PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – “It’s time for us as an organization to put a stake in the ground.”
Pirates owner Bob Nutting on Opening Day 2022 as he announced the signing of Ke’Bryan Hayes to an eight-year, $70 million contract. The 25-year-old will play in just his 124th MLB game on Tuesday afternoon.
It was more than just about one man on this day, the much-maligned Bucs owner believes this is the start of something bigger.
“The organization has been through a lot in the last decade or so,” Nutting said. “We have seen some successes and we’ve seen some challenges. During that time, we have realized that our greatest success came when we had a core of young players that we believed in and that we were really committed to.”
He is implying that the Hayes contract is prelude towards building this team in Pittsburgh instead of just building for a non-descript future.
“This is the next step on the path that we have set,” Nutting said. “The organization has been moving in a good direction for a long time. When Travis (Williams-team president), Ben (Cherington-GM) and I restarted and took a fresh look at how do we bring a winner back to Pittsburgh. Could not have more confidence in the direction you are headed.”
He spent a moment after Cherington unknowingly interrupted him to discuss more of the role of the third-year general manager who to this point has mostly torn down whatever they’ve had to build back up, again at some point in the future.
“This contract is also a show of support and faith in you and your team,” Nutting said. “Your process and where you are going that you can build around this point and put us in a position to bring a championship team back to Pittsburgh. That’s what we are counting on. That’s our expectation.”
Several Pirates players, if not all of them, showed their support of Hayes by attending the news conference. It included manager Derek Shelton. Nutting turned to them and offered.
“To show that we are building something that you all can all get behind and support and see a clear direction in terms of where this organization is,” Nutting said of the significance of the Hayes contract. “It’s moving in a direction that we will make you proud of.”
Accused of many things as the Pirates owner especially when it comes to spending money. Nutting offered after agreeing to the richest contract in team history, that it is truly something he enjoys.
“There is nothing more fun and more important to my family than what we are doing today which is beginning down that path of building a great championship team here in Pittsburgh.”