May 8 — Grant Kay

Columbus Clingstones broadcaster Jack Johnson visited with hitting coach Grant Kay at Keesler Federal Park in Biloxi, Mississippi. 

Kay discussed the source of his greatest pride during the Clingstones’ historic home run surge to begin the 2026 season, adjustments to his coaching philosophy entering his second year as hitting coach, and the progress of players including Cal Conley, David McCabe, and Jordan Groshans. He also reflected on his own draft story, hitting for the cycle in his first professional game, and the perspective his playing career provides in his work as a coach.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Back on the Columbus Klingstones pregame show, inside the batting cages, the perfect place to visit with Klingstones hitting coach Grant Kay. I want to start by giving you a stat. The Stones have hit 49 home runs through 30 games this year. That's the most in the Southern League since digital stats started being recorded, which stretches all the way back to 2005, which tells us that it's probably this century because the Southern League is not known for hitting that many homers for any team. So 49 homers through 30 games. What's the highest point of pride you take from that?

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Oh, I mean, I don't know. I'm just just excited for this group. Um, especially last year, I want to say we probably what hit 15 homers in April last year, maybe even less? 10. 10 homers? Yeah, I mean, big step. I think we got a triple A group here, and I keep reminding them to act like it and a bunch of confidence with this group, and it shows.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

What are the changes, if any, that have been made in your approach to your own position? Because last year was your first full season as a hitting coach, and we talked about that here at this ballpark early last year. What did you go back and evaluate about the way you approached your position and by approaching some of these players now in year two?

SPEAKER_01 1:15

I think I just got better from last year. I think last year was just a big learning experience. Um, I just wanted to really make sure I brought a good vibe every day in spring training, and I can kind of see the culture shift a little bit and just let everybody know like you got a hit to make it to the big leagues. Like, you really got a hit and you gotta prove it every day and be a professional, and I just kind of keep reminding them and make sure everybody's feeling good every day.

SPEAKER_00 1:41

So I've talked to a bunch of different players who are off to great starts this year. I talked to Archer Brookman on Wednesday. Sometimes when I interview players on the team, it almost sounds like they're speaking like Grant Kay, or you're speaking through them in the particular moment. The thing he told me was he's trying to stay stubborn to his approach. And I thought that sounds a lot like Grant in the way that he tries to go about his business and being a hitting coach and working with these players. When you say stubborn with your approach, what do you mean?

SPEAKER_01 2:11

You know, I'm not like a huge analytical guy, but I think if you show up every day and have something, whether even if you're even if you're wrong, but if you have something that you commit and believe in, you have a better chance. And I think um I think just showing up every day with just something, whether whether it's I'm hunting a fastball middle of the plate, and just fully committing to it every single pitch, and let's let's see what it looks like by the end of the week when you do that every single pitch, and I'm trying to like bleed that stubbornness into these guys, and um a lot of them are taking it the right way, so it's it's fun to see.

SPEAKER_00 2:49

So let's talk about some individual players that are off to great starts. Cal Conley last year went through his share of struggles, had one home run on the season. Now Cal's got four. That's more than he's had in any season of his double A career, and like we said, he's only 20 or so games into the season. What is the jump that has been made for Cal to play like Cal Conley tends to play, especially in college and the reason he was drafted as high as he was?

SPEAKER_01 3:15

Um, I think he's just kind of came to peace with his career, and he's he's um got a different perspective. He he's learning from his mistakes, and he's just aggressive. He's he's going for it this year. I think we talked a lot about that, like like same thing I said earlier. Like you you got a hit to make it to the big leagues, and you know, feeling for moves and trying to touch the ball, it's it's not it. You gotta go up there and be aggressive and be on the hunt, and kind of same thing, like be stubborn with it. Let's let's see what it looks like when you're aggressive every single pitch and and try to do damage.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

David McCabe has nine home runs to begin the season. He had ten total last year in 105 games with Columbus. We could feel this coming on right before he got promoted to AAA last year, but he's started at the same place he left off in 2025. Where did he turn the corner with his power?

