Orlando Hudson

Orlando Hudson
San Diego Padres — No. 1
Second baseman
Born: December 12, 1977 (1977-12-12) (age 33) Darlington, South Carolina
Bats: Switch	Throws: Right
MLB debut
July 24, 2002 for the Toronto Blue Jays
Career statistics (through August 4, 2011)
Batting average	.278
Home runs	90
Runs batted in	512
Teams
Toronto Blue Jays (2002–2005) Arizona Diamondbacks (2006–2008) Los Angeles Dodgers (2009) Minnesota Twins (2010) San Diego Padres (2011–present)
Career highlights and awards
2x All-Star selection (2007, 2009) 4x Gold Glove Award winner (2005, 2006, 2007, 2009) Fielding Bible Award winner (2006)

Medal record
Men’s baseball
Competitor for  United States
Baseball World Cup
Silver	2001 Taipei	National team

Orlando Thill Hudson (born December 12, 1977) is an American professional baseball second baseman with the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball.

Early life and high school career

Hudson was born on December 12, 1977 in Darlington, South Carolina. He attended Darlington High School, where he was a three-sport standout in baseball, football, and basketball. In baseball, he was the Player of the Year and an All-State selection.

Hudson was the quarterback of Darlington High School's first-ever football team, and also served as the teams punter.

After high school, Hudson went on to play baseball at Spartanburg Methodist College.

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

Hudson was drafted in the 43rd round by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 1997 Major League Baseball Draft. He began his professional career with the Medicine Hat Blue Jays in the rookie leagues in 1998, hitting .298. He continued through the minors with the Hagerstown Suns (1999), Dunedin Blue Jays (2000), Tennessee Smokies (2000–01) and Syracuse Sky Chiefs (2001–02). In 2001 he was a Southern League All-Star and a Baseball America 1st team Minor League All-Star at second base.

He made his major league debut on July 24, 2002 for the Blue Jays against the Baltimore Orioles. He was hitless in four at-bats in that game. Hudson recorded his first Major League hit in the second inning on July 26 against the Minnesota Twins when he slapped an RBI single to center field off pitcher Joe Mays. His first home run was hit on August 5 against Baltimore's Rodrigo López. He played for the Blue Jays from 2002 to 2005.

Hudson is renowned for his fielding prowess, known for making spectacular lunging catches and diving stabs at grounders. His defensive talents were recognized in 2005, when he won his first American League Gold Glove Award while with the Toronto Blue Jays.

Arizona Diamondbacks

Hudson playing for the Arizona Diamondbacks on August 28, 2007.

In 2005, Hudson was traded to the Arizona Diamondbacks along with pitcher Miguel Batista for third baseman Troy Glaus and shortstop prospect Sergio Santos.

In the 2006 season, his first full season with Arizona, Hudson set career-highs in batting average with a .287, in home runs with 15, in RBI with 67, and runs scored with 87.

After the 2006 season, Hudson became the recipient of his second career Gold Glove Award, as announced on November 3. Hudson became only the sixth infielder in major league history to win a Gold Glove award in both the American and National Leagues.^[1] He was also honored with a Fielding Bible Award as the best fielding second baseman in MLB.^[2]

Hudson was selected to his first All-Star Game in 2007, and won his third Gold Glove that season.

Hudson missed the last month of the 2008 season, with a dislocated left wrist he suffered against the Atlanta Braves^[3] and became a free agent at the end of the season.

Los Angeles Dodgers

On February 21, 2009, Hudson signed a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, reportedly worth $3.4 million (with an additional $4.6 million more in performance bonuses).^[4]

On Monday April 13, 2009, Hudson became the 8th Dodger to hit for the cycle, in the 2009 home opener against the San Francisco Giants before a record crowd of 57,099. Hudson was the second Los Angeles Dodger to accomplish this, since Wes Parker in 1970, and the only Los Angeles Dodger to do it at Dodger Stadium.^[5] Hudson singled in the first inning, hit a home run in the third inning, doubled in the fourth inning and tripled in the sixth inning. All of Hudson's hits came off of Randy Johnson except for his triple, which was off middle reliever Merkin Valdez.^[6]

He was selected to his second all-star game and won his fourth Gold Glove Award at the conclusion of the season.

