Brett Gregory Hayes (born February 13, 1984) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

and current quality control coach for the Texas Rangers of

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He played in MLB for the Florida/Miami Marlins,

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

, and

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

Personal life

Brett Hayes is the son of Tim Hayes Jr., and the grandson of Tim Hayes Sr., both professional baseball players. Tim Hayes Jr. was drafted by the

, but never appeared professionally. Tim Hayes Sr. played professionally for the

. In the fall of 2011, Brett married longtime girlfriend Elizabeth, in Minnesota. Hayes attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks and was a two-year varsity starter.

College

Hayes attended college at the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada, United States. It is the state's flagship public university and prim ...

. While playing for the

Nevada Wolf Pack The Nevada Wolf Pack are the athletic teams that represent the University of Nevada, Reno. They are part of NCAA's Division I's Mountain West Conference. It was founded on October 24, 1896 with football as the Sagebrushers in Reno, Nevada. H ...

, he was named the

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the Western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, Texas, Utah and Washington (state), Washington. Due to ...

Freshman of the Year, and a Freshman All-American. He made the all-

team for three straight seasons. In 2004, 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

Cotuit Kettleers The Cotuit Kettleers are a collegiate summer baseball team based in the village of Cotuit, Massachusetts, which is in the southwest corner of the town of Barnstable, Massachusetts, Barnstable. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League ...

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 1,000 forme ...

Professional career

Florida Marlins

Minor leagues

Hayes played 51 games in 2007, splitting time between Jupiter and Carolina. From 2008 to 2011, Hayes played for Jupiter, Carolina, New Orleans, and Albuquerque.

Major leagues

Hayes was called up to the

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

on May 22, 2009, hitting a single in his first at bat that night. He hit his first major league

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

off of the

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

Víctor Gárate Víctor J. Gárate (born September 25, 1984) is a Venezuelan former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals, in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters ...

on September 5, 2009. After splitting the 2010 season in the major and minor leagues, Hayes played in 64 games for the Marlins in 2011, batting .231 with 5 home runs and 16 runs batted in. To open 2012, Hayes was the backup catcher behind John Buck. After playing in 39 games for the Marlins, he was sent down to Triple-A New Orleans on August 12, 2012. In those 39 games, Hayes batted .202 with three runs batted in, no home runs, and six runs scored.

Kansas City Royals

The

claimed Hayes off waivers on November 2, 2012. He signed a one-year, $600,000 contract with the Royals on November 20, 2012. His contract was selected from the

Omaha Storm Chasers The Omaha Storm Chasers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. They are located in Papillion, Nebraska, a suburb southwest of Omaha, Nebraska, Omah ...

on August 4 when

Salvador Pérez Salvador Johan Perez Diaz (born May 10, 1990), nicknamed "El Niño" and "Salvy", is a Venezuelan-American professional baseball catcher and first baseman for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He is a nine-time MLB All-Sta ...

was placed on the 7-day disabled list. He was designated for assignment on August 11, 2013, when Perez returned. He was outrighted to Omaha on August 15. His contract was selected again when the major league rosters expanded on September 1. Hayes was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must, within seven days, return the pla ...

by the Royals on July 28, 2014.

Cleveland Indians

On December 15, 2014, he signed a minor league contract with the

. The Indians purchased his contract on April 14, 2015, and added him to the active roster. Hayes was designated for assignment on May 24.

Arizona Diamondbacks

On October 26, 2015, Hayes signed a minor league contract with the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. The franchise was established ...

organization. He played in 18 games for the Triple–A

Reno Aces The Reno Aces are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Reno, Nevada, and play their home games at Greater Nevada Field, w ...

, batting .161/.175/.196 with no home runs and four RBI.

Chicago White Sox

On June 6, 2016, Hayes was traded to the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

in exchange for cash considerations. He finished the year with the Triple–A

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

, slashing .225/.354/.425 with one home run and two RBI across 13 appearances. Hayes elected free agency following the season on November 7.

Texas Rangers

On February 10, 2017, Hayes signed a minor league contract with the Texas Rangers organization. In 66 games for the Triple–A

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

, he batted .211/.274/.315 with four home runs and 21 RBI. Hayes elected free agency following the season on November 6.

Front office and coaching roles

After retiring from playing following the 2017 season, Hayes joined the Texas Rangers Front Office, serving as an advance scout in 2018. Hayes was promoted to Coordinator of Run Prevention for the 2019 season, joining the Rangers coaching staff. His role included traveling with the team and preparing advanced scouting reports in conjunction with the Rangers pitching coaches. Hayes spent the 2022 through 2024 seasons as the

bullpen coach In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decision ...

of the Rangers. Hayes won his first

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

ring with the Rangers in 2023. Hayes was moved to quality control coach before the 2025 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Brett 1984 births Living people Albuquerque Isotopes players 21st-century American sportsmen Baseball players from Pasadena, California Carolina Mudcats players Charlotte Knights players Cleveland Indians players Columbus Clippers players Cotuit Kettleers players Florida Marlins players Greensboro Grasshoppers players Gulf Coast Marlins players Jamestown Jammers players Jupiter Hammerheads players Kansas City Royals players Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Major League Baseball catchers Miami Marlins players Nevada Wolf Pack baseball players New Orleans Zephyrs players Notre Dame High School (Sherman Oaks, California) alumni Omaha Storm Chasers players Peoria Saguaros players Reno Aces players Round Rock Express players Basketball players from Pasadena, California Texas Rangers coaches Texas Rangers scouts