Austin Charles Hedges is an American professional baseball catcher who plays for the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball. He was born on August 18, 1992. With the San Diego Padres in 2015, he made his MLB debut.
Hedges was born to Charlie and Pam Hedges in San Juan Capistrano, California, on August 18, 1992. Hedges spent a lot of his childhood throwing a lacrosse ball at a wall and catching it with his bare hand because he was an only child and his parents worked after he got home from school.
In the second round of the 2011 Major League Baseball Draft, the San Diego Padres selected Hedges out of JSerra Catholic High School in San Juan Capistrano, California.
Despite having a UCLA commitment, he signed a $3 million contract with the Padres. Hedges joined the Class AAA El Paso Chihuahuas of the Pacific Coast League in 2015.
On May 4, the Padres designated Wil Nieves for assignment and then promoted Hedges to the major leagues as Derek Norris’ backup. Hedges had 79 at-bats for the Chihuahuas and hit.324 with 2 home runs.
On August 31, 2020, the Padres traded Hedges to the Cleveland Indians in exchange for Mike Clevinger, Greg Allen, and Matt Waldron, as well as Josh Naylor, Cal Quantrill, and the minor leaguers Gabriel Arias, Owen Miller, and Joey Cantillo.
Hedges played in 6 games for Cleveland in 2020, batting.083 with no home runs and 0 RBIs.