The Toronto Blue Jays’ Matt Hague is earning a reputation as one of the best young hitting coaches in the game. Promoted to the big league staff this year after a pair of seasons spent working at Double-A, followed by a year in Triple-A, the 38-year-old former first baseman is one of the team’s two assistant hitting coaches. Hague’s playing career included several strong seasons in the minors, but only a smattering of opportunities in the majors. The Bellevue, Washington native logged just 91 big league plate appearances, 74 with the Pittsburgh Pirates and 17 with the Blue Jays.
David Laurila: You last played professionally in 2018. What do you know now that you didn’t know then?
Matt Hague: “Oh, man. That’s a really good question. I think the how. As a coach you’re kind of forced to unfold things that you thought as a player, but didn’t necessarily go really deep into, or didn’t have the chance to go as deep into. The importance of certain things shift on what you want to emphasize. That’s because you’re looking out for a whole group, even though it’s an individual plan, or an individual mover — a certain trait that an individual person needs to develop and continue to get better at. “There are a lot of different pathways on how to bring out certain stuff, and the more you evolve as a coach, your perspective shifts. You try to find understandings on the mentality side, the game-planning side, the technical part of it.”
Laurila: How much harder is hitting now compared to when you last played? It wasn’t all that long ago.
Hague: “No, but I would say that it’s exponentially harder. The way teams are pitch designing, pitch shaping… it’s not like a one-trick pony, north, south. Teams are blending pitch shapes. Teams are really paying attention to pitch usage. Hitters have to make a lot of harder, different choices.
Laurila: Elevated fastballs are obviously still a thing, but it also seems like sinkers are coming back into vogue.
Hague: “Yes, I would say they’re going both worlds now; they’re blending both worlds. If a guy traditionally is up-and-down, high-carry/hard-down or slider, they’re mixing in 15-20% two-seam usage. What that does to a hitter is make you think east-west, or it really forces you to commit to certain areas or eliminate certain zones. And they’ll mix in an off-speed pitch. It has a little bit of horizontal to it, or a little bit of slurve-ish action.
Laurila: Training-wise, are you a believer in hitters preparing against specific pitchers — I’m thinking Trajekt — as opposed to training against, say, velocity in general?
Hague: “Yeah. Massively. Especially given swing paths. You can’t take the same swing off of a high-vert four-seam as a turbo downhill fastball. Without a doubt. You have to gear your swing path. And depending on how slow the offspeed is, how much time do you need to buy off the fastball? How much do you have to extend your move, or hold certain positions longer?
Laurila: Blue Jays fans will be disappointed if I don’t ask you about the team’s offensive struggles this season. Most importantly, how can what hasn’t been working be fixed?
Hague: “That’s a tricky question. I think we’re making a lot of progress with some things. We are assessing things that we can get better at, and we are learning from our past mistakes and training to get better. We’re working. The boys are working. They know what’s at stake.
— Interview conducted by David Laurila.
