For Pirates' Ke'Bryan Hayes, staying healthy is key to winning Gold Glove

BRADENTON, Fla. — Ke’Bryan Hayes started spring training with the goal of being available to play every game this season, knowing a left hand/wrist injury was one of two things that stood in the way of the Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman winning a Gold Glove as a rookie.

The other, of course, was Nolan Arenado.

The St. Louis Cardinals star has won nine consecutive NL Gold Gloves, dating to his days with the Colorado Rockies, and is considered the standard bearer at the position. So Hayes spent time last season picking the brain of his NL Central foe about anything and everything.

“He’s a really, really good defender, someone I’ve watched coming up through the minor leagues and when I was in high school,” said Hayes, 25. “It’s great to have competition like that. Him and Matt Chapman have been setting the bar really high the last few years.”

Arenado’s advice?

“Confidence. You’ve got to be confident in what you do,” Hayes said. “Be aggressive. Don’t be afraid to make mistakes because you’ll surprise yourself. Just trust yourself, be athletic. Whenever you’re doing your groundball work, try to make it as gamelike as possible.”

That’s why Hayes takes grounders at shortstop on a daily basis, forcing himself to move his feet and make throws from different angles so that he is comfortable when the Pirates employ the shift. That has led to another Hayes habit, where he makes the spectacular plays look routine, turning diving stabs and off-balance throws into an art form.

KE'BRYAN HAYES.

THAT'S IT. THAT'S THE TWEET. pic.twitter.com/Bh3Mrir1i4

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) June 27, 2021

Perhaps no player has a better vantage point than Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman, who has fun watching Hayes snag a ball, gather and fire it across the diamond with ease. Playing next to Hayes brought out the best in Newman, who had a 76-game errorless streak to start the season and finished as a Gold Glove finalist for the first time in his career.

“It’s impressive every time,” Newman said. “He’s super smooth, makes incredible plays, gets great jumps and great reads. It actually really helps as a shortstop him being over there because those balls that are deep in the hole on my backhand, he’s able to come across and make the play himself, which allows me to shift over and get more range on the other side up the middle and in the six-hole. If he’s covering a lot of the six-hole, it allows me to take a step towards the middle and take away some more hits there. That kind of working relationship is great.”

still trying to comprehend how ke’bryan hayes made this play pic.twitter.com/ZgP5lAstYS

— Cut4 (@Cut4) June 27, 2021

Hayes won three minor league Gold Gloves, presented to the top player at the position for all levels, and Bryan Reynolds was aware of the defensive acumen when they played together at Double-A Altoona in 2018. When Hayes joined the Pirates for the final month of the 2020 season, Reynolds was playing behind him in left field.

“I’ve got a lot of confidence anytime a ball is hit over his way,” Reynolds said. “You just start jogging in if there’s two outs.”

After suffering a sprained ankle, Hayes has missed a week’s worth of Grapefruit League games. He has resumed running and hopes to be in the starting lineup when the Pirates visit Arenado and the Cardinals on Thursday for Opening Day. Hayes understands the importance of being in the lineup, both for the Pirates and his Gold Glove hopes.

Hayes had an opener to remember last year, hitting a two-run home run off Chicago Cubs ace Kyle Hendricks in his first at-bat of the season at Wrigley Field. The next day, however, he felt a shooting sensation go up his left wrist and into his hand first on an awkward swing, then while diving back to first base headfirst.

That Hayes went on the 60-day injured list ultimately cost him the NL Gold Glove. He finished with a .988 fielding percentage, committing only three errors in 249 chances over 766⅓ innings. Hayes also posted 16 defensive runs saved, three more than anyone else at the position and more than twice as many as Arenado (seven).

Hayes, however, didn’t meet the Rawlings requirement of playing a minimum of 659⅓ innings through the first 142 games to be eligible for Gold Glove consideration. While Arenado won the honors for the ninth consecutive year, Hayes took home the Fielding Bible Award. It marked the first time since Josh Donaldson won in 2014 that a third baseman other than Arenado or Chapman won the honors.

Where Derek Shelton openly lobbied for catcher Jacob Stallings to receive Gold Glove consideration the past two seasons — Stallings won his first last fall before being traded to the Marlins — the Pirates manager believes Hayes already is regarded among the game’s best at third.

“I think he put himself in the conversation last year by winning the Fielding Bible,” Shelton said. “The Fielding Bible is a really good indicator of you know who’s the premium player at that position. He didn’t qualify enough (innings) to have to win the Gold Glove. But when you win a Fielding Bible award, I think it makes you stand out as being a premier guy there. If you just watch him on a day-to-day basis, you’d be hard pressed to tell me who’s better because he’s really good.”

Hayes credits his father, 14-year MLB veteran Charlie Hayes, and older brother Tyree for instilling his dedication to defense by constantly reminding him to get low and catch the ball out front. They didn’t allow him to be lazy, insisting that he make defense his calling card.

Now, as much as Ke’Bryan Hayes wants to win a Gold Glove, he knows that his best bet to do so involves being healthy and available to play. Hayes has mastered his position; what he hasn’t proven is that he can stay healthy for a full season. He learned the hard way last season that his health and the Gold Glove go hand in hand.

“I definitely want to get one, but I’m not going into the year and checking on other guys to see how many errors they have or what’s their DRS or defensive WAR,” Hayes said. “It’s not something I think of year to year — even in the minor leagues, when I won them. I just get my work in every day. I take it just as seriously as my hitting. Every day when I’m out there, every inning, every pitch. If the ball is coming to me, I’m trying to catch it and get the out for the team and for the pitcher.

“Once the end of the season comes, the stats are what they are. I don’t really think about it too much. I just try to make every play.”

The key to Hayes doing that is to be healthy enough to play every day.