By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, NY — Grant Heyman is back to work. That’s the way the Arizona Diamondbacks farm hand prefers it.
A winter with a touch of discontent behind him, Heyman is doing what he does best: competing.
“I’ve never really had an off-season before,” Heyman said recently. “This was the longest period of time I’ve gone without competing in a game, and it’s almost kind of frustrating because I love to compete.”
A three-sport athlete in high school, Heyman had to sit by and watch others during the months of November, December, January and February.
“It was a long time just working out, which is good. It was nice to rest my body.”
Afforded time Heyman fanned the flames of his competitive fire and added new routines to his exercise regimen.
“I was just looking for an edge to get on other guys,” he noted. “Do some different sorts of training.”
Along with getting hacks in the batting cage, Heyman spent time boxing and taking yoga.
“Boxing is perfect for hand to eye coordination,” the Pittsford, New York native noted. “If you think about it when you swing and you throw a punch, it’s almost the same kind of movement.”
The two techniques, seemingly opposite in approach, combined to give Heyman balance. Boxing provided the violence of impact like bat crashing ball. Yoga offered a chance to to clear the mind and improve mobility.
“Yoga was a big part of this off-season for me,” Heyman said. “It’s been big for me because I’m not very flexible. Because of that I’ve had a couple of hamstring pulls thing like that.
“I feel a lot more mobile, and I feel a lot more athletic really,” Heyman added. “I was just really trying to train my core, my fast twitch, hand to eye…I’ll definitely do more next year.”
In between workouts, the 21-year old gave instructions at the Diamond Pro in East Rochester, New York.
“I’ve learned a lot about my own swing by teaching other people how to fix their swing if that makes sense. I’ve learned so much about myself just helping other people. It’s been a really good experience for me in a lot of ways. I learned a whole lot.”
He worked with students both individually and in groups.
“I’ve picked up on little things. I find myself teaching to stay inside the ball, and then it clicks in my head when I’m hitting or not hitting inside the ball. I fix my own mistakes by helping these other players fix their mistakes. It’s helped me make adjustments throughout the off-season with my own swing which is obviously what baseball is about, making adjustments.”
Heyman also came to appreciate the opportunity provided by the indoor training facility. He was one of six current or former professional players including owner Matt Dryer along with Ben Bostick, Chris Bostick, Joe Mamott and Brian Stavisky on the staff. He hoped to pass that wisdom on to the high school student-athletes with whom he trained.
“The kids need to appreciate what they have here,” Heyman stated in between lessons at the East Rochester facility. “When I was their age, I wasn’t going to camps with four professional baseball players helping you out…Coming from the northeast, you’re not really given anything. You got to go get it. Not a lot of people from here get to go and play big time baseball. They need to understand that if they want to be successful, it’s not going to be given to them.”
Heyman focused on improving his pitch selection during the off-season. He hit .315 in 57 games during his rookie campaign. The left-handed batter knocked 15 extra-base hits including five home runs, earned mid-season all star honors and helped the Hillsboro Hops to the Class A Short-season Northwest League championship.
But he is quick to point out he only walked on seven occasions last year.
“That’s not what you want to see,” Heyman said of the lack of free passes. “If I can draw more walks, and be more patient at the plate, I’ll get more pitches to hit, and I’ll have a better batting average and a better on-base percentage. Definitely this year is going to be about pitch selection. If I can get that, I’ll see a lot more success.”
Coming out of high school, the Toronto Blue Jays tabbed Heyman in the 11th round (355th) overall of the 2012 draft. He opted to attend college. In the summer before heading to campus, Heyman hit .348 with eight home runs and 20 RBI in 22 games played with the Geneva Red Wings of the New York Collegiate Baseball League.
“It was a jump,” Heyman said of the transition to the NYCBL. “I was going from high school to two weeks later I’m playing against Division One baseball players. I was nervous. My first two games I was 0-for-6. I was like oh crap.
“That was a big stepping stone for me to get to the next level. It instilled the confidence in me that I could hit good pitching. I learned I could hit fastballs over 85 miles per hour. That was a big step for me. I’m definitely thankful for the opportunity to play in that league after high school. It was huge. It got me ready for college playing every day. In a lot of ways, summer baseball is a lot like pro baseball. It’s a game every day, long bus rides. The NYCBL definitely got me prepared for the next level.”
Heyman was a 2012 All Greater-Rochester selection and helped Pittsford-Sutherland to the 2010 Class A New York State championship. He grabbed All-American honors and received the prestigious Rawlings’ Gold Glove. Heyman was also named All Greater-Rochester and All-State for football in 2011.
Arizona chose him in the eighth round (240th pick overall) of the 2014 MLB draft.
“The thing about professional baseball there is pretty much a game every day, and it’s mentally grueling. The good players can get through it and stay fresh, but you got to get up every day and win a job. After 200 days of that it gets tough. The good players can keep doing it. The mental part of the game is so important. You got to stay mentally fresh. You got to be able to wake up every day to go…You can’t take a day off. If you do, that could be the difference in your career. You just never know.”
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