CLEVELAND — Guardians catcher Austin Hedges has had a terrific start to the 2026 season, but his best hit might have come after Cleveland's game April 19 at Progressive Field.
After the Guardians beat the Orioles 8-4, Hedges gathered a few friends and proposed to his significant other, Lexi Dickinson, on the field. The scoreboard at Progressive Field read, "Lexi, will you marry me?" as he got down on one knee. She said yes.
Like many proposals, the entire day came with some extra nervousness for the 33-year-old catcher.
"Lots of nerves, lots of nerves," Hedges said. "A lot of nerves about — I'm always nervous for baseball games. I mean, obviously that's a good team over there and we want to win the series. And just trying to stay present, knowing that there was some activities after. But special day, special day to be able to soak it all in."
Hedges added he's had the ring since early in spring training, meaning February, but he was looking for the right time. It put some added pressure on the Guardians winning the game. They did, and then his teammates celebrated again after the pair was engaged.
"Really hoping to win that game," Hedges said, smiling. "I was going to do it regardless, but I really wanted to win that game to make it extra special."
The two have been dating since November 2024, Hedges said. Afterward, the Guardians catcher was pleased to say everything with the proposal went perfectly as he accepted congratulations from teammates.
Ryan Lewis covers the Cleveland Guardians for the Akron Beacon Journal. He can be reached at rlewis1@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Austin Hedges helped Guardians beat Orioles then got engaged on field