ST. LOUIS -- On Thursday, the Pirates made the largest financial commitment of their franchise’s history, coming to terms on an eight year, $70 million deal with Ke’Bryan Hayes.
The Pirates wanted to ensure the player and the person weren’t going anywhere else, but there’s a layer of implied commitment that the organization wants from him as well: He has to be a leader.
That doesn’t mean he has to be a rah-rah guy or the person pumping everyone up, but be the guy the younger players look up to and model their workouts, routine and performance after.