Approached and asked for his reaction to getting booed by fans at PNC Park this season, Austin Hedges told a pair of local outlets back in June that he didn’t care to comment.
After the Pirates traded Hedges to the Texas Rangers for international bonus pool space on Aug. 1, the statute of limitations apparently passed.
Appearing on Chris Rose’s podcast titled The Chris Rose Rotation on Monday, Hedges had plenty to say about what he heard every time he walked to the plate.
“That sucked, dude," Hedges told Rose. "That was wild. I didn't expect that."
Hedges then referenced something that came up at his introductory media availability this past December after signing a one-year, $5 million contract with Pittsburgh: how his grandfather was one of USAir's first 13 or so employees and he would spend summers with his mom visiting family in Upper St. Clair and attending Pirates games.
"I was really excited for this year," Hedges continued. "Things offensively didn't go as well for me as I would have wanted. Then when they started calling up some catchers ... [the booing] was like out of nowhere on one day. Was there a group text? How did they all know?"
It's understandable for Hedges to be upset that he got booed at home, but the timeline he referenced isn't completely completely accurate. The booing started around June 19, which does coincide with Henry Davis being promoted to the big leagues.
However, as you know, Davis didn't actually catch. The boos also likely started a couple days prior to June 19 but became loud enough that it got noticed that night. With the Pirates in the middle of a season-long, 10-game losing streak at the time, frustration was sky high.
The Pirates also continued to assign No. 1 catching reps to someone who hit just .180 with as .467 OPS in 65 games as a Pirate, his defensive work and pitch-framing at or near the top of MLB but nowhere near enough to offset the lousy offense.
"The booing was really, really in sync," Hedges said. "It was almost like, 'Alright, we're booing Hedgy every time now. Here we go." And they did. I'm like ... 'What, why? It's all my fault?' "
It's actually easy to see Hedges' side in this one — and that's not a defense of his offense or an argument that he should have been playing more. He signed here and did exactly what he was expected to do: play solid defense, help the pitching staff and mentor the young kids.
Hedges did all of that stuff. Extremely well, too.
At the same time, the Pirates refused to call up Davis and Endy Rodriguez for a long time and lately have refused to let Davis catch meaningful innings. All while their offense has been lousy and they continued to run out a catcher who can't hit.
It was a bad fit, and the Pirates stuck with it for far longer than they should have, seemingly unwilling to admit that they brought in the wrong guy in the offseason.
In any case, Hedges landed in a great situation, where he doesn't have to add anything with the bat. The Rangers value his defense. It's just a shame that the situation turned so negative here.
"The big leagues are really hard, so everyone goes through a lot every day," Hedges said. "But this was one that I didn't necessarily know how to overcome.
“It stings when the home fans [boo]. It got to the point where I was getting pinch-hit for, but they would still play my walk up song ... and fans would boo anyway.
"When Pittsburgh hears ‘Fat Bottomed Girls’ by Queen, they just naturally go, 'Boooooo!’ "
If you want to check out the entire podcast, go here.
Jason Mackey: jmackey@post-gazette.com and Twitter @JMackeyPG.
First Published: August 15, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
Updated: August 15, 2023, 5:03 p.m.