Jared Hughes

William Jared Hughes (born July 4, 1985) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 2011 with the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also played for the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and New York Mets.

Amateur career Born in Stamford, Connecticut, Hughes was raised in San Marino, California and attended Santa Margarita Catholic High School. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Devil Rays in the 16th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft, but chose to attend Santa Clara University. After the 2004 season, Hughes transferred to California State University, Long Beach, where he was a starting pitcher for two seasons in 2005 and 2006 and posted a 16–7 record with a 3.29 earned run average (ERA), pitching 197 innings with 164 strikeouts. In 2005, he played collegiate summer baseball for the Chatham A's of the Cape Cod Baseball League and was named a league all-star.

Professional career Pittsburgh Pirates Hughes was drafted by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the fourth round of the 2006 Major League Baseball draft. He started his professional career as a starting pitcher in 2006 with the Williamsport Crosscutters and the Hickory Crawdads. He spent the 2007 season with Hickory, where he was 8–9 with a 4.64 ERA, and led the league with 27 wild pitches in innings.

He spent the 2008 season with the Lynchburg Hillcats and the Altoona Curve. He led the league in wild pitches. In 2009, Hughes pitched for the Gulf Coast League Pirates and Altoona, and was a combined 1–6 with three saves and an ERA of 3.61. For the season he was 12–8, and his 12 wins tied for the second-most in the league, were the third-most in a season in club history, and tied for first among all Pittsburgh minor leaguers.

When Hughes was promoted to the majors in September 2011, he became the 41st major leaguer in Long Beach history.

Milwaukee Brewers On April 2, 2017, Hughes signed a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Brewers. He made 53 appearances for the Brewers, posting a 5–3 record and 3.02 ERA with 48 strikeouts and one save across innings pitched.

Cincinnati Reds On December 26, 2017, Hughes signed a two-year contract with the Cincinnati Reds, with a $3 million club option or a $250,000 buyout for 2020. In 2019 for the Phillies, he was 2–1 with a 3.91 ERA in 25 relief appearances covering 23 innings. He was released on March 19.

New York Mets On June 30, 2020, Hughes signed with the New York Mets. He appeared as a relief pitcher in 18 games for them, winning one and losing two, striking out 21 batters in innings. He became a free agent again after the season ended.

Executive career In 2021, after his retirement from playing professional baseball, Hughes was hired as an analyst by the Los Angeles Angels. As of 2024, he serves as the coordinator of pitching analysis for the Angels.

Personal life Hughes is married to Kelly Hughes. They married in 2011. The couple have a son, William, who was born in 2016. Hughes is a Christian.

Throughout his professional career, Hughes gained notoriety for sprinting from the bullpen to the mound when relief pitching. The tradition inspired a meme, when Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto was recorded shaking his head after Hughes was called into the game, although Realmuto has since gone on the record to say that the .gif of the moment was not him reacting to Hughes's sprint but rather the previous at-bat when the New York Mets scored two runs. Hughes said he started sprinting to the mound in 2011 as a minor leaguer; the first time he did it, "I was out of breath," he said, but "then I started grunting and throwing as hard as I could. Even though I was in the low 90s, it was just way different and it felt good.”