Brewers hitting coach Andy Haines operates with conviction. He chooses to focus on positive takeaways. He keeps an open mind. All of that served him well in navigating 2020, a trying year with difficult circumstances and inelegant results for his players.
For the 2021 season, Haines is tasked with helping improve a Brewers offense that finished toward the bottom of the National League in several categories and will likely include several of the same key players.
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Haines detailed his process for reflecting on 2020 and looking ahead to next season while sharing outlooks on several players in a detailed conversation with The Athletic Wisconsin.
How’d your process go once you started to reflect on the 2020 season? What are some things you considered and what do you take with you into 2021?
I’ve just learned throughout my career when you get home in the offseason, it’s impossible to kind of just check out and start your offseason. It’s so fresh on your mind, and usually, that’s the best time to have these real conversations, maybe uncomfortable conversations to get feedback on what, personally, what you thought went well, what you’re proud of, and then, what is kind of staring you in the face that needs to improve.
And the reality is, anything you do, if you’re not being honest with yourself and you’re not having some uncomfortable conversations, you just kind of get left behind; things move really fast. You’re not changing your core beliefs. Those are going to stay with you and you believe in them, but I just think how you deliver messages, what the season just taught you, your eyes should be wide open. And that’s how you can make these small little improvements every year because it’s really just about living in the players’ world and seeing it from their lens. The challenge is trying to figure out what they need, how you can help them more. I think that is best accomplished when the season’s over because everything is so fresh. And that’s regardless of what the season brought to you – if things went really well or things didn’t go well. You can’t fool yourself either way. It’s just vital to use your time wisely and then, there does come a point when you feel good about getting the feedback. There’s definitely a point where you need to decompress and then you know you don’t dwell on it. It’s once you get to a certain point that you feel great about your reflection and where you want to go in 2021.
So how does that work? The offense struggled, it wasn’t what you wanted or expected. Clearly, you want things to change, improve. You also look to be working with many of the same players from last season, so there could be opportunities to build on things that worked, you tried or previously discussed.
From my perspective, being a hitting coach, the relationships are a little different with your players because you’re in the trenches with him every day. No matter how the season ends, it’s always going to be abrupt and it’s hard to turn off that soon, anyway. My conversations are really centered around Couns (Craig Counsell) and our front office and then our coaching staff in general. And of course, I’m communicating with the players. But my initial conversations are with Couns, the front office, and our coaching staff and then I’ve sprinkled some things in with players. But you give them space and then, you know, you kind of can’t force the communication; it kind of has to happen organically, kind of easing your way back into it with texting, some phone calls. It’s important that they know I’ve never checked out on them even though they’re decompressing from my and there’s a lot that goes into it so that when they’re ready, I have good information for them and as a staff, we are ready for them and how to push it forward to 2021 and help them.
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The Brewers informed you early on that they wanted you to remain on the staff. You mentioned that president of baseball operations David Stearns, general manager Matt Arnold and manager Craig Counsell have all been supportive while acknowledging the need to improve. What was your feeling heading into and after those conversations?
My relationship with Couns, Matt, David and all of his guys, the big thing I value is we can have really honest conversations. I mean, there’s not a lot of posturing going on; it’s really direct and one-dimensional on how we get better. From a personal standpoint, I want to be a Brewer. I want to be with Couns and David and his group, and I want to be a Brewer. I love our players and want to be a part of it. So, of course, that would have been excruciating for it to end, you know, in that fashion and this type of season and that’s not having success. Of course, it would have been. But that really wasn’t weighing on my mind. It was, just, I knew we were going to have an honest conversation. And I know I can be very honest with them and they’re gonna tell me the truth. And then we sort it out from there. I really was at peace just because of that, and then it just goes to our players. I just really believe it, the focus shouldn’t be on me for very long; it should be about the players, they make the world go around. But that’s really where it was. I value that relationship where I just know I’m gonna get very honest feedback. And that’s how it played out. So of course I’m very grateful that, you know, I get to be a part of it and push it forward.
It seems funny to say this about a 60-game season, but it was quick and relentless; there weren’t many days off. That was the backdrop to the COVID-19 restrictions and protocols, no video room, the season starting in late July, no fans in ballparks. You guys couldn’t even talk in large groups, from what I understand. But as you reflected on 2020 and looked toward improving in 2021, what are some things that you could’ve done differently or wish you had done differently?
I think the way that Couns demands we go about the day, and the way, personally, that the expectations I have for myself on how the day goes, I would say there’s a peace of mind that every day, we felt like we had a good strategy of how to help our guys. I think there is a peace of mind knowing that when you leave the day that you’re doing everything you can for your guys. When you’re on a mission to go about your day that way, it does give you peace of mind that you’ve left it all out there and done absolutely the best you can. You kind of have to acknowledge that it didn’t work out, and we are going to figure out why. And we’re going to make it better.
But there’s a certain way that I think you go about the job. There’s no extra credit for working hard or saying we’re a hard worker or we did this, in the big leagues. I just don’t believe that at all. It doesn’t matter. Everybody at that level is giving everything they have so it’s just about getting high performance and performing at an above-average level in the major leagues. And it didn’t happen.
