Austin Hays takes his swings in the batting cage, trades some banter with teammates and quietly goes about his business.
He likes to keep things simple. So far, that’s been an effective strategy.
It has been a breakout year for the Orioles outfielder, who was competing for a batting title in early July and started in center field for the American League in the 2023 All-Star Game in Seattle.
Hays, who turns 29 in September, is leading the charge for the Orioles’ first postseason berth since 2016.
“Just stay focused on the day-to-day, stick to the process, stick to the plan and the numbers will fall where they may at the end of the year,” Hays said.
Entering play on Aug. 22, the 5-foot-11, 200-pound outfielder is batting .281/.324/.451 with 12 home runs and 50 RBIs.
“I’m doing a better job with my planning before the game,” Hays said. “I made some adjustments mechanically in the offseason that [have] allowed me to have a little more consistent at-bats as far as swinging at strikes, staying in the zone and not swinging at borderline, edgy pitches earlier in the count. My focus has been the balls I’m putting in play, to hit them hard on a line through the middle part of the field. Very simple stuff.”
Hays has also established himself as a quality defender in left field, which was apparent on July 31, when he made a sprawling catch in left center in the bottom of the ninth inning in Toronto to help preserve a 4-2 victory against the Blue Jays. He has a rocket for an arm as well. Opposing baserunners are hesitant to challenge him.
“I take a lot of pride in my defense,” Hays said. “It doesn’t matter how the offense is going, your defense should never stray. I think defense is a lot of effort. It’s really just paying attention and being focused, making sure you’re in the right position and playing hard. It’s really just an effort position. Hitting, you can go through things here and there, but you can always control your defense.”
Hays’ success this season has been a natural progression from last year when he set career highs in games (145), plate appearances (582), at-bats (535), hits (134), doubles (35), extra-base hits (53), walks (34) and hit-by-pitches (10). He tied for the club lead in doubles with Adley Rutschman and finished second on the Orioles in extra-base hits behind Anthony Santander (57).
Hays, who was selected by the Orioles in the third round (No. 91 overall) of the 2016 MLB Draft, also hit for the sixth cycle in Orioles history last June against the Nationals, the first Orioles player to accomplish that feat since Jonathan Villar against the Yankees on Aug. 5, 2019, and the second to do so in four plate appearances. Hays also became the 11th player in the expansion era (since 1961) to hit for the cycle in his first four plate appearances from the leadoff spot, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Hays has overcome several injuries in recent years — ankle (2018), sprained left thumb (2019), rib (2020), hamstring (2021) and hand (2022) — to establish himself as a reliable everyday player.
“He has turned himself into a big-time professional where he has a routine of getting ready to play, takes care of his body, understands what it’s like to be an everyday major league player,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “So hard to do, and people don’t understand how hard that is. He has stayed away from the injury bug, and he’s done a great job.”
For Hays, the main goal is to lead the Orioles into the postseason. From there, this young roster has shown they are capable of beating anyone. Hays has played a key role in that success and the entire rebuilding effort led by general manager Mike Elias.
After accumulating 100-plus losses in three consecutive full seasons, the Orioles were in the playoff hunt for much of the latter part of last season, going 83-79. While the Orioles did not make the postseason, that performance set the tone heading into this year.
Hays is confident this group of players is ready to make the next step.
“We really got hot in the summer months last year,” Hays said. “We saw the organization and this team and the mindset in the locker room really turn around. To be able to play meaningful games those last couple of months, even up to the last week of the season because we weren’t eliminated from the playoffs yet, was really big for a lot of players in this locker room to get to experience that and play a lot of those meaningful games. I felt like it prepared us for this season.”
There is also a new energy in the clubhouse as the team hovers around the top of the AL East standings. Hays is simply focused on winning games and helping the Orioles reach their ultimate goal — a World Series championship, something they have not achieved in 40 years.
“It’s very exciting, it’s everything you want,” Hays said. “You grind so hard and work so hard to get to the big leagues and you’re just trying to figure out how to stay here and, ‘Do I belong yet?’ Once you get past that and know that you can play here, you change your mindset to win. You show up every day just to win.”
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox
Issue 282: August/September 2023
Originally published Aug. 16, 2023. Updated Aug. 22, 2023.