Minor League Podcast: Austin Hays talks about his game, and his choice to forego batting gloves

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There may be no player in the Orioles organization that has raised more eyebrows in 2017 than Double-A Bowie outfielder Austin Hays.

One scout I talked to recently said Hays would be the guy he’d be most interested in acquiring in the entire Orioles’ minor league system, even ahead of infielder Ryan Mountcastle.

Hays, 22, was the club’s third-round pick out of Jacksonville University last year and he hit .336 at Short-A Aberdeen in 2016. He hasn’t slowed down in 2017, tearing up both High-A Frederick and now Bowie. In his first 86 games this season at the two levels, Hays had 22 homers and hit .327 with a .360 on-base percentage. He may be the leading candidate to be the Orioles’ Minor League Player of the Year.

Adam Pohl, the voice of the Baysox, sits down with Hays in this week’s “Minor League Podcast,” to talk about Hays’ rapid ascent in the minors and his approach at the plate and in the field.

Pohl even talks to Hays about why he doesn’t wear batting gloves, and gets the backstory on how that trend began. (The picture above, when Hays was with the Keys, clearly shows his gloveless hands, such a strange look for a pro player.)

We’ve heard so much about Hays this year, but this is the first time I’ve heard an extended interview with him.

In the second part of the podcast, Pohl talks with Delmarva’s Director of Broadcasting Will DeBoer.

DeBoer shares his insight about the players he watches every day, the Low-A Shorebirds, including Preston Palmeiro and Alex Wells.

There’s also a look into the night last week when Delmarva played 20 innings, and then had their game against Lexington postponed because of rain. The teams picked it up the next day – in the 21st inning.

It was one of those unique nights of baseball, and DeBoer talks about it from his perspective. That includes a great line about the game: “We got to the 21st inning. The game itself could have bought alcohol by the time it ended.”

For more on that crazy game, the Shorebirds, and Hays, give this podcast a listen.