Ahead of their contest in Cincinnati on Monday, Ke’Bryan Hayes and Joey Votto struck up a conversation.
Even though the Reds would eventually fall short of the postseason, they still were going to finish with a winning record. Votto has been the face of his franchise for years. The hope for the Pirates, on the cusp of triple-digit losses, is that Hayes could one day be that face like Votto is.
Great American Ball Park had been a disastrous location for the Pirates, who would lose nine of 10 there, most of them via blowout. During that talk, though, Votto spoke highly of the direction Hayes’ team was going.
“He was saying, ‘You guys are going to be really good,’ ” Hayes recalled. “ ‘You’ve got some pieces. It’s just once y’all get some time under y’all's belt.’ ”
On Sunday at PNC Park, Votto homered, delivering the big hit to beat the Pirates for a 101st time this 2021 season, this time by a score of 6-3.
With it, the first full year of Ben Cherington, Derek Shelton and the new leadership’s rebuild is completed. And while a third straight last-place finish and 101 losses is not acceptable, they are optimistic for what’s to come.
“We're gonna extenuate and focus on the positives and focus on things we feel we need to get better at,” Shelton said. “I really don't think, at any point, there's any sense dwelling on the negative."
It’s incredibly easy to find the negatives with this team. As a whole, the pitching and hitting were both among the league’s worst, and with almost every veteran player of note traded between Christmas Eve 2020 and the trade deadline 2021, it left a roster that was mostly barren of impact talent. Most of the prospects were in the lower levels of the system too, meaning waiver-wire claims and short-term free agents rather than kids for most of the year.
But the players who could be building blocks noticed what’s happening.
“It feels like we’re infusing a lot of talent into the organization,” Jacob Stallings told me.
"We've got some pieces," Bryan Reynolds said.
And that infusion did reach the major league level in the closing weeks with the promotions of Oneil Cruz, Roansy Contreras and Miguel Yajure, three of the organization’s top prospects. For Contreras and Cruz, it was their debut.
And with those promotions, plus improved results from players who had been development projects all season, notably Cole Tucker and Anthony Alford, the Pirates closed the season on a 13-12 stretch. Playing .500 ball is far from the goal, but it was a tiny step in the right direction.
“We played good baseball at the end of the year,” Shelton said. “There were developmental goals and growth, but we also played pretty fundamental baseball.”
If those steps continue into 2022 ...
“I feel like it’s going to be really fun in a couple years,” Hayes said.
That’s been the hope throughout the entire process. It’s far from guaranteed, but with the Pirates’ strong farm rankings and the talent of high-level prospects on the horizon for 2022 and 2023, there is reason for optimism.
Optimism that those 101 losses this year were not for naught.
“I'm really proud of the culture we've created here,” Shelton said. “We’re moving in the right direction.”
MORE FROM THE GAME
• As for the final game of the season, Cody Ponce was hit hard in his second inning of work in the fifth, with Votto delivering the big hit, a three-run homer.
The big play that inning came earlier, though. With Jonathan India on first, Cruz was able to deke him into thinking there would be a play at second, causing him to slide into second base on a double by Max Schrock. The play, at least temporarily, prevented a run, but Shelton argued that since India made a move back on the negative side of the bag, he needed to touch the base again.
After a review, India was safe, and Shelton was ejected after a discussion with the umpiring crew.
"You cannot argue replay, but you can ask for an explanation," he said. "I asked for the explanation, didn't really like it."
• Keller's final start of the season lasted just three innings, by design for the end of the season. He was challenged by pitching coach Oscar Marin to make a change with his delivery for this game, focusing on his extension.
The result was a noticeable uptick in velocity, averaging 94 mph after averaging about 92 mph in four of his last six starts.
"It felt really good," Keller said. "That’s kind of where I need to be to be my best. You saw it today."
This obviously wasn't the year Keller or the Pirates wanted. In 23 major league starts, he went 5-11 with a 6.17 ERA over 100 2/3 innings and spent a good chunk of the season with Class AAA Indianapolis.
He said he's going to use it as motivation to get better.
"It’s no secret: I’ve got to work my ass off this offseason and come in ready to go. Nothing is going to be handed to me, because I obviously didn’t prove it this year that I’ve earned a spot. So coming into Spring Training, I’ve got to earn it. That’s my mentality coming in."
• Career home run No. 1 is in the books for Cruz:
ONEIL CRUZ JUST HIT HIS FIRST MAJOR LEAGUE HOME RUN!!! pic.twitter.com/PIMMswXDYl
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) October 3, 2021
"This kid's got some severe leverage and talent," Shelton said.
While it may have come in garbage time and been his only hit of the game, he was able to go down to one knee and tag an 0-2 changeup 408 feet with a 103.8 mph exit velocity.
"This is the big leagues. This is how the big leagues works," Cruz said through interpreter Mike Gonzalez. They're going to throw a lot of breaking balls to hitters like myself, and that last at-bat, I was able to go in there with a mindset looking for a breaking ball, and I'm glad I was able to get a hold of one."
Cruz got his first taste of the majors. Now the focus shifts towards the future. Before he went though, this was his final quote of the season:
"I want to help this organization win. I dream about being a champion. Even if it's just for one year, I want to be a champion."
• During his radio show on 93.7 The Fan, Ben Cherington said that Nick Gonzales, Ji-Hwan Bae, Canaan Smith-Njigba, Carmen Mlodzinski, Michael Burrows, Roansy Contreras and Miguel Yajure are getting consideration to go to the Arizona Fall League. Cruz also may play winter ball, though there haven't been any decisions made yet.
• Some notes to wrap up the season:
The Pirates finish the year 61-101, concluding their ninth 100+ loss season in franchise history. Assuming the new collective bargaining agreement doesn't change how draft order is determined, they will have the fourth overall pick in next year's draft.
They finished the season 0-for-16 in sweep opportunities. It is the first time since 1890 that they failed to complete a sweep of a series that was at least two games long.
The attendance for the finale was 13,011. The total 2021 home attendance was 859,498, the lowest for the franchise since 1985 (though there were capacity limits for the early part of the season).
THE ESSENTIALS
• Boxscore
• Live file
• Scoreboard
• Standings
• Statistics
THE HIGHLIGHTS
THE LINEUPS
Shelton's card:
1. Kevin Newman, 2B
2. Yoshi Tsutsugo, RF
3. Michael Chavis, 3B
4. Colin Moran, 1B
5. Anthony Alford, LF
6. Ben Gamel, CF
7. Oneil Cruz, SS
8. Michael Perez, C
9. Mitch Keller, RHP
And for David Bell's Reds:
1. Max Schrock, 2B
2. Tyler Stephenson, C
3. Nick Castellanos, RF
4. Joey Votto, 1B
5. Eugenio Suarez, 3B
6. Jose Barrero, SS
7. TJ Friedl, CF
8. Delino DeShields, CF
9. Tyler Mahle, RHP
THE SYSTEM
• Indianapolis
• Altoona
• Greensboro
• Bradenton
THE SCHEDULE
That's all folks! Thank you all for reading this season, and a big thank you to DK, Jarrod Prugar, Gerard Gilberto and Eddie Provident for all their help this season.
I'm looking forward for what this offseason has in store, and I'll see you in Bradenton in February.
THE CONTENT
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