New Pirates’ Hitting Coach Offers Road Maps to Growth

Heading into spring training, new Pittsburgh Pirates’ hitting coach Matt Hague is looking to give the club a competitive edge.

Being announced earlier this month by the National League Central club as the man to replace Andy Haines after being dismissed by the Pirates after three seasons as the hitting coach, Hague is anxious to get started in planning his approach.

When the final game of the 2024 season was played for the Pirates, as a club, they finished tied for 23rd among 30 MLB teams. Tied with the Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh hit an anemic .234 average.

After serving as the Toronto Blue Jays’ assistant hitting coach last season, Hague, initially drafted by the Pirates in 2008, the Washington State native is positioned to lead.

“I have the ability to identify certain traits in guys and build road maps to growth for them as hitters,” Hague said recently while speaking to Pittsburgh-based reporters via a Zoom conference. I was brought up through a traditional mindset when it comes to hitting. Now, there is so much out there to use that will give our team a competitive edge.”

Although Hague, a veteran of 43 MLB games (33 with the Pirates, 10 with the Blue Jays), will be new to the Pirates as a coach, there are a few familiar faces in the organization that will make him feel a bit more at ease when returning to Bradenton in February.

Christian Marrero, the Pirates’ assistant hitting coach, is one of the faces Hague can identify. Hague recalls playing against Marrero while in the minor leagues. Current Pirate Isiah Kiner-Falefa, who came over to Pittsburgh in mid-season in 2024 from the Toronto Blue Jays, is someone Hague previously worked with.

Having paid his dues learning his craft as a hitting coach on the Triple-A, Double-A, and Single-A levels, along with being on the Blue Jays’ staff last season, Hague has earned the promotion by his being added to skipper Derek Shelton’s staff.

Former MLB infielder Mike Pagliarulo, and longtime hitting guru, offers his full support in Hague’s potential in Pittsburgh. There is history between the two. For a season and a half, with Pagliarulo serving as the Pirates’ Triple-A hitting coach with the Indianapolis Indians (2013 and 2014), Hague was his student.

“He (Hague) is a great kid and is passionate in everything that he does. He knows the game. Matt just needs to develop trust with the players,” says Pagliarulo, a member of the 1991 World Series champion Minnesota Twins. “By hiring Matt, to me, this says the Pirates are supporting their investments; their players.”

There is no hesitation when reviewing Pittsburgh’s choice with their new hitting coach, according to Pagliarulo. When in Indianapolis, Hague was a player that didn’t hesitate to ask questions; to communicate with Pagliarulo.

“Matt really understood what I was saying to him. He understood how body language can tell a lot about a hitter.”

The coach and student put out a challenge to each other, when wearing Indians’ uniforms. In working on his mechanics while in the batter’s box, Pagliarulo remembers stressing that Hague couldn’t allow himself to miss a fastball. If he missed, after a 0-2 count at the plate, Hague would owe his hitting coach dinner.

“Successful clubs will sign the best coaches to look after their investments. Matt will adapt. He should get his players to do so, too.”

235 games together on the Triple-A level, Pagliarulo believes that he saw enough in Hague’s work to make an honest assessment of his potential. After making his MLB debut with the Pirates during the 2012 season, it was after being under Pagliarulo’s tutelage, in 2014, that Hague returned to the major leagues for three games.

Perhaps, for Hague, when the Pirates embark on a nine-game road trip in early July, this will be one of the most memorable times of the 2025 season for him. Born in Bellevue, Washington, and growing up in nearby Kent, the three games scheduled against the Seattle Mariners should be a homecoming Hague has circled on his calendar.

Making calls to Pirates’ hitters that he will start working with come the second week of February at Pirate City and building relationships throughout the organization, Hague is all in on turning things around for the better. By all accounts, there is no reason not to root for the Pirates to be more successful as hitters this coming season. Matt Hague wouldn’t accept it any other way.