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," were 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' own 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 eleventh 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, he 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 the 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 so since Rafael Furcal, who did it 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 HR, 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 reci
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," were 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' own 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 eleventh 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, he 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 the 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 so since Rafael Furcal, who did it 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 HR, 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 reci
Jason Heyward