53 million on August 12. It was the same as the 2006 14th-slot amount that the Toronto Blue Jays gave Travis Snider.

At age 17, Heyward began his professional career in Minor League Baseball in the Braves' system. He played for both the Gulf Coast League Braves and the Danville Braves of the Appalachian League in 2007. He homered in his first professional game. In 12 minor league contests in 2007, he batted .302 with one home run and six runs batted in (RBIs). He split the next season with Class-A Rome of the South Atlantic League (SAL) and Advanced-A Myrtle Beach of the Carolina League.

Starting the season with Rome, Heyward batted .330 (33-for-100) in April 26 games to go with three home runs, 16 RBI and seven stolen bases (SB). He was subsequently named the club's Player of the Month. In each month that followed, he also batted over .300, except for July: .345 in May, .315 in June, .250 in July, and .386 in August. From May 7–19, he put together a season-high 11-game hitting streak, batting .386 with five doubles (2B) and two home runs. He drove in a season-high five runs on June 30 against Columbus to go with three hits, including a home run.

While playing for Rome, Heyward had 42 multi-hit games, including two four-hit games. He finished in the top three in nine offensive categories for the club. He batted .351 (33-for-94) off left-handed pitchers (LHP) with four home runs and .315 (112-for-355) with seven home runs against right-handed pitchers (RHP). His season totals with the club included a .323 batting average (third in the SAL), .388 on-base percentage (OBP, fourth), 88 runs scored (fifth), and an .874 on-base plus slugging percentage (OPS, sixth).

The Braves promoted him to Myrtle Beach on August 25, where he played seven more games. With four hits in 22 AB, his average was .182. There, he added four RBI. Between the two clubs, his .316 batting average led the Braves' minor league system, 91 runs ranked second, 29 doubles and 149 hits both ranked fifth, and six triples and .854 OPS both ranked sixth. He also totaled 15 stolen bases.

More awards followed the 2008 season. Baseball America named Heyward the South Atlantic League's Most Outstanding Prospect, Top Batting Prospect, and Most Exciting Player. He was also a Baseball America All-Star for the entire minor leagues, Mid- and Post-Season All-Star, Low-Class A All-Star, and the Braves' second-best prospect. MLB.com named him the third-best overall minor league prospect. ESPN.com named him the minor leagues' best corner outfield prospect, the \#1 Atlanta prospect, and third-overall minor-league prospect.

Starting 2009 at Myrtle Beach, Heyward then gained successive promotions to Double-A Mississippi and Triple-A Gwinnett that year. He reached base in 42 of 49 contests at Myrtle Beach and assembled 16 multi-hit contests. He was the Carolina League Player of the Week on May 18 after garnering six hits in 23 at-bats (.261), with three home runs and five RBI. In late May, he endured an oblique injury, which caused him to miss several games. He was a selection to the Carolina League All-Star team but missed the game due to the oblique injury. He participated in the All-Star Futures Game at Busch Stadium, where he collected one hit in two at-bats. He carried a nine-game hitting streak through July 4.

On July 4, the Braves promoted Heyward to Mississippi, where he extended the streak to 13 games, totaling 19 hits in 52 at-bats (.352) with four doubles and 14 RBI. On July 16, he matched a career-high with four hits. For that month, he attained 34 hits, 14 walks, 11 doubles, three home runs, 19 RBI, and a 1.230 OPS in 22 games. The Braves named him their Mississippi Player of the Month. His totals with the club included a .446 OBP and 1.057 OPS. From September 5–7, he appeared with the Gwinnett Braves of the Triple-A of the International League. He also played four games with the Peoria Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League (AFL), collecting four hits in 14 AB and three 2B.

Over three levels in 99 games, he batted .323 with 17 home runs and 10 steals, including high numbers in OBP (.408), slugging percentage (SLG, .555), and OPS (.963), while scoring 69 runs and driving in 63 runs. He ranked in the top ten in the organization in many offensive categories including second in runs, third in average, home runs and OPS, sixth in hits (117) and RBI and tied for seventh in doubles (25). He displayed consistent hitting ability against both RHP and LHP. In 2009, Heyward hit .339 in 112 AB against LHP and .316 against RHP. In his minor league career through 2009, he had batted .335 with six home runs against left-handed pitchers and .313 with 23 home runs against right-handed pitchers.

That September, both Baseball America and USA Today named him their Minor League Player of the Year. A consensus number-one MLB prospect entering the 2010 season, Baseball America, Keith Law of ESPN.com and Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com each listed Heyward as baseball's top prospect; BA ranked him ahead of Stephen Strasburg and Giancarlo Stanton. Further, Baseball America tabbed him the \#1 prospect in both the Southern and Carolina Leagues, the Best Batting Prospect in all of Double-A and the Most Exciting Player in Single-A. He won the Braves' organization Hank Aaron Award (not to be confused with MLB's Hank Aaron Award), conferred annually to the top offensive player in the Braves organization.

During his first three years in the minor leagues, Baseball America also ranked parts of Heyward's skill sets as the best among Braves minor leaguers, including Best Strike-Zone Discipline (three times), Best Hitter for Average (twice), Best Hitter for Power (once), Best Defensive Outfielder (once) and Best Outfield Arm (once). The Braves added Heyward to their 40-man roster before the 2010 season.

### Atlanta Braves (2010–2014)

#### 2010

After a rapid ascent through the minor leagues, the Braves invited Heyward to spring training in March 2010. There, his hitting continued to draw notice, as he routinely hit "rockets" all over the field and over the fences, compelling manager Bobby Cox to make him a regular in the lineup. He mentioned that he heard the balls hit off Heyward's bat made a different, more pronounced sound. Reggie Jackson, a New York Yankees special assistant, concurred, characterizing that sound as "stereo," while everyone else was "in AM." Heyward hit two notable batting practice home runs at the Champion Stadium training complex in the Lake Buena Vista, Florida. One damaged a Coca-Cola truck in the parking lot, and another broke the sunroof of Atlanta Braves' assistant general manager Bruce Manno's car. He was initially issued uniform number 71. At the end of spring training, he asked the team for and received number 22. He presented one of his jerseys with the number 22 to Ruston to show that he honored her son, which elicited an emotional reaction from her.

By now one of the most anticipated prospects in all baseball, shirts depicting his nickname, "The J-Hey Kid," was in high demand before he even played his first official major league game. Fans and pundits prognosticated on a future Hall of Fame career, eliciting comparisons to former greats such as Darryl Strawberry, Willie McCovey and Willie Mays, among many others. In fact, "The J-Hey Kid" was drawn from Mays' nickname, "The Say Hey Kid." On March 26, after leading the club in on-base and slugging percentages in spring training, the Braves named Heyward their starting right fielder.

Eugene Heyward purchased 60 tickets in advance of his son's MLB debut on April 5 against the Chicago Cubs. Wearing Heyward's \#22 jersey, Ruston was also in attendance for the game. During his first MLB plate appearance – and first swing at an MLB pitch – Heyward hit a three-run home run, estimated at 471 feet (144 m), off starter Carlos Zambrano. The ball landed near the right-field seats where Ruston was sitting. Heyward became the fifth player in Braves history to hit a home run in his first major league at-bat and the 11th in franchise history to do so in his MLB debut on the heels of Jordan Schafer, who did it the previous year.

Through Atlanta's first 50 games, Heyward robustly lived up to the hype, hitting 10 home runs while batting .301 with a .421 OBP and .596 slugging percentage. He was named the National League (NL) Rookie of the Month in both April and May. However, after sustaining a thumb injury while sliding in May, Heyward missed playing time. After he returned later in the season, his performance declined and consistency was elusive. He was selected as a starter for the NL All-Star team but did not participate due to his thumb injury.

After stealing home in a double steal against the Washington Nationals in the first inning on July 28, he became the first Brave to do it since Rafael Furcal, who stole home more than ten years earlier. A 16–5 victory over the Cubs on August featured Heyward's first MLB multi-home run game and career highs in hits and runs scored with four each. In the final 112 games of the season, Heyward batted .266 with a .381 OBP and .396 SLG. His postseason debut was on October 7 in the National League Division Series (NLDS) against the San Francisco Giants. Heyward was hitless in three at bats with two strikeouts. After he collected just two hits in the series, San Francisco eliminated Atlanta on their way to winning the World Series.

