ESPN.com · Mar 10, 2025
Kurkjian: Why everyone loves Guardians catcher Austin Hedges
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It is 8 o'clock on a February morning in the Cleveland Guardians clubhouse, and Austin Hedges is, as he often is, shirtless, which always amused one of his managers, Terry Francona, because, as the 65-year-old skipper put it, "with his shirt off, he looks like me." Hedges is, as always, talking, teaching and laughing, as are his teammates, though it's hard to imagine a group ever laughing harder than after Game 1 of the 2023 World Series, when the Texas Rangers' Adolis Garcia hit a walk-off home run, while Hedges, in the hole at the time, celebrated wildly -- inspiring an Instagram meme with what Hedges might have been thinking at that moment: Great, I don't have to hit!