Pirates Take 5: Ke'Bryan Hayes takes swing at umpire on social media after controversial call

The Pittsburgh Pirates haven’t been shy about voicing their displeasure with umpires on called strikes outside the zone this season, but Ke’Bryan Hayes took it a step further.

The Pirates third baseman voiced his complaints on social media Sunday in a post about a call by home plate umpire Bill Miller in the eighth inning of a 5-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park.

Hayes took issue with a 3-1 fastball by Braves lefty A.J. Minter that Hayes said was “not even close” to the strike zone but one Miller called a strike. Hayes had flipped his bat toward the visiting dugout and turned toward first base, then had words with Miller. Hayes went down swinging on the next pitch, as Minter struck out the side.

“Some umpires really don’t care,” Hayes wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “I hold him accountable. After the game walking off the field and his response is, ‘I gave you a chance to hit a home run.’ That tells me you don’t care at all. No accountability. Bring the ABS please.”

Some umpires really don’t care. 3-1 call not even close. I hold him accountable after the game walking off the field and his response is “????????‍♂️ I gave you a chance to hit a homerun” that tells me you don’t care at all. No accountability. Bring the ABS please @MLB pic.twitter.com/sgncakv8v8

— KeBryan Hayes (@KeBryanHayes) September 10, 2023

What pic.twitter.com/Dy7uEQ3Y3m

— Platinum Ke’Bryan (@PlatinumKey13) September 10, 2023

Hayes advocating for the implementation of an automated balls-strikes system, which is used in the minors, was the latest grumbling in a season of discontent by the Pirates about inconsistent strike zones.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton was ejected for arguing balls and strikes in defense of Andrew McCutchen in May at Tampa. Hitting coach Andy Haines was ejected for arguing in defense of Jack Suwinski in July at the Los Angeles Dodgers. And Shelton, pitching coach Oscar Marin and bench coach Don Kelly were ejected for continued complaining about a called strike against Bryan Reynolds in the sixth inning of the nightcap of a doubleheader against Cincinnati last month at PNC Park.

This was different, though, as Hayes is hardly vocal. He not only publicly called out the umpires but tagged MLB. Hayes is likely facing a fine but also making a point that is sure to resonate around baseball.

1. Out in front: The Pirates quashed talk of firing Haines by saying he would return as hitting coach next season, although the story was buried by Tuesday’s news that No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes was shut down for the season.

Shelton and general manager Ben Cherington backed Haines, citing the team’s visible statistical improvements in on-base and slugging percentage, increase in walks and runs scored and decrease in strikeouts, as well as swing decisions and hard contact, as reasons for his return next season.

“The players who have been with the team for the full season have, in our estimation, either performed pretty close or above expectation who are tracking positively, progressing as the season goes on,” Cherington said. “So that’s a positive.”

Assistant general manager Kevan Graves discussed the public relations strategy of backing Haines while filling in Sunday on Cherington’s weekly radio show on 93.7 FM.

“There had been a healthy amount of conversation and public dialogue around Andy, around our offensive programming,” Graves said. “We feel good, as Ben articulated, with some of the progress we’re seeing in that space. We thought it was important to get out there and make that known.”

2. Hitting for Haines: It’s no surprise that Shelton was particularly defensive about the criticism aimed at Haines, given that he was a former hitting coach for Cleveland and Tampa Bay.

“I’ve said this numerous times: Being a hitting coach is really hard. Being critical of a hitting coach is really easy,” Shelton said. “It’s a place where a lot of people want to go and when things don’t go the way people assume they should go, then they can be critical. And I’m telling you that very much so from experience.”

Where Shelton defended Haines by noting the Pirates have used a lot of young players this season — starting six rookies in multiple games in mid-June — a veteran player also voiced his support for Haines last week.

Reynolds, who leads the team in batting average, slugging percentage, OPS, doubles and RBIs, credited his hot start to working with Haines in the offseason. Reynolds was riding an 11-game hit streak entering Monday’s series against Washington.

“I love him, so I think it’s great,” Reynolds said. “I’m glad he’s coming back.”

3. Opposite directions: Graves was asked by play-by-play broadcaster Greg Brown about the velocity concerns with right-handed pitchers Roansy Contreras and Quinn Priester at Triple-A Indianapolis.

