Connor Joe says Pirates' style of play is 'hard-nosed' but not 'small ball'

When Connor Joe was asked if the Pittsburgh Pirates’ style of play resembles small ball, he mostly disagreed with the phrase as it pertains to his team.

“I don’t know about small ball, but it’s a hard-nosed, fast-paced (style), playing the game hard,” he said. “Some small ball involved, for sure, but I wouldn’t label it (purely) small ball.”

As defined by merriam-webster.com, small ball is “an offensive strategy that involves at-bats that advance one or more base runners into scoring position.”

It’s a methodical approach to scoring runs that has been known to work in various cases throughout the recent history of major-league baseball. But left unsaid in that definition is the other, quicker way to score runs — clearing the bases with one swing of the bat (the home run).

That hasn’t been the Pirates’ game for most of the first 61 games (32-29). They have hit only 57 homers, less than one per outing.

But they have improved their batting average from .222 in an 100-loss season last year to .247. Runs per game also are up from 3.6 to 4.4.

But the Pirates slipped out of first place in the NL Central when the lowly Oakland A’s (14-50) pounded a total of five home runs in 11-2 and 9-5 victories Tuesday and Wednesday.

A’s pitchers are last in the majors in home runs allowed (103), but none was struck by the Pirates in the first two games of the series before Rodolfo Castro connected Wednesday.

They have found a way to remain a contender, thanks to strong bullpen work prior to Tuesday, just enough offense to keep the team above .500 and leadership from pitcher Rich Hill and veteran hitters Carlos Santana and Andrew McCutchen.

Joe, 30, has been a professional since the Pirates drafted him in the first round of the 2014 MLB Amateur Draft. Yet he said he stays close to McCutchen, seeking knowledge, like many of the younger players on the team.

“I’m still young in my career as well,” Joe said. “McCutchen, Santana, Rich Hill, who’ve surely been around the game a long time, are the ones leading the ship, leading by example as well as vocally.

“They’re doing a great job. They’re helping me. They’re helping guys younger than me. I’m sure they’re helping guys older than me. Probably helping each other. That’s what a team is all about.”

Joe, who leads the team in OPS (.831), said he regularly talks hitting with McCutchen, a fellow right-handed batter.

“Talking about approach versus a certain pitcher we’re facing that night, what (McCutchen) is thinking. What he’s looking for, where he’s thinking to hit it has helped me a lot,” he said.

Joe also contributed with his arm in right field Wednesday, throwing out the A’s Kevin Smith at second base after grabbing a 101.4 mph shot off the Clemente Wall with his bare hand.

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It’s not always McCutchen’s words that guide Joe and others.

“Also watching him go about his work,” Joe said, “how he carries himself on the field, ultimate pro, but also plays with a little bit of swagger, quiet confidence. I’ve drawn a lot from that.”

Most good hitters will tell you that maintaining timing is the key to successful at-bats. These days, MLB batters have no shortage of resources to help them find good rhythm in the box.

“It’s just about how you utilize them,” he said. “The cage, if you go in there, is tricked out with every sort of technology you would ever want. Different pitches, everything. They (also) provide us resources as far as vision training.

“There’s never a day I don’t take a swing.”

The number is based on need.

“I’ve learned over my career to really temper it down and pace myself throughout a year,” he said. “It’s easy to overswing and bury yourself before a season’s over. You really have to be smart about that.

“I think it depends on what I need. Some days it will be quite short. Some days it will be a little bit more extensive, based on what I’m feeling and what the coaches have for me that day.”

What he does know for sure is the Pirates organization has changed dramatically from the one that drafted him nine years ago.

“When I came back, it was almost like I came back to a different organization, by the way it was run, by the people who were running it,” he said. “Little bit of familiarity here and there, but other than that it felt like a new organization.”