SPEAKER_01 4:09

You know, I think we we sat down last year and just looked at a lot of his numbers, and he was hitting the ball harder on anybody in the league, harder on anybody in our org, and hitting him at the right angles, and we just thought he wasn't spinning the ball the right way. So we just like put a lot of focus on spinning the ball the right way. Backspin in the air. Um I thought he was a little too careful with the direction as well. He was like really in the oppo gap, and we just kind of set our sights a little more into his pull side gap and focused on the spin of the ball, and I think it helped the length of his swing. It was able to like really get through some balls, and um it showed up this year, especially on off speed, like the length of his swing is is much, much better.

SPEAKER_00 4:54

There's a lot of guys we could go to, but the one I want to ask you about most is Jordan Groshans. When I talked to him in Birmingham a few weeks ago, he said you're the best hitting coach that he's ever worked with. When you hear something like that, what goes through your mind?

SPEAKER_01 5:09

I mean, it's really cool. I was really lucky in spring training this year. He came up to me and said, I need to hit more doubles, I need to hit more homers, I heard you're the guy, let's get to work. And I mean, it's not every day you get a big leaguer just willing to buy into something that you have to say. I mean, this is my second year coaching, and I got a kid that's played in the big leagues, and I didn't play in the big leagues, but he's coming up to me and like putting full trust into me, and it's it means a lot to have that, and I mean it's showing up. He's believing in it. Um we cleaned up his path a lot, kind of the same thing, like the length of his path much better, and um he's getting through a lot of breaking balls, and I'm trying to keep him in the lanes and stubborn with it the all year long, and let's see, let's see what it looks like.

SPEAKER_00 5:57

Hopefully we can get him up to around 20. He's got seven, which ties his single season career high, and I agree there's a lot more to come. When you have a game like we did last Sunday against Montgomery, where we combine for 13 homers with the Biscuits, which sets a Southern League record, and the Stones tie their franchise record with five homers. What is the environment like inside the dugout in the middle of those games? And how much do you just enjoy watching it from a hitting coach perspective? Because it's been a paradise to watch for much of the season.

SPEAKER_01 6:26

Well, I know they're having a lot more fun this year, and it's it's a lot more fun for me as well, just seeing these guys around the bases. So I'm just gonna support them as much as I can and keep keep trying to get them to hit the ball in the air and keep trying to get them to swing at the right pitches, and I mean it's fun when we're hitting homers.

SPEAKER_00 6:43

With Grant Kay, the Klingstones hitting coach, let's talk about your career. I want to go back to the very beginning. Your first game, you hit a homer in your first at-bat, and you hit for the cycle. So tell me the story about that game, what that was like.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

Yeah, first game, I kind of I got drafted. The Rays, they didn't call me for like a week. So I sat around my apartment in Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, just kind of waiting around, no agent, not really knowing much about Pro Bowl. All I really knew is like I really wanted to play. Like I wanted a shot. I was a 27th rounder. I kept seeing on Twitter everybody's getting signed, um, free agent signs, infielders, and I'm like, what the heck's going on? Like, they drafted me, don't they want me? But um my buddy's agent ended up getting a hold of hold of the Rays, and I I got a call, and they offered me like, I don't know, a couple grand, and I was a junior at the time, knowing that juniors get around a hundred grand, and I I didn't have an agent, so I was like, uh I'm signing for a hundred grand. That's that's what juniors get. So I I was I didn't really know what was going on, but they were like, Yeah, we're a small market team, you know. Um we don't have that right now. This is what we got for you. And I said, I'm gonna go play in the Cape and go back from my senior year, and and they were like, awesome, what team in the Cape? We're gonna come watch it. And I had completely made that up. So as soon as we get off the phone, I emailed every team in the Cape and was like, I need to play. I changed my mind, I'm going back to school. I got a call from Katuit, um, Brian Roberts, um, called me. He's like, My second basement sucks. How quick can you get here? I looked up the flights, I ended up getting on a flight that night, in the lineup the next day, end up being player of the week in the Cape Cod. Each day the Rays offered me about 10 grand more, and I end up signing for about what I wanted. Um wait around a couple more days, first game Hudson Valley, first pitch I saw Homer, and then um finished with a triple on kids' day for a standing ovation from all the kids chant MVP. It was hilarious.