Where Contreras’ fastball is sitting at 92 mph, Priester has seen an uptick in velocity since being optioned last month.

As expected, Graves accentuated the positives but also gave some insight into what the Pirates’ focus is with both pitchers. Graves said Contreras is healthy but that his delivery is misaligned.

“Really with Roansy, it’s about getting his body in the right positions, aligning his body so that he’s equipped to throw at the velocities we’ve seen historically,” Graves said. “Guys get misaligned at times. We’ve seen that with him. We’ve continued to work to remedy that. We’ve seen it in spurts this year. He hasn’t been able to sustain it. A big part of where he fits moving forward or how he’s best able to compete moving forward will be regaining some of that velocity. It’s apparent, and I think he would acknowledge that.”

While Priester’s velocity on his four-seamer has picked up from an average of 92.6 mph with the Pirates to the mid-90s, the Pirates have concentrated on his pitch design and repertoire.

“Some of that is physical, getting your body in the right position. Some of that, candidly, is just mental: freeing yourself up to attack,” Graves said. “His ability to do that moving forward, just like a lot of our young pitchers, will do a lot to dictate his ability to navigate major league lineups and his ability to compete at a high level.”

In his last appearance, Indy had Priester follow opener Braeden Ogle. Priester recorded 10 strikeouts and four walks in 5 2/3 innings against Toledo. That could be a sign the Pirates plan to use Priester in a similar role this season or in a bulk relief role.

“With all of our pitchers throughout our system, we want to build adaptability, versatility, flexibility and so with Quinn specifically, we don’t want to ask any of our pitchers or any of our players to come up to the big leagues and do something they haven’t done in the major leagues,” Graves said. “That’s not to say that Quinn is a bulk guy or follower moving forward but it is to say that I think we have deployed some of our young pitching that way and there’s certainly the possibility that Quinn could be asked to do that at some point in the major leagues.

“So continuing to get comfort with that, to get reps with that and just having some routine, not that same warm-up process prior to the game, is important to build his ability to accomplish that if and when asked to do that moving forward.”

Solo HR by OF Henry Davis @indyindians #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/zaUNJGHkl4

— Pittsburgh Pirates Player Development Report (@PGHplayerDev) September 9, 2023

4. Homerin’ Hank: Henry Davis, the No. 1 overall pick in 2021, started a rehabilitation assignment with Indianapolis on Saturday and hit a solo homer in his first at-bat.

That’s a good sign for the right-hand muscle strain that affected his thumb and has had Davis on the 10-day injured list since Aug. 21.

“The hope is that it’s a shorter stay,” Graves said. “He’ll really dictate that. How his hand responds will really dictate that.”

Graves also delivered some news that will be sure to disappoint Pirates fans: Although he’s still listed as a right fielder/catcher, there are no plans for Davis to play behind the plate in Indy.

“We’re going to focus on getting him healthy and back to the big leagues,” Graves said. “I wouldn’t anticipate seeing him catch on the rehab assignment. Right now, we’re just focused on getting him back, getting him healthy and seeing him compete.”

5. New position for Cutch?: Andrew McCutchen has been public in saying he wants to return to the Pirates next season even though he knows his days in right field might be numbered.

Privately, McCutchen has considered the possibility of playing another position to extend his career by moving to first base. Problem is, he’s never played anywhere but the outfield.

Graves called McCutchen, a five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger and Gold Glove winner who was the 2013 NL MVP, an “iconic member of the organization” and said the Pirates would have internal conversations next month about roster construction.

While bringing back McCutchen should be a no-brainer, given his popularity and production, Graves wasn’t sold on the idea of him playing a new position at age 37 and in his 16th season in the majors while recovering from a nagging right elbow injury and a season-ending partial tear of the left Achilles tendon.

“Personally, I think that’s a difficult ask of him,” Graves said. “I’ve been in pro ball for nearly 20 years. He hasn’t played first base, let alone the dirt. So I do think that’s a tough ask for him. That’s not something I’ve heard Cutch address himself. It is a creative idea, creative solution as to how to construct the roster moving forward. Not something we’ve talked about internally. I’d imagine a pretty tough sled for Cutch.”