Austin Charles Bryan Hays (born July 5, 1995) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2017.

Amateur career

Hays attended

Spruce Creek High School Spruce Creek High School is a public secondary school located in the city of Port Orange, Florida. It is the largest IB high school in North America and is one of Newsweek's Top 100 High Schools. Spruce Creek High School is part of the Volusi ...

Port Orange, Florida Port Orange is a city in Volusia County, Florida. The city's population was estimated at 64,842 in 2019 by the U.S. Census Bureau. The city is part of the Deltona–Daytona Beach–Ormond Beach metropolitan area; the metropolitan area's populati ...

. He attended

Seminole State College of Florida Seminole State College of Florida is a public college with four campuses in Central Florida. It is part of the Florida College System. Founded in 1965, the Florida State Legislature signed a charter creating "Seminole Junior College." The coll ...

, where he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the Seminole State Raiders, and transferred to

Jacksonville University Jacksonville University (JU) is a private university in Jacksonville, Florida. Located in the city's Arlington (Jacksonville), Arlington district, the school was founded in 1934 as a two-year college and was known as Jacksonville Junior College u ...

, where he continued his college baseball career with the

Jacksonville Dolphins The Jacksonville Dolphins are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent Jacksonville University, located in Jacksonville, Florida. The Dolphins participate in NCAA Division I athletics, and are primarily members of the ASUN Conference. S ...

. In 2015, he played

collegiate summer baseball Collegiate summer baseball leagues are amateur baseball leagues in the United States and Canada featuring players who have attended at least one year of college and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. Generally, they operat ...

with the

Hyannis Harbor Hawks The Hyannis Harbor Hawks, formerly the Hyannis Mets, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Hyannis, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's West Division. The Harbor Hawks play ...

of the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over one thousan ...

Professional career

The

selected Hays in the third round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball (MLB) First-Year Player Draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks will be d ...

. Hays signed and made his professional debut with the

Aberdeen Ironbirds The Aberdeen IronBirds are a Minor League Baseball team based in the city of Aberdeen in Harford County, Maryland. They are the High-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles and compete in the South Atlantic League. They were previously members of th ...

of the

Low-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

New York-Penn League New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...

where he batted .336 with four home runs and 21 RBIs in 38 games. He started the 2017 season with the

Frederick Keys The Frederick Keys are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. The Keys are based in Frederick, Maryland. The franchise is named for "Star-Spangled Banner" writer Francis Scott Key, a native of Frederick County. A new team masco ...

of the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

. On May 26, 2017, he became the first player in Frederick history to hit three home runs in one game. He received a promotion to the

Bowie Baysox The Bowie Baysox are a Minor League Baseball team located in Bowie, Maryland. They are the Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles, and play in the Eastern League. Their home ballpark is Prince George's Stadium. History From 1989 to 1992, ...

of the Double-A Eastern League in June 2017. In 128 games between Frederick and Bowie, he slashed .329/.365/.593 with 32 home runs and 95 RBIs. The Orioles promoted Hays to the major leagues on September 5, 2017, making him the first 2016 draftee to reach the major leagues. He made his major league debut September 7, 2017. He had his first MLB hit, followed by his first MLB home run, in a 9–3 loss against the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

on September 16. In 20 games for Baltimore during the 2017 season, he batted .217/.238/.317 in 60 at bats. He began 2018 with Bowie. He did not play in the majors in 2018 struggling with under performance and injury. Hays was recalled by the Orioles from the Triple-A

Norfolk Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

on September 7, 2019. He was supposed to have reported to the

Surprise Saguaros The Surprise Saguaros are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Surprise, Arizona, at Surprise Stadium. The ballpark is also the spring training facility of the Kansas City Royal ...

on September 11, the first time ever that the Arizona Fall League (AFL) season opened before October. His promotion was made possible by both MLB and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) which, two days prior to the transaction, approved a rule change that allowed players on the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, and ...

to report to the AFL in October. In a 15-inning 11–10 loss to the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, it ...

on September 23, he became the first MLB rookie to have at least five RBIs, a stolen base and an outfield assist in the same game since the RBI became an official stat in 1920. The Orioles eventually decided not to send him to the Saguaros after he started in 15 of 20 games, batted .313 with a .958

OPS In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea. Iconography In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...

and made several spectacular defensive plays. On August 11, 2020, Hays hit a two-run inside-the-park home run against the Philadelphia Phillies to break an 8-8 tie. That would be the game's difference maker as the Orioles won the game in extra innings, 10-9. In 2020 for the Orioles, Hays slashed .279/.328/.393 with four home runs and nine RBIs; in 2021, he appeared in 131 games with Baltimore, batting .256 with 22 home runs and 71 RBIs. On June 22, 2022, Hays

hit for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League Ba ...

in a game against the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. In August, Hays was named the Orioles'

Heart & Hustle Award The Heart & Hustle Award is given out annually by the Major League Baseball Players Alumni Association (MLBPAA) to a current player who not only excels on the field, but also "best embodies the values, spirits and traditions of baseball." Nomina ...

winner for the 2022 season. Playing in 145 games for Baltimore, he batted .250/.306/.413 with 16 home runs and 60 RBI. On January 13, 2023, Hays agreed to a one-year, $3.2 million contract with the Orioles, avoiding salary arbitration.

Personal life

Hays and his wife Samantha have two sons together.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hays, Austin 1995 births Living people Aberdeen IronBirds players American League All-Stars Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Florida Bowie Baysox players Frederick Keys players Hyannis Harbor Hawks players Jacksonville Dolphins baseball players Major League Baseball outfielders Norfolk Tides players Seminole State Raiders baseball players Sportspeople from Daytona Beach, Florida