Former MLB All-Star Jason Heyward retires at age 36

Jason Heyward (Arturo Pardavilla III, Wikimedia Commons)

Major League Baseball outfielder Jason Heyward of Ridgewood, New Jersey has retired at the age of 36 according to Steve Adams of MLB Trade Rumors. Heyward played 16 seasons in the Majors from 2010 to 2025 with six different teams. Heyward was with the Atlanta Braves for five seasons from 2010 to 2014, with the St. Louis Cardinals for one season in 2015, with the Chicago Cubs for seven seasons from 2016 to 2022, the Los Angeles Dodgers for two seasons in 2023 and 2024, with the Houston Astros for part of the 2024 season, and the San Diego Padres in 2025.

In his career, Heyward batted .255 with 186 home runs and 730 runs batted in. During 1824 games, 6174 at bats and 6995 plate appearances, Heyward scored 879 runs and had 1575 hits, 306 doubles, 41 triples, 125 stolen bases, 706 walks, 2521 total bases, six sacrifice bunts, 34 sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .336 and a slugging percentage of .408.

You could make the argument that Heyward began his MLB career red hot and ended his career ice cold. In his rookie season, Heyward was a National League All-Star while with the Braves. He batted .277 with 18 home runs and 72 runs batted in. Heyward also scored 83 runs and had 144 hits, 29 doubles, five triples, 11 stolen bases, 91 walks (a career-high), 237 total bases, two sacrifice flies, an on base percentage of .393 and a slugging percentage of .456. The sacrifice flies in Heyward’s rookie year came in a 7-1 Braves win over the Houston Astros on May 2, 2010, and in a 4-3 Braves win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on August 16, 2010. Then in 2025, Heyward batted only .176 with the Padres.

Heyward won the gold glove five times. He was also part of the Cubs team that won the 2016 World Series.