in the American League. On June 19, 2010, Hughes told NJ.com, "There's a lot of good strike-throwers out there, but that's been my main goal, just get strike one and take it one pitch at a time. Get ahead, and go from there … When you’re falling behind 1-0 as opposed to 0-1, it's a huge difference … That's all I try to do is just throw strikes and be aggressive. And know that if I put myself in those good situations, good counts, more or less good things are going to happen." Hughes backed up his comments with statistics. Through Aug. 11, 2010, Hughes allowed just a .221 batting average against after throwing a first-pitch strike, as opposed to a .273 batting average against after throwing a ball on the first pitch. His win total on the season is the highest of his career. References Baseball strategy