Pirates hearing Matt Hague crystal clear, as new hitting coach attempts to speak their language

Matt Hague had headphones on from the home dugout at LECOM Park and was talking with the SportsNet Pittsburgh broadcast crew when the Pittsburgh Pirates’ new hitting coach addressed the nature of his job.

“We’re therapists sometimes, trying to be their hitting bilinguist sometimes,” said Hague, 40, who played professionally for 11 seasons, including seven in the Pirates system and 33 games with them in the majors in 2012 and ’14. “You try to go to their language and meet them where they are.”

So far, the Pirates are hearing Hague’s message loud and clear.

Pirates players have found Hague’s instruction during spring training to be refreshing, especially given that his advice on approach and swing decisions can differ depending on the hitter.

“Hague’s been awesome,” Pirates All-Star outfielder Bryan Reynolds said. “He’s given guys different things to work on. He gave me something then told Isiah (Kiner-Falefa) something completely different, which is great. I’m looking forward to working with him.”

The Pirates are hoping Hague can help them reverse their poor production at the plate after ranking 14th (out of 15 teams) in the National League in hits, strikeouts, batting average (.234) and on-base percentage (.301) and last in slugging (.371) and OPS (.672) last season.

It wasn’t just the team totals that caused Pirates general manager Ben Cherington to make a change and fire Andy Haines after three seasons. The Pirates emphasized the importance of reversing dismal seasons by individuals, including a pair of players with power potential whose scuffles resulted in demotions.

After smacking 26 home runs with 74 RBIs in 2023, Jack Suwinski hit .182 in 88 games. And 2021 No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis also batted below the Mendoza Line at .144 in 37 games. A fastball hitter throughout his career, Davis was trying to cover too much of the plate and batted .123 against heaters and .138 against breaking pitches.

“We have a tendency in this game, especially offensively — and I’ve been guilty of this as a hitting coach — is we want to spend so much time working on our weaknesses that we get away from our strengths,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said.

The turnarounds of Davis and Suwinski have been pleasant surprises, as both battled for backup jobs this spring. Davis hit .250/.289/.472 with two doubles, two home runs and five RBIs but had 11 strikeouts against two walsk before being optioned Saturday night to Triple-A Indianapolis, while Suwinski has a .368/.419/.579 slash line with five doubles, a homer and nine RBIs.

“When I think about those guys, they’re very athletic with strong builds,” Hague said, noting two different phases of emphasis. “They hit the ball far, so it’s more that balancing act. Movement-wise, it tends to be more controlled. Trying to be stable, slow themselves down as they make their move to contact. Trusting themselves athletically to where they’re not trying to do too much. Some more stuff goes into it with those to control their positions because they can handle so much because of the athleticism. When they do connect, it’s about controlling connection the way you deliver the barrel.”

Where Shelton has emphasized the need for the Pirates to win in the margins, Hague shared with SportsNet Pittsburgh that he believes this team is dynamic and athletic and is trying to blend both worlds. He found Pirates hitters to be “open-minded” to his message, especially with conversations about the want for growth.

Hague wants the Pirates to be able to beat opponents in multiple ways, whether it’s by moving runners over, hitting doubles or home runs. He is stressing what he calls “adjustability work” to make sure players are better in situational hitting while creating freedom within to execute.

“That’s one of the areas we’re trying to attack: Take advantage of the situation, especially with runners on second, nobody out. That was kind of a glaring situation we wanted to address,” Hague said. “There’s doubles backside for a right-handed hitter. That still moves ’em. We’re not losing the intent.”

Starting the search for a new hitting coach last October, Cherington expressed a clear objective that the philosophy would be player-centric instead of all-encompassing. And that they wanted to build a hitting group, instead of pinning the successes and failures on one person.

To that end, the Pirates also added Daniel Vogelbach as a special assistant to a hitting department that includes Christian Marrero and Jonny Tucker. In 2022, Vogelbach hit 10 doubles and 12 home runs in 75 games as the Pirates’ designated hitter before being traded to the New York Mets for reliever Colin Holderman in July.

Kiner-Falefa enjoyed the best first half hitting number of his career with the Toronto Blue Jays last year, batting .292/.338/.420 with eight doubles, seven homers and 33 RBIs in 74 games. He doesn’t believe it was a coincidence that it was Hague’s first season as Blue Jays assistant hitting coach after rising through the ranks of their farm system. When the Pirates asked Kiner-Falefa about Hague, the shortstop couldn’t believe that Toronto fired its hitting coaches and Hague was available.

“Hague’s always been the guy,” Kiner-Falefa said. “I was shocked to see Toronto let him go. He was kind of being groomed as the next hitting coach, so I didn’t expect him to even have the opportunity to interview here.”

Kiner-Falefa is just one player who noted how Hague and Vogelbach — his teammate in Toronto — have helped players deal with the mental aspect of hitting. Only 32 and less than a year removed from playing in the majors, Vogelbach has made a seamless transition to his new role.

“Vogey is very good at talking,” Hague said, “and it’s a beautiful conversation if you get the chance.”

Rookie infielder Nick Yorke has had the chance and found his conversations with Vogelbach to be invaluable.

“It’s been some of the most fun I’ve had in the cage, talking about approaches, talking about pitches you want to take your shots on, team at-bats, individual at-bats,” Yorke said. “That’s what I’ve been talking to Vogelbach about. He’s been great, talking about honing in on my pitch selection and what I want to hit and when I get that, making sure I pull the trigger on it.

“If you chase on something you’re looking for, who cares? If you’re chasing something you’re not looking for, you’d rather go down on something you are looking for.”

For Andrew McCutchen, having a former teammate in Hague and a former opponent in Vogelbach is evidence of the longevity of the 38-year-old Pirates designated hitter. But he has respect for both, especially with how they approach their jobs.

“Hague has a good mind when it comes to hitting,” McCutchen said. “It’s not always just about mechanics. A lot of times it’s mental, grinding and working through things. I think he’ll be a good fit here. Obviously, playing against Vogey for so many years, he’s a guy who understands hitting. Just to get their minds in on things and their input is always good for us, to get different perspectives and outlooks on approach or whatever it is you’re trying to deal with.”