One year ago, Austin Hays was a September call-up coming off a stellar month of solid hitting and flashy defense that had Orioles fans—and this blog—a little bit excited:
You don’t have to look very hard to see what was impressive about Hays’s September. He batted .309/.373/.574 in 21 games. … There’s no doubt that he plays hard, which gets him amazing catches and the occasional hustle double or infield single, but down that road also lies nicks, bumps, and bruises that might cost a player time.