Austin Hedges has heard the predictions every spring, and he has watched the Cleveland Guardians prove them wrong year after year. The veteran catcher appeared on MLB Network’s Intentional Talk as Cleveland prepared for Game 4 of the American League Championship Series against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Guardians lead the best of seven series 2-1 and are two wins away from their first World Series trip since 2016. That is a familiar position for a club that keeps outperforming expectations, and Hedges made it clear the players inside the clubhouse never bought into the doubts.
He also made it clear they are not satisfied with simply reaching the ALCS.
“It’s just what we do here. Every year, I love hearing the predictions for where we’re going to finish. Blah, blah, blah. Last four years I’ve been here, won the division, second time in the ALCS. We got our eye on that World Series, and we know what our job is,” Hedges said.
"I love hearing the predictions for where we're going to finish… we got our eye on that World Series and we know what our job is."@CleGuardians catcher Austin Hedges wants to continue proving the doubters wrong 👏
MLB Network + @CoronaUSA pic.twitter.com/rSjy6o0ryZ
— Intentional Talk (@IntentionalTalk) October 16, 2026
He has every right to talk about that track record. Hedges has been part of four AL Central championship teams in Cleveland, winning the division in 2022, 2024, 2025 and again this year. He also knows what it takes to finish the job, having won a World Series ring with the Texas Rangers in 2023 before returning to Cleveland. That experience has made him one of the most respected voices in the clubhouse, even as he has shared catching duties with Patrick Bailey this postseason.
The doubters certainly had their moments this year. Cleveland’s playoff odds fell to 24.4 percent in the middle of August, and the Guardians were 70-70 and three games behind the White Sox in early September. They responded by going 15-6 down the stretch to win the division. Then, after losing the first two games of the division series at home, they won three straight elimination games to stun Chicago. Las Vegas oddsmakers still listed Cleveland as an underdog heading into the ALCS against a Rays team that won 98 games, and the Guardians have answered by taking two of the first three games.
That is the kind of resilience Hedges was talking about. This group has made a habit of tuning out the outside noise and focusing on the next game, and it has paid off at every turn this season.
Game 4 was pushed back a day by rain and is now set for Saturday at 8 p.m. at Progressive Field, with Shawn Armstrong opening for Cleveland. Game 5 will follow on Sunday at 5 p.m. If the Guardians win both, they will head to the World Series to face the Milwaukee Brewers. Hedges and his teammates know the job is not finished yet, and they have no intention of stopping now.
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