Pirates rookie Ke'Bryan Hayes, on home run being erased: 'I just thought I hit the base'

When Ke’Bryan Hayes hit the ball, he had no idea that he didn’t touch ‘em all.

A day after Pittsburgh Pirates rookie third baseman and top prospect had a home run erased after he missed the bag while rounding first base in the first inning of a 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night at PNC Park, Hayes said that he wasn’t aware that his foot didn’t touch the base.

“I’ve hit a lot of balls to the right side of the field, so a lot of the times, I’m looking out, to see where the ball’s going to land versus where the right fielder is,” Hayes said Wednesday afternoon on a video conference call. “I’ve done it a million times. Just this time, I just thought I hit the base. … Just ended up, unfortunately, missing the base.”

Hayes hit Walker Buehler’s 3-1 pitch off the bottom of the foul pole in right field, a 346-foot shot that would have been his third home run of the season. Hayes was watching the ball and Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts while rounding first, then sprinted to second when it ricocheted off the pole. He slowed into a home run trot when an umpire signaled it a home run.

The Dodgers challenged the call. After a 1-minute, 9-second review, Hayes was called out and the Pirates’ 1-0 lead was taken off the scoreboard.

“By the time I got in the dugout, I kinda thought they were reviewing whether or not it went over and if it didn’t hit the wall,” said Hayes, who was asked in the dugout by Pirates manager Derek Shelton if he hit the base. “I thought I did. Felt like I did.”

By then, Hayes said, Pirates bench coach Don Kelly had called team video coordinator Kevin Roach to review the play. Video replays showed that Hayes’ left foot landed a few inches wide of the bag at first.

“I saw (Kelly) signal to Shelty that I didn’t touch it,” Hayes said. “That was before they had even put the headset on.”

Hayes said Pirates first base coach Tarrik Brock tried to get his attention but Hayes couldn’t hear him because of the cheers from the PNC Park crowd and the P.A. system blasting music to celebrate his homer.

Afterward, Shelton said that Hayes should have returned to first base if he missed the bag before reaching second: “If he even thinks he misses it, he has to go back and touch it.”

The baserunning blunder didn’t faze Hayes, who went 1 for 4 but was thrown out at second after sliding past the bag while tagging up on a Bryan Reynolds fly ball to left. Hayes beat AJ Pollock’s throw but Dodgers second baseman Chris Taylor held the tag as he slid by.

“It tells me nothing affects him. He made a mistake,” Shelton said. “For a lot of people, the rest of the game, they mentally would not have been in that space. He gets a base hit. He hits two other balls straight on the nose. He goes to the backhand side and makes a really good play. Nothing really affects this kid. I’m pretty sure he’s not going to do that again, but I think that’s a testament to who he is. This kid, nothing fazes him. His heartbeat stays the same the entire time.”

Hayes didn’t dwell on the mistake, shrugging and smiling it off while answering questions about whether he will do anything different. After all, Hayes said, there’s nothing he can do to change the outcome.

“I’m just going to try to forget about it,” Hayes said. “If I’m just thinking about that, that’s taking away from all the other things I have to think about when I’m up there hitting or when I’m on defense or stuff like that. So, I mean, I’ll just remember to look down and make sure I hit the bag.”