Heyward finished his first major league season with a .277 batting average, .393 on-base percentage, 18 home runs, 29 doubles, 91 bases on balls, and 83 runs scored in 142 regular season games. He ranked fourth overall in the NL in OBP and walks. His longest streak of reaching base was 36 consecutive games. At the time, his OBP was the second-highest in major league history for a rookie aged 20 years or younger, after Ted Williams and before Frank Robinson, and OPS of .849 placed 30th in all MLB history counting rookie seasons. The recipient of several major awards, Heyward was named the Sporting News NL Rookie of the Year, Baseball America'''s MLB Rookie of the Year, an outfielder on the magazine's All-Rookie Team, and to Topps' Major League Rookie All-Star Team. He finished second to Posey for the NL Rookie of the Year award and 20th in the NL Most Valuable Player (MVP) award balloting.

#### 2011

Heyward's second MLB season commenced in a fashion that reprised the high expectations from his rookie season, but injuries ultimately factored into a lengthy and dramatic slump. In the spring, he was diagnosed with a degenerative condition in his lower back. Like his first MLB at-bat, he began with a home run in his first at-bat of the season on March 31, of Nationals pitcher Liván Hernández. He became just the second player, after Kazuo Matsui, to homer in his first major league at-bat on opening day, and do the same the following year. Since being drafted in 2007, it was also the third time Heyward homered in his first game of the season.

In a back-and-forth game with the Giants on April 24, he hit a go-ahead home run off relief pitcher Jeremy Affeldt in a 9–6, ten-inning victory. In the final eight games of the month, he hit .400 with three home runs and a .714 slugging percentage. For the month of April, Heyward hit seven home runs with an .879 OPS. Having previously been represented by Victor Menocal from Career Sports Entertainment (CSE) until Menocal resigned from CSE, news emerged on May 6 that Heyward switched his agent to Casey Close.

From the beginning of spring training, Heyward endured lingering shoulder soreness. After collecting just four hits in 41 at-bats in May, the Braves performed a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan on May 12 which revealed an inflamed rotator cuff but no structural damage. He rested and received a cortisone injection, but aggravated the injury days later during batting practice. The Braves placed him on the disabled list (DL) on May 22. Public criticism from teammate Chipper Jones for not playing through his injuries followed the next month; said Jones, "I think where Jason might have erred was the comment that he made, 'I'm not coming back until it doesn't hurt anymore.' ... What Jason needs to realize is that Jason at 80 percent is a force, and Jason at 80 percent is better than a lot of people in this league." Jones later explained that he reassured Heyward in a phone call that he did not intend to misrepresent Heyward's efforts to rehabilitate.

Heyward returned from the DL with increased difficulty to drive the ball while batting. A sixth-inning home run against the Baltimore Orioles on July 1 was Heyward's first since April 29 against the St. Louis Cardinals, a span of 104 at-bats. However, he hit just four home runs from the end of April through August 11. Further, his walk rate declined from 14.6 percent the year before to 10.7 percent. His line drive rate in that time dropped from 17.8 to 13 percent and one-quarter of his balls hit in the air were infield pop-ups, compared with eight percent the year before. During a game against the Chicago Cubs on August 23, he hit his first career grand slam.

Through the end of August, the Braves were the NL wild card leader. However, the Cardinals overcame a 10+1⁄2-game deficit for the wild card position by winning 20 of their final 28 to eliminate the Braves from the playoffs on the final day, consummating one of the epic late-season collapses in MLB history. After battling a shoulder injury from the beginning of the season, Heyward's overall performance dropped off from his rookie season. His batting average dropped 50 points to .227; his other contributions, also in decline, included 14 home runs, 42 RBI, 18 doubles, and nine stolen bases in 128 games. He batted .240 against right-handed pitchers, compared with .192 against left-handers.

#### 2012

To remedy the decline in performance from the season before, Heyward took extra steps in his preseason preparation. He streamlined his swing to mitigate bad habits incorporated after the shoulder injury. He modified his diet to include more fruits, chicken, and fish. Further, he participated in physical therapy to strengthen the shoulder and worked for a leaner weight, dropping from 256 pounds (116 kg) to 235 pounds (107 kg). He started the 2012 season slowly. However, his bases loaded double on May 13 off Lance Lynn proved the game-winning run as the Braves triumphed over the Cardinals, 7–4.

With a .233 batting average through May, his production increased in June. His first multi-HR game of the season, and second of his career, on June 7 helped secure an 8–2 victory over the Marlins. That month, he batted .353 with six home runs and a 1.080 OPS. He also registered four outfield assists, including one that put Mark Teixeira out at home plate on June 19, preserving a 4–3 win over the New York Yankees.

The following game, also at Yankee Stadium, he launched two home runs for his third career – and second of the season – multi-HR game. It was a contest that featured nine home runs between the two clubs, tying a Yankee Stadium record, including the original incarnation built-in 1923. That same week, ending June 24, he won his first NL Player of the Week Award. In six interleague games, he batted a league-leading .522 (12-for-23) and 1.130 slugging percentage. Further, his three home runs, 12 hits, 26 total bases, and nine runs scored each tied for the league lead. He also added three multi-hit games and five RBI.

In a 12-game hitting streak that spanned from June 13–27, Heyward batted .455 (20-for-44) and homered four times. One hit during that streak was a single on June 16 against the Baltimore Orioles that ended Jason Hammel's no-hit bid in the seventh inning to leave him a one-hit complete game shutout in the Orioles' 5–0 victory. Heyward's home run in an 8–2 defeat of the Marlins on July 30 helped end Atlanta's streak of 16 losses on Mondays.

After the season, Heyward captured his first career defensive awards for right fielders: the singular MLB Fielding Bible Award, and his first NL Rawlings Gold Glove Award. In 158 games, his batting statistics included a .269 average with career highs of 27 home runs, 82 RBI, 93 runs scored, 158 hits, 30 doubles, six triples, .479 slugging percentage and 21 SB. He batted .300 (105-for-350) with 20 home runs against right-handers but just .224 (53-for-237) against left-handers. It was the second time he received consideration in the NL MVP balloting, finishing tied for 28th.

#### 2013

On January 18, 2013, the Braves avoided arbitration with Heyward in his first time eligible, agreeing on a one-year, \$3.65 million deal. He was counted on as a component in the outfield including newly acquired brothers Justin and B. J. Upton, with whom he would play until being traded after the 2014 season. An appendectomy on April 22 led him to being placed on the 15-day disabled list. In his first 31 games of the season, he batted .142 (15-for-106) with two home runs and eight RBI. He returned from the appendectomy on May 17, going 2-for-4 in an 8–5 win against the Dodgers. His first multi-HR game of the season came against San Diego on June 10.

In 37 games following the All-Star break, Heyward batted .305 with on OBP of .397 and OPS of .932. He collected 40 hits in 131 at-bats with nine doubles, seven home runs, and 17 RBI. During a 19-game stretch from July 28 to August 17, he batted .400 (30-for-75) with a .457 OBP, six doubles, five home runs – four as a leadoff hitter – 15 RBI, eight BB, and 23 runs scored. On August 17, he hit his second multi-HR game of the season against Washington. In August, his .348 batting average (23 hits in 66 AB) ranked tenth in the NL.

New York Mets pitcher Jon Niese hit Heyward in the face with a pitch on August 21, fracturing his jaw in two places. He had surgery, which required the insertion of two plates, and returned on September 20. Heyward began wearing a protective shield attached to the right side of his batting helmet. He struck out and walked in a 9–5 win against the Chicago Cubs.

Six days later, Heyward set career highs against Philadelphia with five hits, four extra-base hits and matched a career-best three doubles. He also hit his third career – and second of the season – leadoff home run. In his last 31 games of the season, starting July 28, he hit at a .333 (38-for-114) clip. He batted .322 (38-for-118) with a .403 OBP in 30 games as a leadoff hitter. After two stints on the DL, Heyward appeared in 104 total games, batting .254 with 14 home runs, 22 2B, 38 RBI, 67 runs scored, and two stolen bases. The Braves record was 71–33 in the games in which he appeared.