Minnesota Twins

On February 4, 2010, Hudson signed a 1 year, $5 Million deal with the Minnesota Twins. He became the Twins second baseman, replacing Nick Punto and Alexi Casilla.^[7]

San Diego Padres

On December 20, 2010, Hudson signed a 2 year contract with the San Diego Padres worth $4 million.^[8]

Through 2011, he had the second-highest career range factor per game of all active major league second basemen, behind Ian Kinsler.^[9]

Controversy

On April 13, 2010, Hudson hinted that there is racism toward blacks in free agency. He said, "You see guys like Jermaine Dye without a job. Guy with 48 home runs and 81 RBIs and can’t get a job. Pretty much sums it up right there, no? You’ve got some guys who miss a year who can come back and get $5, $6 million, and a guy like Jermaine Dye can’t get a job. A guy like Gary Sheffield , a first-ballot Hall of Famer, can’t get a job.".^[10]

Community involvement

Hudson founded the C.A.T.C.H. Foundation, a 501c3 organization that seeks to provide resources and a support system for youth coping with autism.

Family

Hudson married Keisa Carr in the 2008 offseason. He has one daughter and one son.^[11]

References

1. ^ "Orlando Hudson earns second career Rawlings Gold Glove Award". MLB.com. November 3, 2006. http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/press_releases/press_release.jsp?ymd=20061103&content_id=1731852&vkey=pr_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari. Retrieved December 23, 2009. 
2. ^ "The 2006 Fielding Bible Awards". The Fielding Bible. Archived from the original on November 17, 2010. http://www.webcitation.org/5uJezKBUY. Retrieved November 18, 2010. 
3. ^ Ritter, Mike (August 10, 2008). "Hudson done for season after surgery". MLB.com. http://arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080810&content_id=3286304&vkey=news_ari&fext=.jsp&c_id=ari. Retrieved December 23, 2009. 
4. ^ Gurnick, Ken (February 21, 2009). "Hudson passes Dodgers physical". MLB.com. http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090221&content_id=3862316&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la. Retrieved December 23, 2009. 
5. ^ By Rhett Bollinger / MLB.com. "Hudson notches cycle for Dodgers". Losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com. http://losangeles.dodgers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090413&content_id=4252992&vkey=news_la&fext=.jsp&c_id=la. Retrieved October 15, 2011. 
6. ^ "Boxscore: San Francisco vs. LA Dodgers – April 13, 2009". Sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com. April 13, 2009. http://sanfrancisco.giants.mlb.com/news/boxscore.jsp?gid=2009_04_13_sfnmlb_lanmlb_1. Retrieved October 15, 2011. 
7. ^ "Rockies sign Hudson to one-year deal". http://www.startribune.com/sports/twins. 
8. ^ "Orlando Hudson, Padres make two-year contract official". Sandiego.padres.mlb.com. http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101217&content_id=16337306&vkey=news_sd&c_id=sd. Retrieved October 15, 2011. 
9. ^ "Active Leaders & Records for Range Factor/Game as 2B". Baseball-Reference. http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/range_factor_per_game_2b_active.shtml. Retrieved September 29, 2011. 
10. ^ Passan, Jeff (April 13, 2010). "Hudson hints at racism for blacks in free agency". Sports.yahoo.com. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AuyOHZ55mZGJlrhMauXIFOI5nYcB?slug=jp-dyehudson041210. Retrieved October 15, 2011. 
11. ^ "Orlando Hudson: Stats, Bio, Photos, Highlights". Mlb.mlb.com. http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=407861. Retrieved October 15, 2011. 

External links

• Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube, or Baseball-Reference (Minors)
• Official Site

Persondata
Name	Hudson, Orlando
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	December 12, 1977
Place of birth	Darlington, South Carolina
Date of death
Place of death