From receiving a spa treatment, to taking part in beer tastings and even having an autographed leather jacket from George Clooney, airlines are rewarding their customers with outrageous frequent flyer rewards. For Pirates reliever Jared Hughes, it may be his time to cash in on his.
“I’ve racked a lot up,” Hughes said joking. “All of the flights have been U.S. Airways and I’ve got the number and I plug it in for every flight, so I’m getting close to getting a free flight if I don’t already have one.”
Since being called up for his Maj0r League debut last September 7, Hughes has been up and down from Pittsburgh to Indianapolis. Coming out of spring training, Hughes was the last reliever that made the opening day roster. When A.J. Burnett was reinstated off of the disabled list, Hughes was optioned back to Indianapolis.
For the Pirates double-header against Colorado on April 25, they recalled Hughes to make him the 26th man on the roster, the first ever in baseball. Following the two games however, Hughes was once again demoted to Triple-A. Though just six days later, Hughes was recalled after Evan Meek was demoted.
While the constant promotion and demotion has to be tiresome, Hughes says he looks at it with nothing but a good mindset.
“The only way to deal with it is to be positive and believe that I’ll be back,” Hughes said. “I just believe that it’s best for the team and just remain positive.”
And positive is what Hughes remains. Each day in the clubhouse, you can find Hughes smiling and laughing constantly with his teammates and media.
“I feel totally blessed to be here,” said Hughes. “I’m glad to be here and I know that I worked hard, but at the same time I’m lucky. I just want to appreciate it.”
As much as he appreciates the opportunity, the Pirates appreciate having him around in various roles. Hughes has pitched long-relief, middle-relief and even late in close games for the Pirates. In his 11 games this season, Hughes has allowed just three earned runs, good for a 1.53 ERA, third on the team behind Brad Lincoln and Juan Cruz.
Hughes attributes his sinking fastball that he throws 86.1 percent of the time, as well as his newly developed change up for his success.
“My sinker is my pitch,” Hughes said. “It’s what got me here and I’m going to stick with it. I’m going to keep throwing it and throw it low to try to get contact.”
“As for my change up, when I was a starter, I threw it way more often. Last year when I was in the big leagues in September, I didn’t throw it all but one time. It’s a pitch I have and use, but it’s about using it in the right situation.”
As does the majority of the staff, Hughes has attributed some of his success to his battery mates.
“Rod (Barajas) has extreme amount of experience so he knows,” Hughes said. “Mike (McKenry) may be one of the best communicators that I’ve ever thrown to. So both of them are great catchers and I’m blessed to throw to both of them.”
While there’s no guarantee how long Hughes will be up this time around, he will continue to make the most of the chances he is given. When and if that time comes that he will go back to Indianapolis, at least he has a free flight to look forward to.
Photo credits: Getty Images
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