On the Road With Jason Heyward, Who Wants More Trips to Cabo and Fewer Trips to Cincinnati

What’s up with that haunted hotel in Milwaukee?

The Pfister? We actually just stayed there. I can’t say I’ve had any experiences with ghosts. The first couple times staying there, you do hear everything. I think it’s more just how the hotel is built. When you go out in the hallway or close a door—you can close it as gently as possible, it still slams. That’s my take on it. But other people have had stories where they felt like someone was pulling their leg, or they put their stuff on one side of the room and they wake up and it’s somewhere different. But I personally have not had any run-ins with ghosts.

Have you ever thought about cities you want the league to expand to? 

I have thought about it. I think Nashville would be cool. I think, why not add another team in Texas? Austin. But getting outside of the country, why not go to, like, Cabo? Put a team somewhere tropical. Let’s take this to Brazil. That’s another culture that loves the sport. Obviously, that would suck for teams coming from really far away. But I feel like a lot of people would be really happy to spend a few days down there, experience a new culture, and play some baseball. They have these series in London. Next year the Dodgers are playing in Korea. Why not add something closer? It can break up the season a little bit, just give you something outside the country. 

What’s your plane move?

It depends on the length of the flight. I do like to hang out with the guys and move around if it’s a longer flight. There are card games, but I’m not much of a card player. I don’t gamble much. But I do instigate! You have to. I’ll get some music going. Guys are having fun with their poker face. It’s fun to see who’s losing money and who’s gonna try to win their money back by the end of the trip.

You get to see who’s good at bluffing, calling, all that stuff. It’s good camaraderie. Then you get to also do the DJ shit when they’re not spinning it right. It’s something to do with the fellas, because especially on a night game schedule, there’s not as much time to hang out together. So the plane has a good vibe. 

I know what you mean about the music. I’ve been in a lot of big league clubhouses when that pop country playlist comes on. It’s horrendous.

[laughing] I respect anyone who’s like, “Hey, I’m gonna change this. This is not it.” But there are days—like if a starting pitcher is going [and he’s controlling the music], we gotta let that ride. At least up to like, 20-30 minutes before game time. Then you can turn on some hip-hop or whatever. 

Is there a dress code on the flights? 

We wear team jumpsuits! That makes it very easy. We’ve got three jumpsuits we wear: a blue one, a gray one, and a black one. It really helps so much to only have to pack seven outfits for seven game days. On those travel days, we got the jumpsuit. It’s still kind of new to baseball, but I like it. You can still throw on some nice shoes with it or a hat to make it your own. On the road, there’s no true dress code, other than, “If you think you look good, rock it.” And don’t wear shorts.