#### 2014

The Braves bought out Heyward's last arbitration-eligible years on February 4, 2014, agreeing on a two-year, \$13.3 million contract. Already rated one of the top defensive outfielders in the league, his coverage in right field significantly improved, demonstrated through an increased defensive runs saved (DRS) total. Through May 19, he registered 16 DRS, matching three of his previous four entire season totals. Inside Edge (IE) charted that of all batted balls hit to him, Heyward had missed a total of nine in 358 innings; all nine were rated as having a 10% or lower chance of being caught. Two catches in motion off the bat of Mike Trout – one tumbling on a sinking line drive and one sprinting and leaping at the warning track – helped ensure a 7–3 victory over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on June 15. Heyward also added a home run.

Playing as the Braves' primary leadoff hitter, he played in 149 games and finished with a .271 batting average, .351 on-base percentage, 74 runs scored, 11 home runs, 58 RBI and 20 stolen bases. Caught stealing just four times, his 83.33% success rate placed seventh in the NL. Defensively, Heyward registered a standout season. In 149 games in right field, he led the NL at his position in putouts (365), assists (nine), range factor per nine innings (2.56) and game (2.51), fielding percentage (.997), and total zone runs (30). Among all NL outfielders, he was fifth in assists, third in range factor per game and second in putouts and fielding percentage.

Further, per Baseball-Reference.com, Heyward registered fourth in the league with 2.8 defensive wins above replacement (dWAR) and led all MLB players with 32 total DRS. He saved 40 bases on deep-hit balls, which was the highest output of his career and led all MLB outfielders. Accordingly, Heyward was the recipient of several awards, including his second of both the Rawlings NL Gold Glove Award and the Fielding Bible Award for all MLB right fielders, the latter of which he won unanimously. Wilson Sporting Goods named him their MLB right field Defensive Player of the Year and overall MLB Defensive Player of the Year.

### St. Louis Cardinals (2015)

On November 17, 2014, the Braves traded Heyward to the St. Louis Cardinals along with pitcher Jordan Walden for pitchers Shelby Miller and Tyrell Jenkins to replace their former right fielder and top prospect Oscar Taveras, who died in a car accident a month earlier. Cardinals manager Mike Matheny, who wore uniform \#22 and had also done so for most of his playing career, gave his number to Heyward. Heyward wears this number to honor his friend Andrew Wilmot. After the trade was announced, Heyward published a Twitter message thanking the Atlanta Braves organization and fans for their support.

Five years to the day of his MLB debut, Heyward appeared in his first game as a Cardinal against the Chicago Cubs on April 5, 2015. He garnered three hits, including two doubles and a stolen base in a 3–0 victory. His first home run as a Cardinals player was on April 18 against the Cincinnati Reds at Busch Stadium with a 5–2 win. After uncharacteristic errors in both of the two previous games, his ninth-inning home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks on May 27 tied the game 3–3, and the Cardinals eventually won with a score of 4–3. He homered in three straight games June 22–24, including successive contests against the Marlins from June 23–24 as St. Louis won both times. On July 18 against the Mets, he matched a career high with five hits in a 12–2 win.

In an August 16 contest against the Marlins, Heyward hit two home runs for his first multi-home run game with the Cardinals. An important defensive play was on September 20 against the Cubs. With the bases loaded and no outs in the eighth inning, Addison Russell hit a fly ball that Heyward caught running and threw home to catcher Yadier Molina to tag out Anthony Rizzo by two steps, preserving a 4–3 win. In the second game of a doubleheader against Pittsburgh on September 30, Heyward hit his second career grand slam in an 11–1 win, giving the Cardinals their 100th victory of the season while clinching their third consecutive National League Central division title. He also robbed both Francisco Cervelli and Michael Morse of hits in this game.

Heyward finished the season with a career-high .293 batting average, .359 on-base percentage, and .439 slugging percentage. Since his major league debut, he also had led all major league fielders in DRS and, for the previous three seasons, was second only to former Braves teammate Andrelton Simmons. Among all outfielders since 2010, Heyward's 96.2 accumulated ultimate zone rating (UZR) led all major league outfielders to second-place Alex Gordon's 68.3 UZR. After becoming a free agent for the first time in his career, Heyward won his third Fielding Bible Award and third Gold Glove Award.

### Chicago Cubs (2016–2022)

#### 2016

On December 15, 2015, Heyward signed an eight-year, \$184 million contract with the Cubs. One of his first acts after signing his contract was to pay for hotel suites large enough to accommodate teammate David Ross, his wife, and their three young children on all of the Cubs' road trips during the 2016 season. Ross, set to retire after the 2016 season, had been Heyward's teammate during his first three seasons in Atlanta, and Heyward considered him a key mentor in his early MLB career. In an interview with Bleacher Report, Heyward said,

> I know how special it is to have teammates like he was my first three years in Atlanta. You don't take it for granted. I wanted to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, as a teammate and as a friend, for what he's done for me.

Heyward struggled in his first season with the Cubs in 2016, batting only .230 with 7 home runs and 49 RBIs, while leading the majors in percentage of soft-hit batted balls (27.1%), though he would win his 4th Gold Glove award that season.

In Game 4 of the 2016 National League Division Series against the San Francisco Giants with the Cubs having a 2–1 series lead, Heyward reached on a bunt force out, moved to second on an errant throw, and scored the go-ahead run on a Javier Baez single, sending the Cubs to the 2016 National League Championship Series.

On October 25, 2016, Heyward, along with teammates Dexter Fowler, Addison Russell, and Carl Edwards Jr., became the first African-Americans to play for the Cubs in a World Series game. Heyward was credited with leading an inspiring players-only meeting during a 17-minute rain delay near the end of Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. The Cubs eventually won the game 8–7 after 10 innings, which gave the franchise its first World Series championship in 108 years. On November 9, Heyward became the first position player in Major League Baseball history to win three straight Gold Glove Awards with three different teams (Braves, Cardinals, and Cubs).

#### 2017

On May 8, 2017, Heyward went on the 10-day disabled list due to a sprained finger he suffered in a game against the Yankees three days prior. In late June, Heyward suffered a left-hand laceration while catching a foul ball in Pittsburgh and was unavailable to play in the next series of games. In 55 of the first 67 games of the 2017 season, Heyward had improved his statistics from the prior year with a batting average of .258, a .315 OBP and .399 SLG. He was third on the team with 29 RBIs and third with 84 total bases. He was placed on the disabled list a month later with a hand injury.

Heyward chose "J-Hey" as his nickname for the Players Weekend during the 2017 season.

#### 2018

On May 8, 2018, Heyward again went on the disabled list due to concussion protocol after attempting a game-saving catch of a Dexter Fowler 14th inning home run. On June 6 Jason Heyward hit a walk-off grand slam home run with two outs in the bottom of the 9th to give the Cubs a 7–5 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. At the All-Star break Heyward's stats for the year showed continuing improvement over his previous time with the Cubs. He had a .285 batting average with 78 hits in 274 plate appearances with 6 home runs and 41 RBIs, a .344 OBP and a .431 SLG.

#### 2019

Heyward had a fast and quality start to the season. He hit two home runs and stole two bases against the Milwaukee Brewers on April 6, becoming only the 18th player—and first Cub—to have a multi-homer, multi-steal game since 1901. It was also his first multi-homer game as a Cub. On April 24, he hit a dramatic three-run home run late in the game to regain the lead in a 7–6 victory against the Los Angeles Dodgers. On May 8, Heyward hit a walk-off, solo home run against the Miami Marlins in the 11th inning, giving the Cubs a 3–2 win. This was Heyward's third walk-off hit as a Cub (second home run), also snapping a 1-for-20 slump in the process.

#### 2020

In the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Heyward batted .265/.392/.456 with 6 home runs and 22 RBIs in 50 games. His .848 OPS was his highest since his rookie season in 2010, and he recorded a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage in right field.

#### 2021

In 2021, Heyward slashed .214/.280/.347 with 8 home runs and 30 RBIs in 104 games.

#### 2022

On May 8, 2022, Heyward was placed on the injured list with a left quadriceps strain. He returned to the IL in late June. As Heyward remained on the injured list through August, Cubs general manager Jed Hoyer stated that the team would release Heyward at the end of the season. In 48 games for the Cubs, Heyward batted .204/.278/.277 with 1 home run and 10 RBI. He was officially released by Chicago on November 14.