SPEAKER_00 8:56

Okay, so first pitch you drill out of the ballpark. When you're rounding the bases, what's going through your mind?

SPEAKER_01 9:04

I mean, I I sat I sat on the bench for two days kind of watching how Pro Bowl was working, and I noticed a bunch of fastballs. Like these guys are attacking with fastballs, and I went up there and ambushed first pitch fastball, and it's funny because the same guy, same guy hit my first homer off. I ended up facing him my last at bat in Mexico, and I popped out. So he got me back full circle moment about 10 years later in Mexico. Same same pitcher I faced, first A B got me out.

SPEAKER_00 9:32

That is a tremendous story. When you look at your playing career, what are the moments that you draw back on and kind of still speak to you now that you're a coach?

SPEAKER_01 9:43

I mean, I a lot of the feels I had at the plate, um, I'm starting to kind of match those up with feels that these guys have, and I'm I'm able to use that just to communicate and kind of get through some stuff with those guys. So I'm constantly remembering and thinking about stuff that I fell and trying to like match it with a certain feel that a player has. So just all the experiences I went through in my tenure career, I think it's it's definitely helped me. Um I don't it's not crazy important to play for that long to be a really good hitting coach, but I do think it's it's helped having a lot of those experiences and ups and downs that these guys go through.

SPEAKER_00 10:25

And you mentioned that, and I want to go back to something you talked about with Cal Conley because your career took you from home run on the first pitch, indie ball, Mexican league, all these different spots, all these different moments, like you said, the highs and the lows. It's not just about approaches or reports, but when guys are going through their own lives and trying to pursue their dreams to make it to the big league level, and you talk about coming to peace with your career, is there conversations that you have with players like it could be a Cal or anyone on the team about something like that?

SPEAKER_01 10:57

Yeah, definitely. Just using Cal as an example. Um he's just put so much pressure on himself the last couple years, and you know, we know he cares, and everybody cares and wants to make it to the big leagues, but putting that extra pressure on yourself, it just it makes it harder. Um you're just you just gotta go out there and and give it everything you got, and I'm gonna say it again, but stubborn. You gotta be stubborn with it, and it's a long season, it's a marathon, and you gotta be able to handle the highs and lows. Um, you gotta be able to handle this success just as much as the failures. You know, it's easy to go out there and hit a couple homers and show up the next day and think you got it all figured out. So it's the ups and downs and the failures, it's it's important, and it's important for developing. Talking to Klo Hissey about it, you know, this is probably the first time he's struggled in a while. And I mean the organization, they want to see how you respond. And I told him, like, you have to respond in a way that makes you better and develops you, and I think I think he's uh a perfect example of a guy that's gonna do that.

SPEAKER_00 12:07

We'll end with this, Grant. This team never seems to quit this particular year, and that's embodied by Wednesday's game being down six-nothing, winning the game. Last night being down five-nothing, almost coming back to win it, had the tying around on second base when the final out was made. What has changed between last year and this year with this team? A lot of the same guys coming back that are putting pressure on opponents when the game seems out of reach.

SPEAKER_01 12:35

Yeah, I just don't think we're giving up any at-bats. Every at bat matters. Nobody cares if you're down six or it's a blowout or it's a position player on the mound. It it doesn't, it doesn't there's no asterisk on the back of your baseball card. Like every stat, every at-bat, it matters. Um, we're just not giving them up. And it's really awesome to see. It's easy to just kind of lay down after a long inning, but these guys, these guys are going out there and they're getting a good pitch, and they're they're letting it rip, and I love it.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

Forty-nine homers through 30 games, the most in the Southern League through 30 games in the last two decades. Grant, you have been hitting all the right buttons to start the year, man. Thanks for taking the time. Appreciate it, Jack. Alright, that was hitting Coach Grant Kay on the Klingstones pregame show coming up after the break, the first pitch on Sports Visions 92.1 FM.