The Guardians opened a weekend series against the Royals at Progressive Field with an altogether textbook 7-0 win on Friday night. Given that context, reliever Hunter Gaddis’ postgame remarks seem out of place, to say the least.
“I don't know if I've seen anything really like that,” said Gaddis.
It’s actually fair enough, because Gaddis, the third man out of Cleveland’s lights-out bullpen on the night, has an early candidate for weirdest strikeout of 2025. Opening the eighth inning, Gaddis retired Jonathan India on a 2-2 changeup that ricocheted off the end of India's bat and, in a pretty diabolical move by a foul ball India technically hit, immediately found Austin Hedges behind the plate. Strike three, had it all the way. And to be clear, it really did find Hedges, rather than his glove.
“I’m going to pretend like it was a reflex thing. But, no. It just found my forearm and it stuck there. A little lucky,” Hedges said after the game. “I’ve seen some weird things happen, but I don't know. That was a weird one.”
Although it looks like the kind of play that would lead to a lengthy review and a debate over what really constitutes a legal catch, the rulebook does have this covered -- per Rule 5.09(a)(2), a foul tip that hits a catcher’s body or equipment can still be the third strike of an at-bat so long as he catches it before it hits the ground.
“I think it was incredible. [Hedges] told me it fell into his lap like a baby, so he was just cradling it. I thought that was funny,” said Gaddis. “He's got some good hands. He’s just a good catcher.”
Of course, if you want an accurate account of a catcher, you should ask another catcher. So Guardians manager Stephen Vogt, only a few years removed from his own career, should have the final say on the play.
“I've seen it happen,” Vogt said. “Usually it goes into the glove off of the knob. For him to smother it like that ... Hedgey is the best defensive catcher in the world, and it doesn't shock me when I see him do things.”