Ke’Bryan Hayes finally decided to stop fighting it. Something had to change, the Pirates third baseman told himself. So after striking out four times in Seattle on May 28, completing a 1-for-14 series, Hayes finally agreed to listen to hitting coach Andy Haines and adjust his approach.
For months, Haines had been trying to get Hayes to incorporate a toe-tap into his swing, a rhythm-based mechanism designed to enable Hayes to sink better into his backside, load his hands and time the opposing pitcher. Haines believed it would improve Hayes’ balance in the box. It might allow him to get behind the ball better, too.
But as Hayes tried it sporadically during cage work, nothing ever felt right. That getaway game in Seattle left no other choice. Frustrated with himself and his lack of offensive production, Hayes was finally willing to admit there was a problem and opened the doors to any available option to fix it.
“I was like, 'Something's got to change. What I'm doing isn't working,’ ” Hayes recalled Friday after his second career five-hit game, an outburst that contributed a great deal to the Pirates’ 14-7 win against the Mets at PNC Park. “[Haines] asked me if I wanted to try it again, and I was like ‘Yeah, why not?’ ”
Whether it’s been the toe-tap or the incredible amount of work Hayes has done to get to this point — most of it without much to show results-wise — the Pirates are enjoying a different version of their slick-fielding third baseman these days.
Actually, no. Scratch that.
They’re getting the version they thought they had in September 2020, only to see Hayes morph into various iterations of an offensive player, none of them terribly good.
Hayes, who also had four RBIs against the Mets, has an eight-game hitting streak and is sporting a .559 average during that time, with three doubles, a triple and 11 RBIs. Before this current run, Hayes’ OPS was .606. It’s now .734.
The toe-tap has certainly provided a visual difference for fans watching Hayes. From a player perspective, it probably feels like he’s shifting his weight differently. The result: It has also created more of a free-and-easy stroke for Hayes, one where he’s having fun and attacking early.
In other words, performing like the guy we saw in September 2020. One who looked like he would be a dynamic offensive player at this level and oh-by-the-way also had the ability to unseat St. Louis’ Nolan Arenado as a perennial Gold Glove winner at third base.
“Mindset-wise, I’m in that mindset of how I was in '20, just going up there being free, having fun with it, being aggressive early in the count and being able to hit the fastball and hit the hanging offspeed,” Hayes said.
The way Pirates manager Derek Shelton sees it, the toe-tap has certainly allowed Hayes to be on time for the fastball. That was evident with the couple balls he pulled Friday. But it’s been more than a one-night thing.
Hayes has also been able to adjust and hit with power to all fields, specifically the right-center gap that he loves inside-outing balls to for extra bases.
“It's good to see the hard work paying off,” Shelton said.
The dynamic with Haines and how the change came about can’t be understated.
Haines has come under plenty of fire recently given the Pirates’ downturn in May, yet this was one change he was prevented from making. A fix he knew would help one of his players.
It’s also easy to see Hayes’ side here. He’s been grinding and hearing the perception from the outside world that he’ll never amount to much as an offensive player. Glove only, really. Hayes claims he doesn’t hear any of that, but there’s no way he’s unaware that his offense has lagged far behind his defense.
“My biggest critic for me is my mom,” Hayes said. “I don’t really look at all that. I know what type of player I am. I wasn’t happy with how I was playing on the offensive side the last year or two. I’ve been working my butt off to try to figure out how to get back to how I was having at-bats in ’20. Just trying to be aggressive up there, have my body in the right position and let athleticism take over.”
At long last, it appears we’re there, though Ke’Bryan joked that Gelinda still might text him after a five-hit night and tell him she wanted six. Tough crowd.
It’s quite possible the toe-tap did it, though even that took plenty of work. Haines and Hayes worked hitting velocity and offspeed to start, alternating types of pitching to properly sync his timing.
An important byproduct has been Hayes feeling more comfortable at the plate and able to read pitches better, takes that can turn an 0-1 or 0-2 count into 1-1, 2-0 or 2-1, setting up the next pitches Hayes has seen.
“I just wanted to figure out what I could to do get my body in a better position and be able to swing the bat,” Hayes said.
That work started in earnest on Memorial Day in San Francisco, when Hayes sat but worked with Haines. The result was an athletic swing and aggressive approach, the type stuff that was evident from Hayes in Game 1 against the Mets.
And while there’s no guarantee that this new version of Hayes will stick, it’s been the most inspiring thing we’ve seen out of him since his debut month, no question.
“I got to a point mentally where I was trying to get back to that 2020, just trying to mirror that so bad,” Hayes said. “As you get older, your body's going to change. I had the back thing, the wrist thing, so maybe I'm not able to get back to that same setup.
“I went all in with the toe-tap, and so far it's worked for me. I want to keep doing what I'm doing in my work days, keep being aggressive and just keep trying to help my team.”
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: June 10, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: June 10, 2023, 7:05 p.m.