How Pirates 3B Ke'Bryan Hayes used 'squishy' balls to eliminate errors

Ke’Bryan Hayes quickly has earned a reputation as one of the best defensive players in baseball, so the Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman shakes his head when he looks at one important statistic.

Hayes had seven errors through the first 50 games this season — including three in a five-game span from May 16-22 — after committing only four in his first 119 games in the majors. Hayes hasn’t made an error in the nine games since.

“This year I’ve made more errors than I would’ve liked to, and (more than) I’ve had in the past,” said Hayes, whose career-high is eight, at both Class A Charleston in 2016 and High-A Bradenton in 2017.

“They’re going to happen. My career is very young. If you miss one, it’s like striking out. You can’t dwell on it too long because next thing you know, another one will be smoked at you. You’ve got to be ready.”

To work on trusting his glove hand on balls hit to his left, Hayes had to learn to live without relying on his right hand.

That’s where things got squishy.

Hayes had been taught by his father, 14-year MLB veteran Charlie Hayes, and constantly reminded by his brother, former minor-leaguer Tyree, to stay low, keep the ball in front of him and use both hands.

Now he wanted to break that habit.

“Going to my left, a lot of times I feel like I use two hands too much,” Hayes said. “It’s kind of how my dad and my brother made me do it — because I was a little heavier back then — so using two hands would make me get to the ball more instead of being lazy.”

So, in pregame drill work, Hayes put in extra work with Pirates bench coach and infield coach Don Kelly. Hayes harkened back to the advice of former Pirates infield coordinator Gary Green, now the bench coach at Triple-A Indianapolis, who told him to just use one. As a way to force Hayes to rely on only his glove hand, Kelly had him hold a baseball in his bare right hand while fielding grounders with his glove hand.

Kelly also mixed in what Hayes calls “squishy” balls — rag balls with a softer texture than their cowhide counterparts — with regular baseballs to keep fielders guessing which one they’ll get.

“It just gives a little bit dexterity feeling when you go to catch it so your hands have to be softer to be able to catch this as opposed to a baseball,” Kelly said. “They never know which one is coming, just to create a different feeling. When they get the baseball, their hands are softer.”

Derek Shelton watches Hayes make spectacular plays appear routine on such a frequent basis the Pirates manager sometimes is surprised when the third baseman misses one.

Then Kelly, who follows the fielding metrics, shares with Shelton mitigating factors such as exit velocity and play probability. It’s a reminder that Hayes puts himself in position for plays most wouldn’t have a prayer of making.

“I think we get really spoiled,” Shelton said of Hayes, “because he’s so good, and he makes a lot of things happen that you really don’t even think should happen.”

So Shelton barely raises an eyebrow when asked to explain how Hayes has committed seven errors but remains elite, not only at his position but among all fielders. Hayes leads all third baseman with nine defensive runs saved, which ranks behind only Baltimore Orioles shortstop Jorge Mateo (10).

“That’s an anomaly,” Shelton said of the errors. “He’s the last guy I’m worried about defensively.”

That’s especially true this past week, when Hayes reminded everyone what makes him special. Not only did he go to his left to turn a 5-4-3 double play but pulled off an improbable 5-3-5 double play in Wednesday’s 8-4 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers. And he made another spectacular play appear routine when he fielded a Trea Turner grounder in the hole and threw out the speedy shortstop. The play had a 42% out probability, yet Hayes made it look effortless.

“He’s amazing. It’s unbelievable,” Kelly said. “Trea Turner smokes one to his left, and it’s a 40% play. A 40% play sounds like it should be 50-50, but that’s a four-star play. It’s ridiculous the stuff he’s able to do.”

Mark Simon of Sports Info Solutions, which tracks DRS, said the ability to turn such plays helps Hayes’ defensive numbers. Hayes has the highest range factor (chances per game) of all third basemen, at 3.2. His quick first step allows Hayes to make more plays on balls, and he’s above average on balls to both his right (23 of 30) and left (50 of 86).

Kelly points to a play Hayes didn’t make on the West Coast trip to prove a point. When San Diego Padres outfielder Wil Myers singled off Hayes’ glove in the third inning May 28, Kelly noted the hit had a 101.5 mph exit velocity.

“You expect him to make that,” Kelly said. “Key felt like he should’ve made the play. Everybody looks at it like, man. But it was an 11% probability play! So there are plays that he’s getting to that he makes look potentially like it could be an error. Nobody else is even getting close to that ball. The effort that it takes for him to get there is extraordinary.

“He’s elite. That’s what I’m trying to get him to understand: Yes, we need to make the routine play but don’t judge your defense based on how many errors you make. Judge your defense based on the amount of plays you make. That’s something Ke’Bryan is elite at: making plays.”