Every season, the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association selects one player from the league as the recipient of their coveted Heart and Hustle Award. You might remember Anthony Rizzo winning back in 2015.
The award is the only one in MLB voted on by former players and is meant to honor the player who “demonstrates” a passion for the game of baseball and best embodies the values, spirit, and traditions of the game.” But before a singular winner can be selected, the committee chooses one representative from each team, based on their passion, desire, and work ethic both on and off the field.
And for the Cubs, the decision was obvious:
https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1151137828845154308
Javier Baez is the Cubs Heart and Hustle individual team winner, an honor he very much deserves.
Anyone who watches him play the game knows that he’s a special talent on the field and the type of player who works even harder off it. In addition, the more we’ve come to learn about Baez – and his family – over the years, the more we know he’s MORE than earned the “heart” component of this distinction.
You can see the rest of the individual team winners right here at MLB.com and note that these players will be recognized prior to an upcoming home game.
Congrats to Javy Baez and to everyone else representing his team.