### Los Angeles Dodgers (2023–present)

On December 8, 2022, Heyward signed a minor league contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers that included an invitation to major league spring training. He made the Dodgers Opening Day roster.

## Awards

## Skills profile

Standing 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) and weighing 245 pounds (111 kg), Heyward has shown to be an all-round talent. In the minor leagues, his ability to hit for batting average and power, speed, plus defense and arm strength sufficient to play right field, caused him to be considered a five-tool player. Further, his plate discipline and ability to draw walks are unusual for a player his height. He generates much of his power as a pull hitter.

From very early in his career, Heyward has played with outside anticipation of developing into one of the most dominant players in the league. However, he has mentioned being uncomfortable with the pressure that comes with such expectations. Journalist Bernie Miklasz of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch'' opined that the pressures of stardom obliquely induced the overall descent in performance from his rookie season.

Heyward still has a hole in his swing that has yet to resolve. While he was in the minor leagues, his unorthodox swing was not regarded as a significant issue, but rather was perceived to have worked for him because of his enormous talent. On the contrary, one scout compared it to an awkward golf swing. "You watch him, he really stiff-arms the bat out there," noting Heyward almost fully extends his arms to attempt to power the head of the bat through the strike zone. He does not protect the inside of part of the strike zone as well as the outside. That creates a weakness that allows pitchers – especially power pitchers – to throw inside, thus exploiting an inability to attain contact on inside pitches efficiently.

"The ball he hits well is the ball out away from him," according to the same scout. "If pitchers pitch around him, on the outer half, he'll crush it. ... That's why Niese hit him: He went up and in, and Heyward's a diver." Indeed, charts from STATS LLC depicting Heyward's "Hot Zones," or a hitter's zones of maximum effectiveness, corroborate the scout's findings. Through April 25, 2014, Heyward had swung at 22 of 55 pitches in 2014 that qualified as "up and in," crossing the plate either to the upper left ninth of the strike zone or slightly higher or inside of it. None of those 22 swings had produced a hit.

However, an injury contributed to lost power in 2011. Before that point, Heyward dropped his hands after the start of the swing and rotated his front shoulder in an upward motion in his mode as a pull hitter. Normally, the front half of his upper body generates bat velocity. During the time the injury had not properly healed, it hindered his ability to generate torque from his front shoulder that contributed most to driving the ball.

Despite not reaching his offensive projections, his defense has delivered as promised. Heyward has been rated as one of the top right fielders, if not the top right fielder, in MLB. The Fielding Bible staff has said that he "is the best defensive right fielder in baseball, bar none." He is an expert at instantly picking up and reacting to the path of the batted ball and following it with efficient routes. Such defensive ability was demonstrated on a fly ball off Justin Turner's bat during the 2013 season. The same play was part of a demonstration in 2014 of Major League Baseball Advanced Media's Statcast system, a hybrid of PITCHf/x, FIELDf/x, and a radar-based play tracking. Statcast analyzed that Heyward got a jump off the fly ball the bat in 2⁄100 second, ran at 18.5 miles per hour (29.8 km/h) and took a route with a 97% efficiency. The ball had 4.0 seconds of hang time and he ran 80.9 feet (24.7 m) for the catch.

In the rating of three zones to where the ball is hit in the right field in his first five seasons, he was above average at saving bases on shallow-hit (+31) and medium-hit (+40) balls. His greatest strength came with deep-hit balls (+140). In 2014 alone, he saved +40 bases on balls hit to the deepest part of right field, which was the equivalent of 20 doubles. The enormous ground coverage makes up for what would be considered a slightly below-average arm among right fielders. Commented Fielding Bible founder John Dewan, "Heyward has been able to accomplish this (winning the Fielding Bible Award) by starting and finishing every play extremely well. He excels at picking up the ball off the bat and rarely takes the wrong angle. He is not afraid to dive, demonstrating tremendous body control when doing so."

## Personal life

In September 2012, Piedmont Henry Hospital in Stockbridge, Georgia, selected Heyward as one of ten representatives for their Real Men Wear Pink campaign against breast cancer. He stated at the time one of his grandmothers was battling the condition but had improved, and that her battle was an inspiration for him to participate.

Heyward's brother, Jacob, is an outfielder in the San Francisco Giants organization. Jacob Heyward was drafted by the Braves out of high school in the 2013 MLB Draft and the San Francisco Giants in the 2016 MLB Draft.

Heyward is married to Vedrana Heyward. Their son was born in March 2022. They own a \$5.9 million mansion in the Gold Coast neighborhood of Chicago.

## See also

- List of Major League Baseball career putouts as a right fielder leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players with a home run in their first major league at bat

American baseball player (born 1989)

Baseball players from Bergen County, New Jersey


Howard Sims

Howard "Sandman" Sims (January 24, 1917 – May 20, 2003) was an African-American tap dancer who began his career in vaudeville. He was skilled in a style of dancing that he performed in a wooden sandbox of his own construction, and acquired his nickname from the sand he sprinkled to alter and amplify the sound of his dance steps. "They called the board my Stradivarius," Sims said of his sandbox.

From the 1950s to the year 2000, Sims was a regular attraction—a "fixture"—at Harlem's noted Apollo Theater, comedically ushering failed acts offstage with a hook, broom or other prop. He was also involved in New York City's Hoofers Club, a venue primarily for black tap dancers.

As part of the resurgence of interest in tap dancing in the 1980s, Sandman Sims served as a cultural ambassador, representing the United States with dance performances around the world. He was featured in the 1989 dance film Tap, along with Sammy Davis Jr., Gregory Hines and Savion Glover, demonstrating classic challenge dancing. Sims also appeared in a 1990 episode of The Cosby Show as Rudy's tap dancing teacher, facing off against Cliff (Bill Cosby) in a good-natured tap challenge.

In her review of the play based on his life, New York Times critic Anna Kisselgoff wrote, "Sims is a virtuoso among virtuosos—in a class by himself. To say Mr. Sims dances on sand is like saying Philippe Petit [the French high wire who gained fame from his illegal walk between the two World Trade Center towers in 1974] is a tightrope walker."

## Early life

Sims was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, on January 24, 1917, one of 12 children. The family soon relocated to Los Angeles, California, where he was raised. Describing his childhood, Sims said, "It was just a whole big dancing family." He learned to dance from his father, and said he was dancing as soon as he could walk. He began tap-dancing at the age of 3. He attributed some of his early love for tap dancing in particular to his mother, exasperated that he kept wearing out the toes of his shoes, putting steel taps on the shoes. Along with his brothers, Sims was dancing on the sidewalks of Los Angeles from a young age. At the age of 14, peeping in the windows of a dance school got Sims arrested for loitering, but he was able to dance his way to freedom, convincing a judge that his reason for being on that street was legitimate.

As a young man, despite his dance talent, Sims aspired to be not a professional dancer, but a professional boxer. After twice breaking his hand, he decided he needed a different means of making a living. Sims had noticed that boxing audiences reacted positively to the way he would dance in the rosin box before getting into the ring, and especially to the distinctive sound his dancing made moving the rosin granules around the wooden box. He began to consider dancing as a career alternative. Sims experimented with several different methods of reproducing the rosin box effect, gluing sandpaper to either his shoes or his dancing mat, but the sandpaper created too much wear on the other surface. Finally he found the solution: loose sand in a low-lipped box. "People went for the scraping sound ... So I made a sound board by sprinkling sand on a flat platform. That was in 1935." His sandbox remained his trademark throughout his career, with some venues even telling Sims, "If you don't bring your sandbox, don't come at all."

During this period, it was common for dancers to carry tap shoes with them and, when they encountered another dancer on the street, throw down their shoes by way of challenge. The culture of street dancing in the 1920s has been compared to the rise of break dancing six decades later. As the journal Jump Cut described it, "'challenge dancing,' in which each performer tries to outdo the other, is part of tap dancing's heritage, something like the jazz solos in which musicians try to outshine one another." Sims later described how the atmosphere of these dance challenges was at least as much collegial as combative, and how dancers learned from one another in what became essentially "open air dance schools". Despite performing at various vaudeville venues, Sims found neither fame nor success as a dancer in Los Angeles. In 1947, he tagged along on one of his professional-boxer friend Archie Moore's cross-country drives, and settled in New York City.

