Matt Hague

Matthew Donald Hague (born August 20, 1985) is an American professional baseball first baseman and coach. He is the hitting coach for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB).

Hague played college baseball at the University of Washington and Oklahoma State. Between 2012 and 2016, he played in MLB for the Pirates and Toronto Blue Jays, and in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hanshin Tigers. He has coached for the Blue Jays before being hired by the Pirates.

Amateur career Hague was raised in Kent, Washington and attended Kentwood High School in Covington, Washington. For his contributions to the high school baseball team, which finished second in the state of Washington, he was named to the Class 4A All-State First Team as a pitcher and Second Team as an outfielder.

Hague began his college baseball career at the University of Washington in 2005, where he played for the Washington Huskies baseball team for three seasons. He began his tenure with the Huskies as a backup third baseman and outfielder, He transferred to Oklahoma State University–Stillwater for his senior season, where he played for the Oklahoma State Cowboys baseball team.

Professional career Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Hague in the ninth round, with the 264th overall pick, of the 2008 Major League Baseball draft as a third baseman. He began his professional career that season with the State College Spikes of the Low–A New York–Penn League, before he was promoted to the Hickory Crawdads of the Single–A South Atlantic League. In 2009, Hague played for the Lynchburg Hillcats of the High–A Carolina League, where he began playing first base. That year, he finished third in the Carolina League with a .293 batting average.

Hague was promoted to the Altoona Curve of the Double–A Eastern League in 2010, where he was named the team's Iron Man. Hague batted .309 with 12 home runs and 75 runs batted in (RBIs) during the 2011 season with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians, leading the International League in hits and receiving midseason and postseason International League All-Star honors. He was added to the Pirates' 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft after the 2011 season.

After impressing the Pirates with his power in 2012 spring training, Hague made the Pirates' Opening Day roster. He made his MLB debut on April 7. He recorded his first MLB hit on April 8, a pinch-hit RBI single off Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick. He played in 30 games for the Pirates in 2012, batting .229 with seven RBIs and a stolen base. He spent the rest of the season with Indianapolis, where he batted .283 with four home runs, 54 RBIs, and three stolen bases. In 13 games, he batted .377 for Buffalo with a home run and 10 RBIs. but added him back to their 40-man roster on September 28.

Hague spent most of the 2015 season with Buffalo He debuted for Toronto on August 22, coming on as a pinch hitter against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and striking out. Following the game, Toronto optioned him back to Buffalo. On September 1, the International League named him the 2015 Most Valuable Player; for the season, he had batted .338 with 11 homers and 92 RBI and stole five bases for the Bisons.

The Blue Jays recalled Hague on September 8 at the conclusion of the minor-league season to provide an extra bat off the bench during the Blue Jays' pennant race. He finished the season having appeared in 10 games with the Blue Jays, batting 3-for-12 (.250) with a double.

Hanshin Tigers Following the 2015 season, the Blue Jays reached an agreement to sell Hague's contract to the Hanshin Tigers of Nippon Professional Baseball for $300,000. He signed with them on November 30, 2015, and spent the 2016 season playing in Japan for Hanshin.

Minnesota Twins On December 21, 2016, Hague signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins. He received an invitation to 2017 spring training. The Twins assigned him to the Triple–A Rochester Red Wings of the International League, where he spent the entire 2017 season, batting .297 with 10 home runs, 65 RBI, and eight stolen bases for the Red Wings.

Seattle Mariners On December 12, 2017, Hague signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners. At the beginning of the 2018 season, the Mariners assigned him to the Class AAA Tacoma Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, The Nationals assigned him to the Class AAA Syracuse Chiefs of the International League.

Coaching career Toronto Blue Jays On January 31, 2020, Hague joined the Toronto Blue Jays organization as a hitting coach for the High–A Dunedin Blue Jays. On March 8, 2021, Hague was named the hitting coach for the Double–A affiliate of the Blue Jays, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. On February 15, 2023, Hague was announced as the new hitting coach for the Triple–A Buffalo Bisons.

On January 14, 2024, the Blue Jays promoted Hague to the role of major league assistant hitting coach.

Pittsburgh Pirates On November 13, 2024, the Pittsburgh Pirates hired Hague to serve as their hitting coach.

Personal life Hague and his wife Erica (née Wise) were married in New Orleans, Louisiana, in November 2015.