Luke Hughes

Luke Trevor Hughes was born August 2, 1984, in Perth, Australia. The Twins had a period when they signed many Australian players compared to other teams, but the program was hardly a raging success. Hughes was one of nine Australians to make the major leagues with the Twins. The biggest names of the Twins Australian signings were probably Grant Balfour and Liam Hendricks.

Hughes played first base, second base, and third base for the Twins in 2010-12. The vast amount of his time occurred in 2011 when he saw 317 of his career 348 plate appearances. For the Twins, the right-handed batter hit .224/.285/.342 with eight home runs and 33 runs batted in. The Twins released him in 2012. He was picked up and played four games with Oakland but that was the extent of his Major League career.

After retirement from US Major League Baseball, Hughes returned to Australia to play in the Australian Baseball League.

• Luke Hughes had a home run in his first Major League plate appearance. That first home run was against Max Scherzer of the Tigers.
• Hughes represented Australia in the World Baseball Classic in 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2017.
• Hughes currently has the most career home runs in the Australian Baseball League (60) which was formed in 2010.