## Harlem

After arriving in Harlem, Sims began performing on the street as he had done in California, but faced stiff competition from other innovative dancers: "I knew people who danced on dinner plates. ... There was a man who could dance on newspapers without tearing them. And another who constructed a gigantic xylophone to tap on." He performed on corners in between working whatever jobs he could find, and then discovered the "Amateur Night" stage on Wednesdays at the Apollo Theater, where he soon gained local notoriety. He eventually won the Amateur Night competition a record-breaking 25 times, after which a rule was instituted that performers could no longer compete once they had earned four first prizes.

> When big name dancers played The Apollo, there was nothing in the audience but dancers with their shoes," said Sandman Sims. "Up in the balcony dancers, and the first six rows, you saw nothing but tap-dancers, want-to-be tap-dancers, gonna-be tap-dancers, tried-to-be tap-dancers. That's the reason a guy would want to dance at The Apollo.

By the mid-1950s, he had been hired as the Apollo's stage manager, and soon began his role as the Apollo's famed "executioner", chasing Amateur Night contestants the crowd disapproved of off the stage with a shepherd's crook (known since vaudeville times as "the hook") a broom, or other props, while dressed in a variety of wacky costumes, whether long underwear, a clown suit, or even a diaper. Backstage, however, he would console defeated contestants with the story of his having been booed off ten times before he finally got to finish his own act. Sims played "executioner" until 1989, when he departed to California to film "Tap" (he was replaced by James Brown impersonator C. P. Lacey), although one obituary says he stayed on until shortly after Time Warner took over the Apollo in 1999.

Having found work dancing did not stop him from dancing on the street, however. "If I saw a dancer, I'd challenge him. I didn't care who it was. The way to get known in New York was to be the best. That's what I strived to be." Part of the culture of street challenges, as in Los Angeles, was that competing dancers would also learn from one another.

A significant change to Sims's dancing style came about as a result of his interaction with Harlem's hoofers, practitioners of a variation on the tap he had learned on the west coast. Sims later defined the main difference between tap and hoofing as being that tap focuses on the heel and toe whereas hoofers "use the whole foot". As a result of the synergy between hoofing technique and his unique use of a sandbox, his routines were described as being "as rich in sounds and textures as they were in steps." Sims himself put it, "The feet are a set of drums."

Constance Valis Hill, in her 2009 survey Tap Dancing America: A Cultural History, described the hoofers' mecca thusly:

> At the Hoofers Club, rookie and veteran, mostly [B]lack male tap dancers assembled to share with, steal from, and challenge each other; there, new standards were set for competition. These were nothing like the formalized buck-dancing competitions of Tammany Hall, where judges sat beside, before, and beneath the stage to evaluate the [dancers'] clarity, speed, and presentation. The Hoofers Club comprised a more informal panel of peers, whose judgments could be cruel and mocking and were driven by an insistence on innovation. "Survive or die" was the credo. In an eccentric fusion of imitation and innovation, young dancers were forced to find their style and rhythmic voice. It was said that on the wall of the Hoofers Club was written: "Thou shalt not copy each other's steps — Exactly."

Though he frequently took opportunities to explain the difference between tap and hoofing to the press in later years, and tended to refer to himself as a hoofer rather than a tap dancer, Sims did practice both forms of dance. In 1949, motivated by the death of Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Sims became a founding member of the Original Copasetics, another fellowship of tap dancers that became a source of mentor-student relationships and helped bring about the revival of tap in the 1970s and 1980s.

## Decline and revival of tap

Tap dancing lost popularity with audiences beginning in the late 1940s. A number of causes factored into this decline, among them the going out of style of vaudeville-style variety shows; a new tax that forced many ballrooms to close and thus closed venues to the big bands with whom tap dancers had used to perform; trends in music that favored smaller, more intimate groups of performers; and concomitant increases in interest among audiences in watching formal modern dance and ballet performances. Sims was quoted as having said of the period that "[t]ap didn't die ... It was just neglected."

With paying gigs harder to find and paying less, Sims turned to other sources of income. Despite not having had any formal instruction himself, he taught dance, including to such later stars as Gregory Hines and Ben Vereen. He also taught footwork to boxing greats Sugar Ray Robinson and Muhammad Ali. Less glamorously, he ran a café, and even worked as a carpenter and a mechanic. Despite the lean times for hoofers, Sims was always able to put food on the table for his family, having married in 1959.

The late 1960s brought the beginning of a wave of nostalgia for tap, and Sims found his dance skills in demand again. In 1969, he was part of the all-star cast of Tap Happening, a revue that played Off-Broadway. Tap Happening was popular enough to run for several years.

The crescendo of interest in tap dancing continued, and in 1972, Sims danced in the production Best of the Hoofers at the Orpheum Theatre. "Hoofing is not a dying art form," he asserted in 1977, and subsequent events proved him right.

1979 saw the release of No Maps on My Taps, which featured Sims facing off against fellow tap stars Chuck Green—who had served as Sims's mentor during his early years in New York—and Bunny Briggs, in a three-way dance challenge. The documentary also reunited him with bandleader Lionel Hampton, whom he had toured with in years past.

In 1980, a far cry from the tiny venues he had been lucky to play just a few years earlier, Sims performed before a crowd of 2,600 fans at the Lincoln Center during the Newport Jazz Festival. Later that year, Sims was one of the instructor-performers of the By Word of Foot "teach-in" series, spending a week demonstrating his hoofing techniques for a new generation of tap enthusiasts.

As part of New York's leg of the 1981 Newport Jazz Festival (which spanned both NYC and its home city of Newport, Rhode Island, that year), he performed with former Cotton Club bandleader Cab Calloway in a production called Stompin' at the Savoy. A few weeks later, Sims was on stage at the American Dance Festival, dancing both with and without his sandbox.

By 1982, Sims was part of a promotional tour reviving interest in No Maps on My Taps with co-stars Bunny Briggs and Chuck Green, their pre-screening performances backed by Cab Calloway. Even as booked performances were coming more regularly, Sims never stopped participating in street-corner challenges, encouraging younger generations of dancers and inviting them to learn his moves.

The National Endowment for the Arts granted Sims a \$5,000 National Heritage Fellowship in 1984. "I thought I was making noise all these years," Sims said of the award. "Now they're calling it culture." He used the funds to teach dance to children in Harlem, using a parking lot in lieu of a formal dance studio, drawing on his own youth learning dance on the street. Sims later explained, "most people wait [to study dance] until after they've grown up—and then it's too late." That same year, clogger Ira Bernstein received an NEA Folk Arts Apprenticeship grant "[t]o study traditional [B]lack tap dance with master dancer Howard 'Sandman' Sims." Sims loved to teach; his son recounted how Sandman would "stop every kid he saw and show them a step and get them to copy a step. He enjoyed that more than performing in front of an audience."

### The Apollo reopens

Meanwhile, Harlem's Apollo Theater, where Sims had served for years as Amateur Night's "executioner", had been closed for most of a decade. Then, following an extensive renovation, the venue reopened in 1985, bringing increased attention to both the Apollo and his role there. "I'm their protector, not the executioner," he explained to The Washington Post. "Because that audience can get really hostile." Sims described seeing displeased audiences throw bottles and even horseshoes at performers who he did not hustle off stage fast enough. When The New York Times interviewed him about his "executioner" role, he said of the acts that got booed off, "I tell them to work on their act and come back," encouraging them to try again.

In 1986, Sims starred in The Tap Tradition at Symphony Space New York (which also hosted a showing of No Maps on My Taps), earning a rave review from The New York Times. He also made a brief appearance in a play based on his life, The Sand Dancer, which was written by poet Sandra Hochman and starred LeLand Gantt, and which received another rave review: "Sims is a virtuoso among virtuosos—in a class by himself. To say Mr. Sims dances on sand is like saying Philippe Petit is a tightrope walker." And he traveled to Los Angeles to perform in a production called Essence of Rhythm with fellow tap stars including Charles "Honi" Coles and Jimmy Slyde.

Sandman Sims was the guest star of Late Night with David Letterman on May 14, 1987. It's Showtime at the Apollo, a TV broadcast of the Apollo Theater's Amateur Night performances, began broadcasting in September 1987 on NBC stations, bringing awareness of Sims's "executioner" role to a wider audience.

