Michael Chavis hits 1st home run for Pirates after focusing on letting power come naturally

After hitting his first home run with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Michael Chavis celebrated with his new teammates in the dugout and then pulled out a little black book to commemorate the occasion.

Dating to his days with the High-A Salem (Va.) Red Sox in the minor leagues, Chavis has kept notes on his at-bats in a journal to remind himself about how pitchers approached him, his thoughts and what he was trying to do.

Along the way, he’s learned what not to do.

The former first-round pick hit 18 home runs in 95 games as a rookie with the Red Sox in 2019, then combined for only seven homers in 73 games over the next two seasons. That forced Chavis to learn to stop swinging for the fences and focus instead on making hard contact in hopes that the homers would come without trying so hard.

“I know that I have power,” said Chavis, acquired by the Pirates for lefty reliever Austin Davis at the July 30 trade deadline. “Through the minors and up until this point, one thing I was working on was just letting it happen naturally and stop trying to produce the power, stop trying to force home runs and just let them happen.”

That philosophy worked for Chavis on Tuesday night, when he hit Arizona lefty Madison Bumgarner’s first-pitch, a belt-high cutter, 429 feet into the left-field bleachers at PNC Park for a home run to spark a 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks. It was the first homer with the Pirates and third of the season for Chavis, who hit a two-run homer May 8 at Baltimore and a solo shot July 21 at Toronto.

Welcome to Pittsburgh, Michael Chavis!

Batting out of the leadoff spot tonight, Chavis hits his 1st HR with the @Pirates! #LetsGoBucs have added a Sac Fly from Bryan Reynolds to take a 2-0 lead in the 3rd inning live on AT&T SportsNet! pic.twitter.com/FbG9zXnwa0

— AT&T SportsNet™ PIT (@ATTSportsNetPIT) August 25, 2021

After going 0 for 4 in his Pirates debut, Chavis went 2 for 4 while batting leadoff in his second game since being promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis. He also singled in the seventh inning before getting thrown out in a pickoff play at second base.

“I wouldn’t say the idea is to hit a punched single to the right field, but I’m trying to drive the ball every single time,” Chavis said. “It’s not that I’m trying to hit a home run. I’m not trying to hit the ball as hard as possible, but I am trying to hit the ball hard, and I’m trying to do damage.”

The pickoff play was another lesson for Chavis, whom Pirates shortstop Kevin Newman called a “big energy guy.” Outfielder Anthony Alford played against Chavis in the AL East and the minors while with Toronto, and noted that the infielder was “very talented, very skilled, very fast.”

But those traits backfired on the pickoff play. After the one-out single, Chavis advanced to second base when Ke’Bryan Hayes drew a walk. But Bryan Reynolds lined out to left for the second out. With Chavis leading too far off base with pinch hitter Yoshi Tsutsugo at the plate, Diamondbacks reliever Matt Peacock turned and threw to Nick Ahmed. The two-time Gold Glove shortstop blocked the bag and tagged Chavis out.

That required a quick conversation for Chavis with Pirates manager Derek Shelton about how costly it was to the team’s strategy after a double switch put the pitcher in the cleanup spot in the batting order.

“When you’re pinch-hitting, you have to be aware of that,” Shelton said. “He hasn’t played many National League games but a learning moment for him. It didn’t come back to hurt us but he just got a little bit aggressive.”

Afterward, Chavis was kicking himself. He noticed the Diamondbacks were in a shift, with third baseman Asdrubal Cabrera playing deep, and thought he could take an extra base by getting a good jump on a steal. Chavis said he “felt horrible” and immediately apologized to Tsutsugo for taking the bat out of his hands, yet doesn’t regret his aggressive approach as much he does the poor timing.

“I’m not upset that I made the decision. It’s just not the right time,” Chavis said. “I’ve made that play a couple times previously, and that’s the first time I’ve gotten caught. But, honestly, it’s a stupid time. In hindsight, it was my own fault. I know how the National League works, because I’m a baseball fan. I’ve played baseball my whole life. But I’ve never been part of a double switch, so the pitcher spot hitting in the four-hole, I just didn’t put two and two together that that was the pitcher’s spot and we just completely burned (the pinch-hitter).”

Now that the complications Chavis encountered in Boston are behind him — primarily, getting consistent playing time — he is embracing the possibilities with the Pirates. The best part for Chavis is that he finally feels wanted.

“That’s the biggest thing coming over here. I was told I was going to have an opportunity, and that’s all I can really ask for,” said Chavis, who bounced back and forth between Boston and Triple-A Worcester this season. “I didn’t really have a huge opportunity in Boston. There was actually a point where I went 18 days without starting a game. It was a little bit awkward there at the end. When I was told I was coming over here and I was going to have an opportunity to be in the lineup, that’s all I can ask for. I love playing baseball. It’s my favorite thing to do. As long as I’m in the lineup, I’m going to be happy.”