The 16-year MLB veteran announced his retirement from baseball Friday on MLB Central.
“I’m glad and happy to be stepping to the other side of the game,” Heyward said.
“I look forward to being a potential mentor to any of the young players coming up, anybody that’s in the game right now. I feel like the game’s in good hands in that sense, and I look forward to being a fan and seeing what other ways I could give back.”
Heyward, 36, first entered MLB as a member of the Atlanta Braves in 2010. He spent five years with the NL East club, only topped by his seven seasons with the Chicago Cubs after a one-year pit stop with the St. Louis Cardinals. He also played for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros and San Diego Padres.
The one-time all-star and five-time Gold Glove winner in the outfield finishes his career with a .255 batting average to go with 186 home runs, 730 RBIs.
He was part of the 2016 Cubs team that broke through to win the World Series, appearing in 16 games during that run.
