Ke'Bryan Hayes does not remember watching his father, Charlie Hayes, play in the major leagues. He was 4 years old when Charlie retired, so he has no memories of running around a major-league clubhouse or talking to Charlie's teammates. What he does remember is that ever since he was little, he knew he wanted to have a long career as a major-league third baseman, like his dad.
Funny thing: Dad didn't think it was a great idea.
Funnier thing ...
“This one," Charlie was telling me this week by phone from a ball field in Texas, "he’s good at proving people wrong.”
When he was about 7 or 8, as Ke'Bryan recalls, he told his dad his dream and asked how he could achieve it. Charlie, a few years removed from a 14-season career, was not convinced Ke'Bryan could do it. He did not encourage, or even want, any of his three sons to play baseball. He did not think they were disciplined enough to become pro ball players, and he felt Ke'Bryan, the youngest of the three, was not as naturally talented as the other two. So he told Ke'Bryan he was going to have to work harder than the rest.
A lot harder.
That's what Ke'Bryan did.
Fortunately for him, he had a good place to do that work. In 2005, Charlie opened a baseball academy in Tomball, Texas. Starting at age eight, Ke'Bryan would head there right after school and work out with one of Charlie's 10-12 classes. Almost all of Charlie's students were older than him, some 15 or 16 years old. If they each got 50 swings in the cage, Ke'Bryan got 50 swings with their bat, not his. If there were seven or eight classes that day, he went in the cage seven or eight times. If they took ground balls, he took ground balls, too. It was often over 200 grounders a day, with Charlie stressing that when Ke'Bryan throws across the diamond to first, he actually throws it. Not toss, throw. Hard. When Ke'Bryan protested, saying he would hurt his arm, Charlie assured him he would be fine. He needed to build up the arm strength.
"I think that helped me," Ke'Bryan told me, also by phone from Texas. "Being able to [practice with older kids] helped me to grow up."
He grew up not just as a ball player, but matured as a person. Charlie says Ke'Bryan is the most committed person who has gone through Big League Academy Baseball. While his judgment sounds like it could be a tad biased, Charlie means it. After all, he did not even want him to play ball. Ke'Bryan proved him wrong. He was more than disciplined enough to play professionally. And after over a decade of working together, Ke'Bryan was selected by the Pirates in the first round of the 2015 amateur draft.
Now, he is universally acclaimed as one of the best third base prospects in the game and is on the cusp of breaking into the major leagues.
"He's got a work ethic like no other," Charlie said.
Ke'Bryan may have some new doubters to prove wrong after hitting his first real roadblock in 2019. His season was far from a failure. He won a third consecutive Rawlings Minor League Gold Glove, joining Ramón Conde (1959-1961) as the only players in MILB history to do that. But he had a hard time adjusting to the better pitching in Triple-A, finishing with a .265/.336/.415 slash line with 10 home runs in a year where offense exploded not just in the majors, but in the highest level of the minors, too.
Ke'Bryan's goal for 2020 is not only to reach the majors, but to stay in the big leagues. He knows what he has to do to achieve that, and he is not going to overreact after one sour season. He worked hard to get to this point. Now it's time to keep working hard.
“I’m all about routines," Ke'Bryan said. "I like to do the same thing, find a routine and just keep it moving.”
Ke'Bryan's daily routine starts around 7 or 7:30 a.m.. After breakfast, it is off to the gym to build strength. Around noon, he is off to Tomball to the Big League Academy.
Sometimes he and Charlie will throw first, especially on the days he does not go to the gym first, but it's usually straight into the cage. Another Hayes almost always throws to Ke'Bryan, either Charlie or his older brother, Tyree, a former minor-league pitcher in the Rays' system.
He hits four times a week, swinging, on average, 250 times a session and 1,000 times per week. If he sees a pitch he knows will be out of the zone, he will watch it go by. Why waste a swing in BP on a pitch he would not swing at in a game?
“He drives us crazy around here," Charlie said. "He’s about worn [Tyree's] arm out, and now he’s working on mine.”