I think the one thing you’ve kind of alluded to is, we all know it was, it was different. And the one thing, this whole year was different, there was nothing that, when we showed up every day, where it was kind of what we experienced in the past. But I would say at this point, for me, that the thing that I look forward to the most for our players for our staff is if it’s not back to what we’re accustomed to as far as what our day is like in the big leagues, we know it’s going to be better. We know that it’s not going to be the same as it was in 2020 so that’s why there’s so much optimism for me. We know that the environment is going to be better. All of us are kind of very aligned as far as what we expect and what we will provide as far as a product for the Brewers fans. And I think that’s what makes the Brewers unique. Our players, our staff are very invested that way. So that’s the optimism I see from the players, from our staff. You definitely want to reflect on 2020. But there comes a point where it’s like, all right, that was what it was, it was just a very very hard year for a lot of people. And we know we can use that to our advantage to kind of catapult into 2021 and accomplish what we want to accomplish.
You’ve been on record predicting a bounce-back season for Christian Yelich. And so is Counsell. Many numbers suggest that as well. The novelty of 2020 wearing off, and starting, stopping and starting again hopefully not being a thing should help, too. But he’s not the only player who needs to rebound. What’s your outlook on Omar Narváez and Avisaíl García, for instance? On one hand, defense may have been a factor for both players, with Garcia moving to center and Narvaez learning a new staff while improving behind the plate. But both vastly underperformed in basic and underlying statistics. Then again, they have track records as good hitters. What’s your feeling heading into another year working with them?
When we had Avi and Omar in spring training we were excited. I mean, we were excited; they were going to be great pieces to our lineup and planning on playing their part and being part of our group and what Counsell fosters. And then they both had challenging years for several different reasons. I would say that’s where my mind is for sure and our whole staff is just very optimistic for those guys of, you know, they got through some really challenging times. And for them to show everyone who they are and play to what their abilities are is gonna be exciting. I’m excited to work with those guys and see them perform. And just for those guys to perform the way they know they can as Brewers, I think is going to be rewarding and exciting for not only those players but for everyone involved. Our guys have a good track record, the front office, of signing players. So you know for those guys to show who they are and get the opportunity, it’s gonna be awesome for everybody.
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What about Keston Hiura? There were some good things, like the 13 home runs and opposite-field power. But there also were the strikeouts and pitchers attacking him high in the zone with fastballs, perhaps exploiting a weakness. Still, he’s not the first player to struggle or go through some things as a second-year player. Mets outfielder Michael Conforto comes to mind as an example, and things have worked out quite well for him since. What’s your outlook on Hiura?
There’s been quite a bit, written about Keston, and I’ve been convicted in what I’ve said in the past. This guy’s a hitter, and he’s hit his whole life. I viewed it as Keston in a challenging offensive environment. … There’s no doubt there were some ups and downs for him, and we knew the strikeouts at times certainly hurt him. But I just view Keston as a guy who was not, I would say he wasn’t dialed in the whole year and locked in as we’ve seen, but I also push back a little bit and say, you know, there are some good things there too with Keston and when he really wasn’t at his best in a challenging environment, you know he was able to hold his own.
The hard contact, he did damage and he wasn’t at his best at all. So for me, that’s like a huge positive: He wasn’t dialed in like we know he can be, and he still shows positives. Back to when he got called up, I said when you watch him perform there’s not one method to his success. He has some of the most impressive power to the opposite field in all the big leagues. And of course, he has pull-side power and he can navigate an at-bat, hit the ball the other way.
Did it show up consistently this year? Of course not. It was there in flashes. And that’s just the challenge of any major-league player, doing it consistently. So I’m not in the camp of harping on Keston’s negatives or what went wrong this year. I view Keston as … it’s very simple for him; he has an aptitude, he’s very aware and he’s really talented, and it’s like, all right, Keston, this is kind of what the game is teaching you. And, you know, this is the challenge of being just consistently at your best. And as simple as it is for Keston. That doesn’t mean it’s easy. But it’s not complex for him. He’s a good offensive player. There were some swings and misses throughout his minor-league career. I just think what he did at his best or when he got called up initially, or what was different from 2020 was he just did it more consistently.
There are several rebound candidates on the roster, but there are also some young position players such as Luis Urías and Tyrone Taylor who I’d guess the team still doesn’t know exactly what they have in. Then there are a few who don’t fit neatly in either category. Is there someone we don’t talk about enough or as much who you’re eager to work with or continue to work with in 2021 based on the strides he made?
Somebody we don’t talk about a lot is Manny Piña. And I think if you look at the All-Star break in 2019, the second half of 2019 and what he did with us early in 2020, Manny Piña has turned himself into a productive offensive player. He’s a guy who, probably because he got hurt this year, just doesn’t get a lot of attention. But he’s somebody I’m very proud of. He’s an important piece of our lineup. You know, it was kind of not a highlight of the offseason when you say the Brewers plan on bringing back Piña and Omar Narvaez, but I get excited about both those guys. And I think Manny is a big part of that, too. … He gets a lot of respect as a teammate, and, offensively, he has made some pretty good strides.
(Top photo of Daniel Vogelbach and Andy Haines: Quinn Harris / Getty Images)
