Friday, April 18

CINCINNATI -- During his rise to the Majors, Ke'Bryan Hayes’ offseason hitting sessions would usually last for about 250 swings. Four sessions a week, that’s 1,000 swings a week.

Some hitters opt to do their work in high-tech facilities, monitoring the minutiae of their movement. Hayes keeps it “old-school,” swinging off of a tee and flips.

“With my back, that’s probably not the smartest thing to do,” Hayes said on the prospect of going to a facility like Driveline. “... It’s kind of how I always worked.”

This winter, those hundreds of swings he did in prep for the season had a defined goal: implementing a two-handed finish. It was a change to try to prevent big whiffs that could take a toll on his back. Health is paramount, and it’s a change that could help him stay on the field.

That wasn’t the only change to Hayes' swing this winter, though. He has a more compact stroke now.

Going by Baseball Savant data, Hayes’ swing has shortened from 6.9 feet last season to 6.7 feet this season. While a difference of 0.2 feet may not seem drastic, Baseball Savant has swing path data on 185 hitters, and Hayes’ change ranks 19th in terms of decreases. His average swing speed has also decreased, going from 72.1 mph to 70.7 mph.

A shorter and slower swing may sound like a bad thing on paper, but the trade-off is some potential power for more barrel control. If you want to get the bat to the ball and get the contact point out in front, this is a good way to do it.

“When your swing’s shorter, you're definitely going to get the benefit of that,” manager Derek Shelton said. “As Key is healthier, that shorter and more aggressive swing is definitely going to be beneficial.”

Hayes didn’t set out to completely retool his swing this winter, but he wanted to make sure his back side was more engaged when his swing was taking him forward. His back issues last year impacted all facets of his game, but perhaps most at the plate. After battling back issues all throughout 2022, he appeared to take a big step forward in the second half of 2023 (.874 OPS in 49 games after All-Star break) before having his worst season at the plate in 2024 (.573 OPS over 96 games).

Hayes is a very kinetic learner when it comes to his swing. When his body isn’t moving the way it needs to, he can fall out of sync. All it takes is one bad motion to lead to a misfire, or potentially worse for Hayes, a flare-up of his back. The goal is to be behind the ball more and get the contact point out in front, and the motion he has now with a shorter swing is putting him in a better position to do that, he feels.

“When I’m able to fire this correctly,” Hayes said, taking a step while pantomiming his swing before lunging his arms forward, “instead of being here, that’s going to let the barrel play instead of being out here and then trying to arm swing. That’s going to let the barrel play a little more out front. Get the contact point out in front so the ball’s going to get in the air.”

It may be better illustrated by actually watching two swings in motion. The swing on the left is him in August of last year, not engaging his back side in his swing. The swing on the right is from Friday in Cincinnati, a ball that was blistered 99.2 mph. It may have been an out, but it’s a good swing:

Time will tell if a more compact stroke will serve Hayes in the long-term, but what’s most important right now is finding a repeatable motion and one that helps him stay on the field.

“I think more than everything, just making sure my body is healthy [is key],” Hayes said. “Whenever I feel healthy, I move the right way in the box, get the barrel out a little more in front to get the contact point out front to get the ball in the air and hit line drives.”

Last season, Bryan Reynolds led the Pirates in at-bats with 622, the 10th most in baseball. Which Pirate player had the most at-bats in a season?

A. Matty Alou

B. Omar Moreno

C. Lloyd Waner

D. Al Oliver

"I knew it before you told me. I just hope in the future there's more Taiwanese players that can come here to play in the big leagues." -- Tsung-Che Cheng, via interpreter Haagen Tan, said on Thursday after his Major League debut on Wednesday, becoming the first Taiwanese player to appear in the Majors in 2025

An unassisted double play is a rare feat that some infielders may never get the joy of completing. But what about an outfielder?

For today’s trip into the Pirates Vault, we rewind to July 7, 1992, when center fielder Andy Van Slyke caught a Luis Gonzalez fly ball and then ran to first base to retire the runner, Eric Anthony, for the double play. Van Slyke would double, score and drive in a run as the Pirates beat Houston, 5-3.

• 'Chest hair. Gut’s out. Bucs win': Joey Bart celebrates walk-off in 13th

• Collision leads to chaotic play at the plate: 'How was he out?'

• Who could Pirates take with No. 6 pick in the Draft?

A. Alou

Alou recorded 698 at-bats in 1969, hitting .331 and leading the National League in hits (231) and doubles (41). Moreno actually has the edge for plate appearances, though, taking 757 trips to the dish in 1979 to Alou’s 746 in 1969.

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