PITTSBURGH — For an organization that has spent a lot of time talking about teachable moments and improving its clubhouse culture, the Pirates let one slip through their fingers this past week when Ke'Bryan Hayes declined to speak with the media the same night he failed to touch first base and lost a home run because of it.
However, before launching deeper into this, let's get a couple of things straight:
— Hayes chose not to speak with the media late Tuesday night because his father, Charlie, was leaving the next morning, and they wanted to spend a little time together. As someone who would give damn near anything to spend 5 more minutes with my own dad, who passed away in March 2018, I'd never, ever criticize a player for putting family first. He should.
— Hayes also talked the next day.
— In my opinion, neither Hayes nor any athlete ever owes me a thing. Maybe the fans, who invest hard-earned money and time, but definitely not me. I'm also perfectly capable of doing my job whether professional athletes choose to talk or not.
With all of that said, I think this incident requires additional discussion because it's not a one-off, and I do think it's part of creating a winning culture, something the Pirates are trying to do under the new regime.
When Will Craig inexplicably chased Cubs shortstop Javier Baez from first to home back in May, he also did not speak the night of the game. He slept on it, came back the next day and actually did a very nice job. When Mitch Keller allowed seven runs in 3 1/3 innings in a start earlier this season, he blew off his postgame media responsibilities, and the Pirates sat poor Todd Frazier in front of computer screen to handle Zoom responsibilities.
Again, this isn't a gripe. I covered all three, wrote what I saw, quoted who I could and went home for the night. The same as covering a bad team versus a good one, we're paid to write, report and analyze — not cheer, boo or become some sort of ethical judge. But I do think I come at this stuff with a little different lens, having covered the Penguins and getting to observe how they did things for a number of years.
The standard over there, obviously, is Sidney Crosby, who might be the most available (and genuinely nice) athlete in professional sports. I can count on one hand the number of times Crosby declined to speak after a bad loss, and we're talking in the triple digits of times he did, just when I was on the beat.
The tone Crosby sets permeates the dressing room in terms of accountability and handling your business in a professional way, but he's also wasn't alone. Matt Cullen was full of perspective. Ian Cole had more jokes than teeth. Marc-Andre Fleury was ... well, Flower. Evgeni Malkin made predictions and challenged teammates.
I'll also never forget walking into the dressing room and hearing Patric Hornqvist screaming for reporters, "Come to me! Come to me!"
Hornqvist never wanted Crosby or Malkin to feel like it all fell on their shoulders, and he knew he could control the narrative with what he said and how he said it. Hornqvist was honest. He was also upbeat and positive, the same way he played.
So we talked to Hornqvist, he was colorful and quotable, and that became the story. Teammates heard and read what he said, then kept their heads up.
That's maybe the biggest or most difficult aspect of this entire thing. Hayes is only 24. He's growing and learning, and there's nothing wrong with that. Keller and Craig, too. We should all remember that.
But there also should be veterans here who remind these guys that this is their job. Fans and attention are why they have the life that they do, and this is simply part of it. Take a few minutes, tell whomever or whatever to wait, answer the questions, then go home.
And no, there's not much any athlete can say to explain why they missed first base or ran away from it. But they can set a tone and convey a message. They can tell their fans they take mistakes like that seriously. They can show accountability to their teammates. They can show they have a handle on this and their confidence is not shaken.
Those things can be accomplished the next day, too, but you're also turning a one-day story into two, which nobody on team payroll appreciates. There's also something to be said in sports for owning your mistakes, being upfront with everyone and moving on.
That's why I found the Hayes thing disappointing. He's a tremendous kid. Maybe a better person than ballplayer, although he's made that a tough race. He's someone who could grow into a Crosby-type here. But with where the Pirates are right now, they need all of their younger, talented players to grow up the right way. This was a chance to show the public they're doing that.
