Catcher Austin Hedges brings positive energy, personality to Pirates by mastering minutiae

Austin Hedges understands the power of personality, learning from his own shortcomings that the best way to get out of his own head was to concentrate on being a better teammate.

Hedges has put that on display for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, showing why manager Derek Shelton routinely refers to the 30-year-old catcher as “elite” despite a .167 batting average this season.

“I’ve had to figure out who I am as a player to help teams win when/if things aren’t going as well as I want in the batter’s box,” Hedges said. “In doing that, I’ve really learned the power of being a good teammate and how powerful energy is. I’ve gotten really obsessed with straight-up, as cliche as it sounds, how infectious positive energy is. You just don’t realize how powerful certain words of encouragement at the right time are. The way I realized it is how much it means to me. When I’m at my best or worst, when my teammate says something positive to me, it’s the greatest feeling in the world.”

Pirates pitchers have credited Hedges, along with backup Jason Delay, for helping them navigate through 12 quality starts in their past 13 games, including a stretch of 11 consecutive. The Pirates (16-7) are 8-2 since Hedges returned from the seven-day concussion injured list April 14, and moved into first place in the NL Central.

“When something’s not on, he’s got a quick wit to him to know when to scrap something and when to go for it,” right-hander Mitch Keller said. “He sees hitters and knows their approaches. He does a lot of homework on the hitters. He prepares so well that it takes a lot of pressure off of us and confidence in him to know he’s got this figured out for us.”

Hedges’ mastery of minutiae stood out in the four-game sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, whether it was in the batter’s box, behind the plate or spreading his positive energy throughout the clubhouse and dugout.

“I think that’s why he was sought-after this offseason,” Shelton said. “It’s why we targeted him. It’s why he’s so important, because there’s a lot of things that he does that you can’t measure.”

Shelton did his best anyway to quantify how Hedges helped the Pirates win three games over the weekend. He credited Hedges for guiding 23-year-old right-hander Roansy Contreras through Thursday’s 4-3 win by calling for a pitch mix in that was heavy on sliders and four-seam fastballs but used changeups “at some really appropriate times.”

Austin Hedges draws the batter’s interference call and Jonathan India is ruled out at 2nd. pic.twitter.com/mYht2qBa84

— Caught Stealing (@MLB_CS) April 21, 2023

In Friday’s 4-2 win, Hedges laid down a sacrifice bunt to move Rodolfo Castro into scoring position in the fifth inning and hit a two-out single to left in the sixth that saw Tucupita Marcano get thrown out at home.

What Hedges did in the eighth helped preserve the victory. When Castro swung at Reiver Sanmartin’s first pitch and flew out to center, Hedges came to bat with two outs. So he called a timeout and adjusted his socks, then worked a six-pitch full count before lining out to second base. The tactic was intentional, as it allowed All-Star closer David Bednar more time to warm up in the bullpen before recording the save.

“It’s nice to have people noticing that,” Hedges said. “At this point in my career, I have a very clear image of what I bring to the table to help a ballclub win. The main thing is doing those little things. I haven’t necessarily been the guy that’s winning ballgames in the batter’s box every night. So I’ve gotta find a way to move the (runner) for my teammate to score him or little communication things with pitchers.”

Christopher Horner | Tribune-Review

Pirates catcher Austin Hedges talks with pitcher Rich Hill on the mound during their game against the Reds on Saturday, April 22, 2023, at PNC Park.

Where Hedges was an unsung hero in that game, his impact didn’t go unnoticed in Saturday’s 2-1 win. When Rich Hill threw nine consecutive balls in the third inning, including back-to-back walks of Spencer Steer and Stuart Fairchild with no outs, Hedges paid the 43-year-old left-hander a mound visit and suggested an adjustment to his curveball. Hedges then moved a bit to set up his target to show Hill where he wanted the pitch.

“Each pitcher is different, especially when you’ve got a guy like Rich Hill, who doesn’t necessarily need a mound visit very often,” Hedges said. “With other guys, I probably would have gone out there a earlier. But he knows exactly what he’s doing out there.

“And it’s sometimes just to break up a little momentum, give the guy a break. Regardless of who you are, that mound is a lonely island. And it’s just you by yourself. So to have even 20 seconds with your teammate out there can reset some things. That’s all I try and do. I try to give them a thought that is different than what’s not working at the moment. Whether it’s even a good one, it doesn’t even matter. It’s just it’s a different one.”

It worked. Seven of Hill’s final nine pitches were curveballs, all of them for strikes. Hill got Tyler Stephenson and Wil Myers to strike out swinging and Kevin Newman to ground out to escape the jam. The quality start streak ended when Hill was pulled after throwing 96 pitches through five innings but he earned the victory.

“The mound visit by Austin was huge, just being able to pick out a few things that he saw, and it clicked with me,” Hill said. “It was perfect timing for it. He did an incredible job behind the dish.”

Hearing such praise brought a big smile to Hedges’ face as he was sitting at his locker stall on Sunday morning, sipping a coffee on his scheduled day off. After spending the first eight years of his career in San Diego and Cleveland, Hedges has quickly become a one of the veterans that Shelton credits with bringing leadership to the Pirates by doing the little things so well.

“Those are the things I’ve learned through being lucky enough to be around this game long enough watching a lot of amazing players do things what I would consider the right way and trying to follow in their footsteps,” Hedges said. “It’s cool to have a group here that is so open to listening and learning. It makes my job a lot easier because I feel like anything I say or do, this clubhouse responds in such a positive way and it motivates me to keep on going.”