I've Seen the Future...and His Name Is Ke'Bryan Hayes

 

It’s hard being a Pittsburgh Pirates fan.

            Wait…let me rephrase that so it can be more universal.

            It’s hard being a small market baseball fan.

            Reds fans, A’s fans, Twins fans, Orioles fans, and Brewers fans…I’m with you in solidarity.

            I think that covers most of the small market teams.

            Except the Rays.

            The Tampa Bay Rays have learned how to beat the system.

            Notice I said “beat the system.”

            The economic system of Major League Baseball sucks.

            (I promise we’re getting to baseball cards here).

            But the way Major League Baseball’s, with the willing participation of its owners and players, economic system is set-up allows for teams to not spend money. It allows for something as outrageous as a “small market team” to even exist. Would you call the Pittsburgh Penguins a small market team? The Super Bowl losing Cincinnati Bengals? The Green Bay Packers? No you wouldn’t. And why is that?

            Oh wait…I know!

            Because there’s a cap/floor system in the NHL as well as one in the NBA.

            And there’s no small market team in the NBA either.

            And, yes, I know, tanking happens in baseball. We’re witnessing it this season with the Cincinnati Reds and the Oakland A’s. The Baltimore Orioles have turned tanking into an art form. The owner of my Pittsburgh Pirates is so cheap, I’m shocked he hasn’t found a way to make toilet paper reusable.

            But imagine if there was a system in place that would force these cheapskates to spend money on their teams.

            Oh…just…imagine.

            Anyway…I digress….

            There was a sign of economic life in Pittsburgh recently. On April 12, 2022, 412 day in the Steel City, the Pittsburgh Pirates made official a eight-year/$70 million dollar deal to keep young, future star third basemen, Ke’Bryan Hayes in Pittsburgh until the year 2030. The contract is the largest in team history and the biggest since the $60 million/10-year deal they gave to super-singles hitting catch Jason Kendall way the hell back in 2000. The deal also has a club option for a ninth season.

            NINE SEASONS!

            For a guy in a Pittsburgh Pirates uniform?

            This is a pittance for what Pirates’ owner Bob Nutting should be spending on the team. Centerfielder Bryan Reynolds should be getting something similar or better. When Oneil Cruz comes up later this season and starts dropping bombs into the Allegheny River, he should be given a deal too.

            It’s a pittance…but this Buccos fan will take it.

            Amazing where the mind of “small market” fan goes once the checkbooks start to get opened.

            Let’s get to the baseball card part, shall we?

            I’m a Ke’Bryan Hayes collector. I was before he made his Major League debut in that oddity of a 2020 season. I was, watching him, knowing that he’ll probably be in a Dodgers or Yankees uniform in five years, and I sure as shit am now knowing that Key is going to be a cornerstone of the franchise for the next near-decade. Whenever I buy anything online, I make sure to throw a Ke’Bryan card or two in my cart. The kid’s got the chance to be a perennial all-star. Hit for average.

            And, Nolan Arenado, enjoy those Gold Gloves while you still can.

            When I got back into collecting in 2019, Ke’Bryan had yet to debut for the Pirates. Once I got an angle on where/how to buy cards online, I started purchasing these babies.

            I’m still not sure how I feel about Bowman cards for prospects. They aren’t rookie cards. Some of them can be ridiculously over-priced for players who have yet to take a swing/throw a pitch in a Major League stadium. Jasson Dominguez anyone? The cards aren’t very sharp looking, to be honest. And if you buy enough of them, you end up looking through them wondering where the money went?

            Or at least I do.

            I’ve learned I’m not a prospector.

            I’m more of a man who appreciates a sure thing at my age.

            Except where the Pittsburgh Pirates are concerned.

            Pirates fans have been conditioned to consistently barter their fandom happiness on the hopes in dreams of the ever-coming future.

            It’s why I have these guys lurking around in my collection.

            When Ke’Bryan Hayes came up in September of 2020, and tore up the league with a .376 batting average in 24 games, he looked as close as the next sure thing we’d see in Pittsburgh since…since…hell, I don’t really know.

            I just know that I wanted to stock up on his rookie cards in 2021.

            This is first one I bought…and it must’ve been my lucky day because I was one of the random people who got the numbered one.

            And you all know how much us collectors love the bell and whistle cards.

            That wouldn’t be my last Ke’Byran online exclusive.

            Kicked myself for missing the window on his Living Set card though.

            Of course, what I really wanted was the base rookie card…which Topps made me wait until Series 2 to get.

            I got his Chrome brother as well later in the year.

            (Full disclosure...I'm not a Chrome fan)

            Got the Bowman one as well for good measure.

            In fact, it was pretty easy to get Ke’Bryan rookie cards in 2021. Easy…and somewhat bittersweet. By the time Topps Series 2 came out in June 2021, Ke’Bryan Hayes had been on the injured list, with a wrist injury, since opening in weekend in Chicago. That Rookie-of-the-Year dream dashed in the Windy City. That Topps Now card above was the only highlight we’d had to that “sure thing” who’d hit .376 in 2020. The rest of the season…Key played well. But he played hurt.

            But I still bought his cards.

            As a Pirates fan I was used to “living in hope.”

            And, yes, that is a Rutles reference.

            The great thing about “living in hope” is that Topps tends to live that way as well with their card releases. Topps releases are stacked (sometimes a bit too much and often at the expense of seasoned players) with rookies. And because of potential Ke’Bryan showed in 2020, and because of how touted he was in the Pirates system, Topps made it a point to include cards for him in nearly every single subset and release that year.

            As anyone who reads this blog knows, I’m a fan of Topps putting players, past and present, on card designs that they weren’t initially on. I love how it plays with time. I love the homage. Because of brands like Archives and Heritage, and because Topps was celebrating its 70^th anniversary in 2021 (a year that got peed on for the company a little bit by Fanatics…but that’s all been “sorted out” right?), I had the chance to get a lot of Ke’Bryan Hayes cards featuring him on older Topps designs. So much so that there are still a lot of them out there that I haven’t collected yet.

            A player like Ke’Bryan Hayes also took me out of my interest and comfort zone.

            I don’t often do unlicensed product...but when I do it’s usually of a Pittsburgh Pirates player.

            And so far, his 2022 base (yes, I'm aware that's his 2022 Heritage further up) design is right on the money.

            That kid is going to be a future star. I’m excited to get the chance to watch him on a regular basis. Say what you will about MLB TV but this Pittsburgher transplanted to Brooklyn is happier than a pig in shit watching the Pirates. They might not be a good team in 2022…but they’re going to be a fun team. They’re going to be a team that’s going to show off its talent. They have me as excited as I’ve ever been for a Pirates team, since these guys showed up in Pittsburgh so very, very long ago.

            The Pittsburgh Pirates are up and coming.

            Believe it or not, it’s kind of an exciting time to BE a Pirates fan.

And Ke’Bryan Hayes is going to be such a part of that.

You just wait and see.

            I might be a middle-aged man who’d rather a sure thing. But the Pittsburgh Pirates will always be what makes me place me bets on chance.

            On hope.

            Now…let’s just get going and sign THIS guy long term!

Thanks for reading! Happy Collecting!

NEXT FRIDAY: My continued evolution in collection i.e. why do I have so much of this and what in the hell am I doing?