A particularly busy year, 1988 saw Sims tour the world as a cultural ambassador on behalf of the U.S. State Department, traveling to over 50 countries in a span of 11 months.

By 1989, Sims's popularity was at an all-time high, and he told the Associated Press, "I can't fulfill all the work they give me. ... I can't walk out on the street without somebody showing me a time step." Tap dancing's popularity was nearing a new peak as well, with three major American cities (Houston, Texas; Portland, Oregon; Washington, D.C.) hosting tap-dance festivals. In movie theaters, the dance drama Tap was introducing Sims's footwork (and that of his former student Gregory Hines) to audiences who had never had the opportunity to see him perform before.

Playing a thinly-fictionalized version of himself named "Mr. Sims", Sims made a 1990 appearance on The Cosby Show, then one of the most popular programs on television. "Mr. Sims" was the dance instructor the Huxtables signed their young daughter Rudy up with in order to help her prepare for a class assignment about the Harlem Renaissance. During the episode, Cliff Huxtable (Bill Cosby) challenged "Mr. Sims" to a dance-off, part tribute to and part parody of Sims's real-life tap challenges, which Sims won handily. Later that same year, the Apollo Theater played host to Rat-a-Tat-Tap, another tap-dance festival, and the Sandman, "always a deserved audience favorite at tap festivals," was a featured performer there alongside his Tap co-stars Savion Glover and Gregory Hines.

Sims was a featured performer at the third annual celebration of National Tap Dance Day on May 30, 1993.

In 1998, the New York Committee to Celebrate National Tap Dance Day and the Young People's Tap Conference honored Sandman Sims for his contributions to the art of hoofing.

## In popular culture

Sandman Sims, particularly in his role as Apollo Theater executioner, has been referenced frequently in African-American culture.

- A recurring Saturday Night Live sketch featured Chris Rock as "Nat X", a satire on militant black activists. Whenever he was frustrated with a guest, he would call out "Sandman, get him out of here!" Sandman (played by Chris Farley) would enter and "sweep" the offending guest off-stage with his broom.
- On April 5, 2000, he was invoked by Huey Freeman in the long-running comic strip The Boondocks, who responded to an ineptly-told joke by saying, "Where is Sandman Sims when you need him ..."
- Performance artist Holly Bass, along with other dancers, put on another play about Sims's life at the Smithsonian Institution's American History Museum (which was then hosting an exhibit on the Apollo Theater) on July 10, 2010.
- President Barack Obama, referring to his own performance singing on the Apollo Theater stage (albeit not on Amateur Night) the evening before his 2012 State of the Union address, said, "Sandman did not come out!"

## Personal life

While Sims had a first marriage which produced his first child Diane Sims, he later married his second wife, Solange Elfassi, in 1966. They had a son together, Howard Sims Jr., as well as five grandchildren and a great-grandchild.

Particularly in later years, Sims sometimes claimed not to be certain of his birth year, at times saying it was "a matter of opinion." Asked by a fan how old he was, Sims once replied, "Any number can play."

Sims died on May 20, 2003, in New York City. He had suffered from Alzheimer's disease. A memorial service for Sims was held May 28, 2003, at the Apollo Theater.

## Filmography

- No Maps on My Taps (1979) – Himself
- Uptown: A Tribute to the Apollo Theatre (1980) – Himself
- The Cotton Club (1984) – Hoofer
- Motown Returns to the Apollo (1985) – Himself
- The Kennedy Center Honors: A Celebration of the Performing Arts (1987) — Himself
- It's Showtime at the Apollo (1987–2000) – Himself / the "executioner"
- Harlem Nights (1989) – Crapshooter
- Tap (1989) – Sandman
- Tap Dance in America (1989) – Himself
- The Cosby Show (1990) – season 6, episode 19, "Mr. Sandman" – Mr. Sims

American tap dancer

Deaths from dementia in New York (state)


Nicholas Hoult

Nicholas Caradoc Hoult (born 7 December 1989) is an English actor. His filmography includes supporting work in big-budget mainstream productions and starring roles in independent projects in the American and British film industries. He has received several accolades, including nominations for a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. He was included in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2012.

Hoult performed in local theatre productions as a child. He made his screen debut in the 1996 film Intimate Relations after being cast at age five and later appeared in several television programmes between 1998 and 2001. His breakthrough came with his role in the 2002 comedy-drama About a Boy. He achieved wider recognition for his performance as Tony Stonem in the E4 teen series Skins (2007–2008). His transition to adult roles began with the 2009 drama A Single Man, for which he earned a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination, and the fantasy film Clash of the Titans (2010). He played the mutant Hank McCoy in the 2011 superhero film X-Men: First Class, a role he reprised in later instalments of the film series.

Hoult played the titular Jack in the fantasy adventure film Jack the Giant Slayer (2013) and a zombie in the romantic comedy Warm Bodies (2013). He had a supporting role in the action film Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) and starred in a number of independent films before portraying various historical figures such as Robert Harley in the black comedy The Favourite (2018), writer J. R. R. Tolkien in Tolkien (2019), and Peter III in the Hulu comedy-drama series The Great (2020–2023). His work on the latter earned him nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award. He has since starred in the horror comedies The Menu (2022) and Renfield (2023).

Outside of film, Hoult voiced Elliot in the 2010 action role-playing game Fable III and appeared in the 2009 West End play New Boy. He supports the charitable organisations Teenage Cancer Trust and Christian Aid.

## Early life

Nicholas Caradoc Hoult was born on 7 December 1989 in Wokingham, Berkshire, to Glenis (née Brown), a piano teacher, and Roger Hoult, a commercial pilot. His middle name, Caradoc (pronounced /ka.ˈrɑː.dɔk/), is Welsh and translates to "The Beloved One". His paternal grand-aunt was Dame Anna Neagle, a stage and film actress active in the 1930s and 1940s. He has three siblings: an elder brother who is a United States–based biology student; and two sisters, both of whom are actresses. Hoult spent most of his childhood at his family's residence in Sindlesham, an estate village in the borough of Wokingham. His older siblings were interested in acting and dancing from an early age, taking classes and attending auditions. As a child, he began accompanying them and developed his own interest in acting. He discussed his childhood and his relationship with his siblings in a 2011 interview with The Guardian saying, "[we were] pretty outdoorsy normal kids running around in the garden and making tree houses ... it was very normal".

During Hoult's childhood, his father was regularly working away from home and his brother was away attending school. As a result, he spent most of his time with his mother and sisters; he said being raised by women might have helped him "steer clear of some pitfalls that guys who didn't grow up with women would fall into". Hoult was educated at The Coombes Infant and Nursery School and then Arborfield Church of England Junior School. He practised ballet with his sisters and took part in productions of Swan Lake and The Nutcracker with the English National Ballet. Although he initially wanted to attain advanced level certificates in English, Biology, and Psychology, in 2002, aged 12, he decided instead to attend acting school at Sylvia Young Theatre School. At age 14, he left to attend the Church of England's secondary school Ranelagh School in Bracknell, Berkshire. Hoult played trombone as a child and was a member of the local choir.

## Career

### 1996–2005: Early career

Hoult's acting potential was discovered at age three by a theatre director during a performance of a play that starred Hoult's brother. The director was impressed at Hoult's ability to "concentrate well" and offered him a role in his next theatre production The Caucasian Chalk Circle. Hoult began attending auditions and at age five was cast in the 1996 drama Intimate Relations, his first feature-film role. He later appeared in the television programmes Casualty, Silent Witness, The Bill, Judge John Deed, and Doctors, among others. Hoult initially treated acting as a hobby rather than a potential career option; in a March 2009 interview with The Daily Telegraph, he said he was not "in love with it ... I just enjoyed it. It was like playing for a football team. When you got a part it was great. And meeting new people. It was an exciting new world."

