How adding toe tap helped Pirates 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes tap into potential at plate

The conversations between Ke’Bryan Hayes and Andy Haines always had been a two-way street, with the Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman articulating his feel at the plate with the hitting coach.

After Hayes went 0 for 5 with four strikeouts May 28 at Seattle — the first time in his life Hayes had the dubious distinction of wearing the golden sombrero — their conversation came to a crossroads.

To find his timing, Hayes wanted to turn back the clock.

As a rookie in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, Hayes had a .376/.442/.682 slash line with seven doubles, two triples, five homers and 11 RBIs in 24 games in September. He has struggled to regain that form while dealing with recurring left hand and wrist issues and a bothersome back the past two seasons.

Haines urged him to tap his toe. He long had suggested switching from a leg kick to a toe tap, a timing technique Hayes finally was willing to try. After hitting a two-run triple in a 9-4 win over the Giants on May 31, Hayes was sold.

The results have been nothing short of staggering: Hayes was 19 for 34 (.559) with a 1.500 OPS in eight games entering Saturday, matching career bests by going 5 for 5 with four RBIs in Friday’s 14-7 win over the New York Mets.

“I kind of 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, same type of thing. I went all in with the toe tap, and, so far, it’s worked for me.”

What really made the difference was Hayes’ dedication to the toe tap in the batting cage, especially when the Pirates returned home from the West Coast road trip. That’s where he credits finding a comfort zone.

“Just being able to sink, loading my hands and timing that toe tap, that was really the big thing for me,” Hayes said. “Now I just feel comfortable with it. Now, it’s just go up there, be aggressive and hit.”

‘Something’s got to change’

If the San Francisco series was the turning point for Hayes, the Seattle series was his breaking point.

Hayes homered for the first time in 34 games in the opener, then went 0 for 9 with seven strikeouts in the next two games. His .221/.275/.344 slash line was the worst he ever had in late May, and his confidence at the plate was shaken.

“I just didn’t really like where I was at,” Hayes said. “I was like, ‘Something’s got to change. What I’m doing isn’t working.’ ”

With a scheduled day off before the first game of the Giants series, Hayes was able to decompress and spent that Monday working with Haines to concentrate on implementing the toe tap.

Instead of a pronounced leg kick, the right handed-hitting Hayes taps his left foot on the dirt as he loads up to keep better balance.

“The toe tap for him is just the thing he needs to do consistently in order to be behind the baseball,” Haines said. “Not to get too technical, but his best path shows up and contact points are more consistent.”

Pirates veteran Andrew McCutchen noticed the difference in Hayes’ confidence when he crushed a 421-foot, three-run homer and finished with four RBIs in a 7-5 win over the St. Louis Cardinals.

“He’s squaring the ball up, so you knew it was a matter of time before he was going to start swinging it,” McCutchen said. “When he’s getting those results and having success, that just builds confidence. When you have confidence in what you do because of the results, you’re going to take off.

“It’s not necessarily the change that we do. It’s the confidence of what we do. Most times it has to do not much with what we’re doing. It’s just the confidence we have doing it.”

Since the third game of the San Francisco series, Hayes has three doubles, two triples, two home runs and 11 RBIs. Hayes is hitting like he hasn’t since the final eight games of September 2020, when he batted .516 (16 for 31) with three doubles, two triples, two homers, 11 RBIs and a 1.494 OPS to clinch NL Rookie of the Month honors.

“I’m in that mindset of how I was in ’20,” Hayes said, “just going up there being free, just having fun with it, being aggressive early in the count and being able to hit the fastball and hit the hanging off-speed.”

It’s no coincidence the Pirates won seven of the first nine games after Hayes switched to the toe tap, even though he has been batting between fifth and seventh in the order.

“It means a lot to us. We need him to do that, and he’s doing it right now,” Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds said. “Obviously, his glove is the best. And he’s making adjustments hitting, too, and it’s showing up. He looks great. I guess the toe tap is giving him larger room for error, which is what you need when you’re hitting.”

Not just a good glove

Since that sizzling September, Hayes has established himself as one of the premier defenders, not just at third base, but in all of baseball. The metrics suggest as much, as he has an MLB-best 7.7 defensive index and 10 Outs Above Average. His nine Defensive Runs Saved are tied for the best at his position and fifth in the majors.

The only thing standing in Hayes’ way of winning a Gold Glove has been St. Louis Cardinals star Nolan Arenado, who has won the NL award 10 consecutive years.

The Pirates, who signed Hayes to an eight-year, $70 million contract in April 2022, even had Hayes flashing his glove on his bobblehead that was given out to fans Saturday. Pirates manager Derek Shelton, however, was adamant that Hayes doesn’t listen to criticism that if it wasn’t for his glove, he wouldn’t have been in the lineup.

“I don’t think that motivates him at all,” Shelton said. “I think what motivates him is just to get better constantly, working on what he’s going to do to get better.”

Hayes simply shrugs off such talk, noting that nobody is harder on him than his mother, Gelinda. Not even his father, Charlie, who played 14 seasons in the major leagues.

“I know what type of player I am,” Hayes said. “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.”

Finding ways to bring out the best version of Hayes as a hitter has been the crux of every conversation between Haines and Hayes. Haines said Hayes isn’t just capitalizing on mistakes. He has hit every pitch type and to every part of the field. The hitting coach is convinced Hayes is just beginning to tap into his potential at the plate.

“The toe tap has been, obviously, something very productive for him,” Haines said, “but if you look at who he is at his best, I see a guy who could lead the league in doubles and really be a hitter.”