Chicago Cubs fans on Jason Heyward's departure: "Thanks for the World Series", "Tough way for it to end but it had to happen"

After seven seasons with the Chicago Cubs, one of the organization's main roster pillars of the last decade has finally been released.

They've released club stalwart Jason Heyward, one of the few remaining players on the team from the 2016 World Series squad. The Cubs released an official statement regarding the same.

Hayward recently changed positions in the outfield to accommodate the arrival of Seiya Suzuki on the right. The five-time Golden Glove and three-time Fielding Bible awardee played the majority of his games this season in center field.

However, he only played 48 games due to a left quad strain and spent most of the year on the injury list. In August, Cubs president Jed Hoyer stated that Heyward won't play for the team in 2023 and was just made official through an announcement yesterday.

This sparked messages of gratitude from Chicago Cubs fans on Twitter. One fan tweeted:

The multi-time All-Star is still owed a $22 million dollar salary for 2023 and the Cubs will have to pay for all of it in case no other team picks up Heyward.

Jason Heyward's rain delay speech propels the Chicago Cubs to immortality

With the Chicago Cubs tied with the Cleveland Indians 6-6 in Game 7 of the 2017 World Series, a rain delay beckoned. In those 17 minutes in the top of the 10th inning, Jason Heyward rallied his troops in the locker room and gave one of the most inspiring speeches in sports history.

The Cubs took the lead in the top of the extra inning that pushed the scoreline to 8-6. The Indians tried and come back half an inning later, but Chicago held on to claim the World Series title after being down 3-1 in the series. By doing so, they ended their 108-year championship drought.

For his leadership and fiery passion towards baseball that led them to end a century-old lull, Jason Heyward will always have a place in every Chicago Cubs fan's heart.

About the author

Daniel Santiago is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. He was drawn towards the sport after the underlying statistics and the analysis surrounding it grabbed his attention.

Daniel particularly enjoys furnishing reports about historic events in baseball and analyzing the game through a statistic-based outlook, based on Fangraphs and Baseball-Reference. This is in line with how he enjoyed watching baseball as a pastime. As a writer, he is very particular about cross-checking from reputable sources and doing his due diligence.

He became a lifelong Hideki Matsui fan after his exploits in the 2009 World Series for the New York Yankees. Among the current generation, Daniel's favorites include Shohei Ohtani and Jung Hoo Lee. Daniel is a huge follower of Asian baseball and both Ohtani and Lee have been in the top echelon of their respective leagues during their time with the NPB and KBO.

His favorite moment as a baseball fan was the final at-bat of the 2023 World Baseball Classic between Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout. He believes there aren't many words to fittingly describe the intensity of the moment.

As an avid sports fan, Daniel watches other sports and Esports when not writing about baseball.

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