New Pirates hitting coach Andy Haines likes to 'see the game from the player's lens'

After experiencing both success and struggles in three “eventful” seasons with the Milwaukee Brewers, Andy Haines is embracing the challenge of impacting the Pittsburgh Pirates as their new hitting coach.

Haines discussed his passion for and approach to hitting and the different dynamics of offense as a “very individualized game within a team concept” in an introductory 27-minute video conference call Friday with members of the Pittsburgh media.

“You really have to see the game from the player’s lens,” said Haines, who isn’t permitted to discuss MLB players during the lockout. “It’s easy to see it the way we want it to look. But I think the best coaches and the most impactful people I’m around as mentors, they have a gift of seeing things (through) other people’s eyes — where they want to go and how you help them get there.

“Team-wise, I want a lineup that we’re all proud of, that’s relentless. We don’t take one pitch off, or we’re putting on a great show every night, we’re fun to watch and we can win in a multitude of ways: We can damage the baseball, stand in there and slug when we need to and when the game demands execution and some finer points of the game and maybe some more accuracy with a barrel, we can do that also. That gives you a chance over 162 (games).”

That open-minded approach separated Haines from other candidates to replace Rick Eckstein, who was fired Aug. 30. The Pirates ranked last in the major leagues in home runs, RBIs, runs scored, slugging percentage, OPS and batting average with runners in scoring position at the time.

Haines likewise took the fall for the Brewers after they slipped to 23rd in slugging percentage and 27th in batting average last season, when they had 48 strikeouts and were shut out twice by the eventual World Series champion Atlanta Braves in their NL Divisional Series.

Previously, Haines spent two seasons with the Chicago Cubs, where he worked alongside Pirates farm director John Baker and baseball informatics assistant director Sean Ahmed. Haines also has connections to Pirates bench coach Don Kelly, first base coach Tarrik Brock and third base coach Mike Rabelo from their time with the Miami Marlins, where Haines was a minor league manager.

Pirates manager Derek Shelton has expressed the desire for the new hitting coach to lead the club’s hitting program, with an emphasis on the development of not only major leaguers but the prospects.

“We thought that was kind of a unique blend, a guy who has been a major league hitting coach, been around some really good hitters but he’s still open-minded, too,” Shelton said of Haines last month. “You guys saw us practice differently last year. We will continue to break boundaries on that. Andy was really open in our conversations about how to do that and actually added some things in that we thought were important.”

Not only do Shelton and Haines share a common career arc as former minor league managers who became major league hitting coaches, but Haines’ research of the Pirates with the intention of learning their organizational outlook revealed his love for the game at both levels.

“I always say the minor leagues are like dog years. I was there a long time,” Haines said. “I love players. I love helping players develop and grow. I love the major league game. So I love both.”

While Haines assured Baker and minor league hitting coordinator Jonny Tucker he could serve as a resource who can help forecast the future, the Pirates want his primary focus to be on their major league hitters.

Haines worked with Christian Yelich when both were in Miami and shared in his success with the Brewers in 2019, when the then-reigning NL MVP batted .329/.429/.671 with 44 home runs and 97 RBIs before suffering a season-ending knee injury in September. But Yelich’s struggles the past two seasons proved costly to the Brewers and Haines.

What Haines learned from his dismissal by the Brewers is to look at the situation the way he does hitters, through a different a lens.

“I think when you look at it, when you really hold yourself accountable and hold yourself to a high standard, it’s easy to go to both extremes,” Haines said. “It’s easy to get defensive and say, ‘This isn’t right.’ It’s easy to beat yourself up and say, ‘How’d this happen? It should have been better’ when it doesn’t happen. I think reality is always in the middle somewhere when you get a little bit past it. …

“When you sit down to get through it, the only option is you keep going to get better, man. That’s the reality of it.”