Hoult's next feature-film appearance came at age eleven in Chris and Paul Weitz's 2002 comedy-drama film About a Boy. Hoult was initially reluctant to audition for the role as the casting process was a lengthy one and interfered with his schooling. He nonetheless decided to participate in the early rounds of auditions and was eventually cast in the role of Marcus, a "woolly-hatted, oddball son of a suicidal, hippy-ish single mother, [who] gets bullied horribly at school". About a Boy was a commercial success, grossing more than \$130 million worldwide and receiving praise by film critics. Hoult's portrayal of a lonely schoolboy was well-received; David Thomas, writing for The Daily Telegraph, attributed the film's appeal and success to Hoult's performance. By the time the film was released, Hoult had left his junior school in Arborfield and began attending Sylvia Young Theatre School in London. He said the change was difficult; his time there was short and he preferred attending a regular school. He still did not want to pursue acting as a profession and at 14 he left Sylvia Young Theatre School in favour of Ranelagh School.

Hoult starred in Richard E. Grant's semi-autobiographical film Wah-Wah (2005) as Ralph Compton, a boy who is forced to deal with the disintegration of his family. The film, set in Swaziland during the 1960s, chronicles the waning years of the Swaziland Protectorate. Hoult made his debut in Hollywood with Gore Verbinski's film The Weather Man (2005) as the son of a television weather presenter undergoing a mid-life crisis. The film and Hoult's performance went largely unnoticed. Both Wah-Wah and The Weather Man performed poorly at the box office.

### 2006–2010: Skins and West End debut

Hoult was a student at Sixth Form College Farnborough in 2006 when he was cast in the lead role of the television teenage-drama Skins. He was initially sceptical of his ability to play Tony Stonem, a manipulative, egocentric anti-hero, and identified more closely with the supporting character Sid. The programme was a success and ran for seven series, only two of which Hoult appeared in. His performance was well received; the character was popular, and Hoult garnered widespread attention. Skins won the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Philip Audience Award, and Hoult was nominated for the Golden Nymph Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series. Critic Elliott David lauded Hoult for his performance in a 2016 retrospective review, and wrote that he "maintain[ed] the inexplicable core of his character throughout". During his time on Skins, Hoult felt overwhelmed by the attention he received and considered quitting acting altogether at one point. Instead, he left school at the end of Skins' first series and chose to focus solely on acting.

Hoult briefly appeared as Stefan Fredman in the pilot episode of the British television series Wallander. He later made his West End theatre debut as Mark, the protagonist in William Sutcliffe's coming-of-age play New Boy; the production premiered at Trafalgar Studios and had record-breaking ticket sales, which was mostly attributed to Hoult's popularity among viewers of Skins. The play was staged for a week in March 2009 because Hoult had committed to a part in the fantasy-adventure film Clash of the Titans (2010), filming for which was scheduled for mid-2010. Hoult's performance as Mark, a "ferociously bright and articulate but sexually confused sixth-former" received mixed responses from critics. Dominic Cavendish of The Daily Telegraph wrote that his performance was persuasive, but Lyn Gardner of The Guardian found him average and highlighted his inability to bring out the "unresolved sexual tension beneath [the] banter". Clash of the Titans was panned by critics but was a success at the box office, grossing nearly \$500,000,000 worldwide.

Hoult next appeared in Tom Ford's A Single Man (2009), after the actor originally cast in the role of Kenny Potter left the film a few days before filming commenced. Hoult had previously shown interest in the project and had sent a recorded audition tape; he was eventually chosen for the role of Kenny, a homosexual college student who helps a college professor deal with his grief. A Single Man was variously described by media outlets as the first adult role for Hoult, who described Kenny as a "spontaneous" character not simply defined by his sexuality. Because the role was his first as an American character, Hoult worked on his accent; Sukhdev Sandhu of The Daily Telegraph noted Ford's choice of casting British actors as Americans (Hoult and Matthew Goode) and vice versa (Julianne Moore). A Single Man opened to widespread acclaim despite reservations from critics about Ford's directorial abilities; it was a box-office success. The film earned Hoult a nomination for the BAFTA Rising Star Award at the 2010 ceremony. In 2010, Hoult voiced the character of Elliot in Lionhead Studios' action role-playing game Fable III (2010).

### 2011–2016: Commercial success with X-Men and Mad Max

Hoult was cast as Nux in George Miller's action film Mad Max: Fury Road; the project spent several years in development hell because plans for a fourth film in the Mad Max franchise encountered financial difficulties. Filming was planned for mid-2010, but heavy rain caused severe delays during pre-production in Australia. With no other immediate commitments, Hoult began to look for other prospects. He was eventually cast in the role of Hank McCoy / Beast for the X-Men film series owing to his ability to play somebody "gentle with a capability of being fierce". Before filming began on the 2011 Matthew Vaughn-directed instalment X-Men: First Class, a prequel to the franchise's earlier films, Hoult familiarised himself with his character; he said he "formulated [his] own version of the Beast" and took inspiration from Kelsey Grammer's performance in the previous X-Men: The Last Stand because he wanted to emulate Grammer's charm and eloquence. Hoult learned to speak in a dialect similar to Grammer's without trying to imitate it. He also underwent physical training and gained weight to better suit his character. The film, which was widely praised by critics for its script and performances, performed moderately well at the box office, collecting about \$353 million against a production budget of \$160 million. Although it was the lowest-ranked production in the entire series in terms of revenue, Chris Aronson of 20th Century Fox deemed it "an excellent start to a new chapter of the franchise".

Mad Max: Fury Road was eventually filmed in 2012 in the Namibian desert. Miller had conceived Nux, a terminally ill slave, as a "quasi kamikaze pilot"; Hoult said of his character; "he's very enthusiastic and committed and affectionate but also kind of clumsy". Hoult shaved his head and followed a strict diet because his role required him to lose a lot of weight. He also talked about performing stunts in the film, describing the entire experience as "scary", but favourably compared the stunt crew and Miller's choice to incorporate real action sequences instead of using a green screen, saying it made the performance more believable because the actors are placed in a real situation. Fury Road opened to critical acclaim on 14 May 2015 and grossed more than \$378 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in the Mad Max franchise. The technical aspects and stunt sequences drew particular praise from film critics and it was credited for reviving interest in the series. Shalini Langer noted that while the real hero of the film was Charlize Theron, "[Hoult] is the closest in the acting department ... as Joe's 'war boy' chasing imagined glory". Hoult's "fabulously unhinged" performance was also praised by Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph. Also in 2012, Hoult was included in the Forbes 30 under 30 list.

In 2013, Hoult had starring roles in two major films; he first played a zombie named R in Jonathan Levine's romantic comedy Warm Bodies, which was released on 1 February. An adaptation of Isaac Marion's novel of the same name, the film is presented from point of view of the central character, mostly through narration. Levine said he had difficulties finding a suitable actor to play R until he met Hoult, who was attracted to the project—which he described as "much more than a horror movie" owing to the use of multiple pop culture and literary allusions—and even more so to the role which "bowled [me] over". Hoult said he drew inspiration from Edward Scissorhands (1990) because he thought the central characters in both films share the same difficulties. To prepare for the role of a zombie, Hoult and the other actors practised with Cirque du Soleil performers; he said of the experience; "we would take our shoes off in a dance studio ... kind of grow out of the wall and make our bodies feel very heavy". The film garnered positive response from critics and audiences. Ben Kendrick praised Hoult for the restraint in a potentially Razzie-worthy role: "[he] brings a lot of life to R without stepping too far in the other direction [and although his] zombie mannerisms may come across a bit forced but, overall, his memorable moments outnumber (and outweigh) the awkward ones." Hoult was also described as "an extremely appealing actor, [who] is charm personified" in his role of the living-dead.

Hoult's next film, Bryan Singer's 2013 fantasy adventure Jack the Giant Slayer, failed at the box office and received mixed response from critics. He played the eponymous hero in the film, which is based on the British fairy tales "Jack the Giant Killer" and "Jack and the Beanstalk". Hoult's performance was poorly received by film critics Mary Pols, Justin Chang and Richard Roeper; Pols was critical of his "disconcerting" imitation of Hugh Grant and the other two dismissed him and his character as "bland" and "boring", respectively.

Hoult then appeared in Jake Paltrow's science-fiction film Young Ones (2014). Set in a dystopian future where water is scarce, the film had Hoult play Flem Lever, a young man who is trying to claim the land owned by the film's central character Ernest Holm. Hoult thought the role was unlike any of his previous work and said his character's questionable choices throughout the film intrigued him. Hoult read novels written by S. E. Hinton to prepare for the role. The film was shot in a deserted location in South Africa; Hoult said filming in the hot weather conditions was difficult but the "beautiful" scenery helped to tell the story better. He said it also made him more conscious of environmental concerns. The film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival and was met with mixed responses. Commentators highlighted the film's standout scenery but were critical of its plot. Keith Uhlich of The A.V. Club said Hoult was a poor fit for the story's "stoically retrograde machismo".

