Jason Heyward may not be the hitter Cubs fans want him to be, but he's still one of the game's best defenders.
The Cubs right fielder was honored before Wednesday's game with his sixth career Gold Glove and fourth straight dating back to the 2014 season with the Atlanta Braves.
He's been credited with 18 DRS (Defensive Runs Saved) each of his two seasons in a Cubs uniform. That total of 36 DRS is second in baseball among outfielders, behind only Boston's Mookie Betts.
Cubs manager Joe Maddon has always told Heyward how much more at ease he feels in the dugout when the elite defender is patrolling the outfield.
"The receiving of the Gold Glove Award is one of the top awards in all of baseball," Joe Maddon said before Wednesday's ceremony. "...He makes a huge difference for us. When he's on the field and Javy [Baez] is on the field — when all our defense is on the field — from the dugout, I promise you, it feels a whole lot better.
"I know we haven't arrived offensively where we want to arrive with him, however he's been a great part of our success over the last three years."
Heyward is hitting the ball harder than ever in 2018, but that hasn't helped his offensive numbers overall.
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In a Cubs uniform, he's hitting just .243 with a .315 on-base percentage and .353 slugging percentage, good for a paltry .668 OPS. He's hit 19 homers and driven in 114 runs in 278 games.
"He hasn't achieved on the offensive level that he would like to, cause normally that award goes to an offensive player," Maddon said of the Gold Glove. "It's almost an offensive award, so the fact that he's really been able to hold serve in the eyes of the industry while he's still working to get to the level he's capable of offensively, I think it's pretty impressive. It really is."