New Pirates First Baseman Excited To Reunite With Coach
When Spencer Horwitz first steps onto the field for the Pittsburgh Pirates, there will be a familiar face on the top step to help him and the rest of his teammates at the plate.
Pirates hitting coach Matt Hague and Horwitz each worked their way up the minor league ranks with the Toronto Blue Jays. Horwitz credited Hague's coaching ability with helping him reach the big leagues and believes the Pirates' hitting coach will make a massive impact throughout the organization.
"I love that guy," Horwitz said. "He's helped me on the field [and] off the field. I can't speak high enough of him. He's been tremendous in my career, and I know I wouldn't be here without him. So I know he's going to bring great things, not just for me, but for the entire organization and I think that's why they brought him in."
Hague was a hitting coach in the minor leagues from 2020-2023 for the Blue Jays before becoming the team's assistant hitting coach last season. Horwitz was drafted by Toronto in 2019 and was in their minor league system from 2019 to 2022 before spending time between the minor leagues and major leagues in 2023 and 2024. The left-handed hitting first baseman was traded to the Cleveland Guardians and then was acquired by the Pirates for a trio of pitchers, including right-handed starting pitcher Luis Ortiz.
Before entering the coaching ranks, Hague was drafted by Pittsburgh in 2008 and spent parts of the 2012 and 2014 seasons in the big leagues with the club.
Horwitz, 27, played in 97 games for the Blue Jays and batted .265/.357/.433 with 12 home runs and 40 RBIs in 381 plate appearances. Before he was called up from Triple-A Buffalo, Horwitz batted .335/.456/.514 with four home runs and 38 RBIs.
Horwitz's ringing endorsement echoes what manager Derek Shelton had to say about Hague after hiring the former Pirates first baseman as their new hitting coach. Shelton also noted the impact Pirates infield Isiah Kiner-Falefa had on the team hiring Hague after he spent the first half of the 2024 season with the Blue Jays.
"There were a couple of things," Shelton said at the Winter Meetings. "Number one, his passion for hitting. When we started talking to players about him, the feedback that we got from players was so good. How he listens, how he is in the cage [and] the in-game conversations. Everybody we talked to was just effusive in terms of this is a guy that you want around you."