Hoult reprised his role as Beast in Bryan Singer's X-Men: Days of Future Past, his other release of 2014. Hoult said playing the character was a freeing experience for him and that it was "fun to suddenly be able to break loose ... when you're wearing the makeup ... you can perform big ... you get to have two very different techniques, performances." He also said the lengthy make-up procedure could last up to three and a half hours. X-Men: Days of Future Past earned more than \$747 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film in the series and in Hoult's career at that time.

In 2015, Hoult had three other releasesthe feature film adaptation of Gillian Flynn's mystery novel Dark Places; Owen Harris' dark comedy Kill Your Friends, based on the 2008 novel of the same name; and Equals, a dystopian, science-fiction romantic drama directed by Drake Doremusall of which were critical failures and rank among the lowest-grossing films of his career. Response to Hoult's performance in Equals was relatively better; Peter Travers called him and his co-star Kristen Stewart "quietly devastating", and Katie Walsh, writing for Los Angeles Times, said the duo were "finely matched both in their androgynous beauty and in their performances of a repressed humanity". Despite doubts about his contract with the franchise, Hoult returned for the 2016 film X-Men: Apocalypse. Upon release, the film became the third-ranked X-Men film in terms of worldwide box office collections, earning about \$540 million. It was also a top-grossing production outside the United States.

### 2017–2019: Biographical and independent films

The action film Collide, which had Hoult star as a drug dealer, was released in the United States in February 2017 to a poor response from audiences and critics. The film garnered negative reviews; its dismal box office performance was attributed to poor marketing and multiple delays caused by the 2015 chapter 11 bankruptcy of its production company Relativity Media. Forbes' Scott Mendelson analysed the film's failure and said Hoult did not necessarily have enough "star power" to draw audiences. He highlighted the misogyny and sense of entitlement in the entertainment industry, writing that director Eran Creevy and Hoult would get better offers despite the failure of films like Collide, as opposed to the women and other minority groups, who are either ignored or stereotyped. Responses to Hoult's next film, the romance drama Newness, were more enthusiastic. The production had its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival; it stars Hoult as one half of a Los Angeles-based couple who meet through online dating and begin an open relationship. Drake Doremus, the film's director, said Hoult's role was unlike his previous work; "a very complex and emotionally mature performance that we haven't seen yet".

Hoult starred in a series of biographical and historical films in 2017; he said he preferred playing characters that might help him improve as an actor and that the "actors I look up to started doing their best work in their early 30s and I'll be hitting that age ... I'm just trying to learn". He portrayed American author J. D. Salinger in Danny Strong's Rebel in the Rye, which chronicles Salinger's life from his youth to the World War II era and the years preceding the publication of his debut novel, The Catcher in the Rye. Hoult auditioned for the role because he was intrigued by the film's script and Salinger's enigmatic personality; "I didn't know he fought in the second world war and landed on D-Day: ... had intermittent PTSD or that he became interested in Vedanta philosophy and meditated and did yoga." To prepare for the role, Hoult read The Catcher in the Rye and biographies about Salinger. Hoult said the biggest challenge was to get a real understanding of Salinger's character; "everyone has an idea of [Salinger] in their mind ... you're creating a character that people have very strong feelings about. You can't prove to be right or wrong through impressions." Rebel in the Rye opened to a poor response from film critics. Carson Lund of Slant was largely unimpressed by Hoult's "feeble" performance and his inability to "reinvest the character with the complexities lost in the story's programmatic telling". RogerEbert.com's Matt Fagerholm wrote that although Hoult was capable of illuminating the insecurities and fixations of his character, he is never "quite believable as Salinger". Fagerholm ascribed the failure to the script, which left the character's key motivations "frustratingly muddled".

Hoult co-starred in The Current War, a dramatisation of the feud between electrical pioneers Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse. Hoult was cast in the role of Nikola Tesla, for which he grew a moustache and attended science lessons about electromagnetism and dynamos. He lost weight for his role by following a strict diet. Response to The Current War was mixed; David Ehrlich of IndieWire described Hoult's performance as a tribute to David Bowie, who had previously played Tesla in The Prestige (2006). In a departure from biographical dramas, Hoult next starred as an American soldier in Sand Castle, a production he described as a very different war film "in terms of the pacing and the emotion ... very under the surface, that futility-of-war idea". He recalled the filming experience in the Jordanian military bases practising clearing procedures: "we put on these masks, get given these guns, are put inside this pitch-black house ... try and hunt down these bad guys hiding inside. You're in all the gear ... the adrenaline starts pumping." Released on Netflix in 2017, the film garnered mixed reviews.

In The Favourite (2018), a critically acclaimed period drama about Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Hoult played the supporting role of Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer. He next voiced Fiver in the animated television miniseries adaptation of Richard Adams' 1972 novel Watership Down. In 2019, Hoult portrayed author J. R. R. Tolkien in the biopic Tolkien. He next reprised his role as Hank McCoy in the X-Men film Dark Phoenix. Both Tolkien and Dark Phoenix were poorly received.

### 2020–present: The Great and beyond

The following year, Hoult began starring as Peter III of Russia in the Hulu comedy-drama series The Great. The series and his performance received critical acclaim. He was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. In 2021, Hoult appeared in a villainous role in the thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead. Hoult starred in the black comedy film The Menu, alongside Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy, in 2022. It received positive reviews. Hoult next played the titular role in the comedy-horror film Renfield. In June 2023, he was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in the actors branch.

In 2024, he will have a voice role in the animated film Garfield. Hoult will also star in Nosferatu, written and directed by Robert Eggers. In mid-2023, Hoult will shoot lead roles in The Order, directed by Justin Kurzel, and Juror \#2, directed by Clint Eastwood. He is also attached to produce and star in The One.

## Personal life and other work

Hoult splits his time between London and Los Angeles. He is in a relationship with American model Bryana Holly. The couple have two children together.

During his childhood, Hoult played basketball for the Reading-based team Reading Rockets, which played in the English Basketball League. He was later appointed as the club's ambassador. He also follows Formula One racing and has attended several Grand Prix events at Montreal, Singapore and Germany.

### Philanthropy

Hoult is a philanthropist and supports numerous charities; he has been associated with organisations that support children. He was appointed the first National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) Young Person Ambassador, for supporting the charity's activities aimed at children and young people. Since 2009, he has also been involved with the Teenage Cancer Trust; he continues to visit patients supported by the organisation and has helped promote its awareness campaigns, including the sun-safety campaign "Shunburn". Hoult designed sweaters for Save the Children's and Selfish Mother's joint Christmas Jumper Day campaign. He encouraged customers to buy the festive collection and support the charitable cause, which he thought would bring a "real change to children's lives". He also donated a pair of shoes, which was auctioned by Small Steps Project, an organisation that helps homeless and malnourished children. Hoult was inducted into the NSPCC Hall of Fame in 2010 for his contributions to the campaign against child cruelty.

Hoult visited Nairobi, Kenya, as a part of a Christian Aid project aimed at providing clean water and sanitation. During his stay he met local people and helped clean the locality. He said of his experience; "I met great people making the best of the situation ... it is heart-breaking in many ways to see the living conditions". Hoult also participated in the Rickshaw Run in January 2017, in which participants drove an auto rickshaw (also called a tuk tuk) for 3,000 kilometres (1,900 mi) across India to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust and World Wide Fund for Nature. He has also been associated with Jeans for Refugees, a project and fundraising initiative intended to help refugees around the world. He donated a signed pair of jeans to the organisation; profits from the campaign were donated to the refugee support agency International Rescue Committee.

## Filmography and awards

For his role in About a Boy (2002), Hoult won the Best Youth Performance at the Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards and earned a nomination for Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer. He was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award for his role in A Single Man at the 2010 British Academy Film Awards. For his performance in The Great, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series.

English actor (born 1989)

Alumni of the Sylvia Young Theatre School

English expatriates in the United States

National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children people

People educated at Ranelagh Grammar School

People educated at Sixth Form College, Farnborough