'Feels Like Home:' Austin Hedges Reflects On Returning To Guardians For 2025 Season

Austin Hedges says he doesn't "plan on going anywhere" after re-signing with the Cleveland Guardians.

May 26, 2024; Anaheim, California, USA; Cleveland Guardians catcher Austin Hedges (27) is greeted after scoring a run against the Los Angeles Angels during the sixth inning at Angel Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

It's official: Austin Hedges will be back with the Cleveland Guardians for the 2025 season. The veteran catcher signed a one-year major league deal with the organization on Wednesday as MLB free agency kicked off.

Hedges made it clear that there's no other place he'd rather be playing baseball than in Cleveland, and there was a specific reason he decided to re-sign with the Guardians.

"It's really about the day-to-day. Throughout my career, there's been some good situations and some bad situations. The thing that made the most sense about, like, what I wanted most was in my career started in Cleveland in 2020, into 2021, and I just never really experienced what it was like looking forward to going to work every day and to be with a group of guys that couldn't wait to get back to the field, get back to the grind with," said Hedges.

"Leaving in '23, there was some bad things and good things that happened, but the thing that stood out the most was how much I missed that group. And then everything we accomplished, we went through together last year just made it more obvious we had to run it back."

For Hedges, returning to Cleveland is more than just baseball. He may have been born and raised on the West Coast, but the 32-year-old admits he's found a home on the shores of Lake Erie.

"Obviously, like, I love being in Cleveland. But what makes me want to be in Cleveland even more is that I feel that love from everybody else," said Hedges.

"The people in the organization, the fans, the city, have embraced me, and I feel like a Cleveland guy. That's the best way I could put it. It feels like home to me, and I know I signed a one-year contract, but as long as they want me, I don't plan on going anywhere."

It's not often that a professional player in any sport forms a bond with a city they were traded to. It wasn't Hedges decision to come to Cleveland when the San Diego Padres traded him there in 2020, but it's clear he has not intention of leaving.