The two do not talk much during those 1,000 swings. Occasionally Ke'Bryan will stop to ask if Charlie sees something. He is always looking for insight and will send video of his swings to Charlie if he is not there, but Charlie knows Ke'Bryan is a great self-evaluator.
In the later parts of 2019, Ke'Bryan had noticed he was pulling his head and front side too early when he was swinging, so he started waiting back on pitches a little longer.
"Let the pitcher do all the work," he said he thought to himself.
Ke'Bryan started to focus on taking pitches to the opposite field and right-center more, with the mindset that if it is a fastball, he can drive it. If it's a breaking or offspeed pitch, he can still make contact and pull it, even if he is fooled by it.
He enjoyed better results in the final months of the season, hitting .313 with an .806 OPS in August and September. But Ke'Bryan did not pay much attention to his average last year, regardless of if he was on a hot or cold streak. What was more important to him was that he could not only hit fastballs and breaking pitches from pitchers who have either been in the majors or are very close to making their debut, but he could make adjustments when necessary.
“2019, it had a lot of ups and downs," Ke'Bryan said. "I’m glad it happened to me now. That way I know how to react and carry myself for whatever happens in the future.”
After he is done hitting, it's time for ground balls. He has cut back on the 200 grounder days from his youth to about 80-100 a session now. Now that he is lifting more, he wants to make sure he gives him body enough time to recover while still getting in the right amount of swings. Taking fewer reps in the field is a luxury that comes with winning three gold gloves.
Ke'Bryan picked up a lot of his ground ball drills by watching videos online and hearing stories of people like Ron Washington, the former Rangers manager and current Braves third base and infield coach, and Brandon Phillips, the four time gold glover. They know what they are doing, so he tries to follow their example.
The drills themselves are hardly revolutionary. He feels too many people try to make defensive drills too complicated. Instead, he focuses on the simple things. A family friend gifted him a Fungo machine, so when he is taking ground balls, he tries to keep a couple Charlie-isms in mind. Where are his feet? Where are his hands? Did he catch the ball in the center of his glove?
“A lot of stuff that I do for my defense is stuff an eight year old would do," Ke'Bryan said. "I just do it over and over again until I can do it with my eyes closed.”
That is about when Ke'Bryan calls it a day. He usually goes home right after to play some PC games to wind down. Fortnite and Call of Duty are his go-tos right now. Or perhaps he will ride bikes with his brother or mom, Gelinda.
By his own admission, he does not do much outside of baseball. It's part of the reason why he plans on getting to Florida on Feb. 10, the same day Pirates pitchers and catchers are due to report.
“I’m ready to play again. This offseason went by pretty quick," Ke'Bryan said. "I’m ready to get in there and play.”
Until then, he will continue to get ready. More weights, more BP, more grounders. Spending some time riding bikes with his mom, who Charlie lovingly refers to as, "Ms. Steinbrenner."
Speaking of nicknames, Charlie has one for Ke'Bryan: 'Young Hayes.' Growing up, it was 'Baby Hayes' because Ke'Bryan is the youngest in the family. When he was 10 or 11, he liked the moniker. When he got into pro ball, not so much. So after some protest, the nickname changed in 2017.
But it did not change just because Ke'Bryan wanted it. Charlie had seen his son mature. When Charlie would buy his sons new shoes when they were teenagers, his two eldest would show them off. Ke'Bryan would dirty them up a bit to not draw attention to himself. He was acting ordinary when his talent was extraordinary. Now, he was acting like he belonged in pro ball. He was becoming a "bulldog" between the lines. Charlie heard stories about how Ke'Bryan would be the only player to throw hard to first during infield drills before a minor-league game. Seeing that change in mindset and the commitment Ke'Bryan was making to his body and his craft, Charlie knew it was time for a new nickname.
“He had to earn that," Charlie said. "When he stopped being a baby, I changed it to Young Hayes.”
And when Ke'Bryan's career is all said and done, Charlie would be proud if people referred to his son as the better Hayes.
