Pirates' Ke'Bryan Hayes earns NL Rookie of the Month honors after strong September
Ke’Bryan Hayes didn’t just have a September to remember, the Pittsburgh Pirates third baseman had one worthy of honor.
Hayes was named NL Rookie of the Month on Monday, his first award as a major leaguer. The 23-year-old Hayes batted .376 (32 for 85) with seven doubles, two triples, five home runs and 11 RBIs and 17 runs scored in 24 games. He also boasted a .682 slugging percentage and 1.124 OPS.
Hayes put an exclamation point on his first month in the majors by finishing on an eight-game hitting streak, including five multi-hit games and seven extra-base hits.
His most memorable performance came at Cleveland on Saturday night, when Hayes went 5 for 5, with three doubles and scored three runs. Hayes had hits in eight consecutive at bats, matching a feat previously set by Andy Van Slyke in 1994.
Hayes is the first Pirates player to win NL Rookie of the Month honors since Austin Meadows in May 2018, and the first Pirates third baseman to do so since Pedro Alvarez in September 2010.
Los Angeles Angels first baseman Jared Walsh won AL Rookie of the Month honors after batting .337 (29 for 86) with four doubles, two triples, nine homers, 26 RBIs and a .744 slugging percentage.
Kevin Gorman is a TribLive reporter covering the Pirates. A Baldwin native and Penn State graduate, he joined the Trib in 1999 and has covered high school sports, Pitt football and basketball and was a sports columnist for 10 years. He can be reached at kgorman@triblive.com.
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