Jason Heyward wins 18th annual Roy Campanella Award
LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Dodgers announced today that outfielder Jason Heyward was named the winner of the 18th annual Roy Campanella Award, which is given to the Dodger player who best exemplifies the spirit and leadership of the late Hall of Fame catcher. The award, which was voted upon by Dodger uniformed personnel, will be presented to Heyward by Campanella’s daughter, Joni Campanella Roan and his grandson, Malcolm Campanella, during pregame ceremonies Saturday night.
Heyward becomes the fourth Dodger to win the Campanella Award in his first season with the organization, joining Rafael Furcal, Jamey Carroll and last year’s winner, Freddie Freeman.
Furcal received the inaugural Roy Campanella Award in 2006 and since then the honor has been awarded to Russell Martin (2007), James Loney (2008), Juan Pierre (2009), Carroll (2010), Matt Kemp (2011), A.J. Ellis (2012), Clayton Kershaw (2013-14), Zack Greinke (2015), Chase Utley (2016, 2018), Justin Turner (2017, 2019-20), Chris Taylor (2021) and Freeman (2022).
Heyward, 34, signed a one-year deal with the Dodgers in the offseason after playing in a career-low 48 games with the Cubs in 2022 and wasted no time showing he had plenty left in the tank, homering twice and driving in four runs during the Dodgers’ first homestand.
While playing stellar defense in center and right field, Heyward has slashed .275/.351/.495/.846 with 15 homers, 22 doubles and 40 RBI in 116 games this season. His totals in games, doubles, homers, runs scored, RBI, hits and walks are all his highest since the 2019 campaign. Not counting the shortened 2020 campaign, Heyward’s OPS of .846 is his best since his rookie year in 2010.
Heyward’s impact goes far beyond the playing field, as he has been a fixture at Dodger community events throughout the season and is a tremendous source of leadership in the clubhouse. From the first day of Spring Training, he has been a strong mentor to rookie outfielder James Outman, while blending seamlessly with the Dodger veterans, including his close friend and locker mate, Freddie Freeman.
Earlier this season, Outman stated, “I’ve leaned on him a lot over the course of the year. Baseball mentor. Life mentor, really. He wants to win. And you can tell he wants his teammates to do well. And it’s coming from a super-genuine place.”
Added Freeman, “All that negative stuff, you can just throw away because when you know Jason, it’s only going to be positive because he is such a wonderful human. It’s been a long time since we’ve gotten to be teammates again…I get to see him every day now. And I’m just having a blast.”
Dodger manager Dave Roberts, who has been in professional baseball for nearly 25 years, summed up Heyward’s presence on the Dodgers by saying, “He’s on the Mount Rushmore of favorite players I’ve ever been around. I’m honored to be sharing the same uniform with him.”
Campanella was a three-time National League Most Valuable Player (1951, 1953 and 1955), eight-time All-Star and a member of the 1955 World Championship team. He played in five World Series and his 142 RBI in 1953 set a franchise record, since surpassed by Tommy Davis (153 in 1962). In 1,215 career games during a 10-year career, all with the Dodgers, he batted .276 with 242 home runs and 856 RBI.
He began his career in the Negro Leagues, establishing himself as one of the top catchers in the league before joining the Dodger organization in 1946. Campanella played for Class B Nashua of the New England League, making that club the first integrated affiliated baseball team in the United States.
On Jan. 29, 1958, just as the Dodgers were making final preparations for their move to Los Angeles, Campanella was involved in a tragic car accident that paralyzed him from the neck down, marking the end of his playing career. On May 7, 1959, a Major League record-setting 93,103 fans filled the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on “Roy Campanella Night” for an exhibition game between the Dodgers and Yankees.
He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969 and was among the first three Dodgers to have their uniform numbers retired alongside Jackie Robinson and Sandy Koufax. Campanella remained active in the Dodgers’ Community Relations Department until his death on June 26, 1993, at the age of 71.