Almost 10 months after his final Major League game, Tim Hudson is returning to baseball.
The former prep star at Glenwood and collegiate standout at Auburn is on the roster of the Kansas Stars, a team of former big-leaguers that plans to play in the 82nd National Baseball Congress World Series, scheduled for July 29 through Aug. 13 at Lawrence-Dumont Stadium in Wichita, Kansas.
The NABC World Series field is mainly composed of teams from collegiate summer leagues. The Kansas Stars have 24 former Major Leaguers on their 25-player roster.
Adam LaRoche and Nate Robertson put together the Stars, and the roster is filled with former MLB teammates, including Hudson. LaRoche and Hudson played three seasons together with the Atlanta Braves.
Hudson retired last year. In 17 MLB seasons, he posted a 222-133 pitching record with a 3.49 earned-run average. Hudson went to the All-Star Game in the 2000, 2004, 2010 and 2014 seasons, representing the Oakland Athletics in the first two, the Braves at the 2010 game and the San Francisco Giants in 2014. He was the 2010 National League Comeback Player of the Year.
Hudson is one of 11 former MLB All-Stars on the Stars, including pitcher Roger Clemens, an eight-time All-Star.
Other former All-Stars on the team include Ben Sheets, Roy Oswalt, Dan Uggla, Josh Beckett, Brad Penny, Jason Isringhausen, J.D. Drew, Jack Wilson and Brandon Inge.
“I put out a feeler, a text message, and I was blown away at the response,” LaRoche told the Wichita Eagle. “And, I mean, right away, guys responded and were really excited about it, wanting more and more information. I think something about being out of the game, whether it’s for a couple months or a couple years, not having that competition is why guys are so excited to get back out and play the game.”
The Stars hit the field in the second week of pool action at the tournament with games on Aug. 6, 8 and 10.
Hudson was more than a pitcher at Auburn, even though for the Tigers’ College World Series team in 1997, he led the nation with 15 victories and won the SEC pitching Triple Crown by leading the conference in wins, ERA and strikeouts.
In 1997, Hudson made the All-SEC team as a pitcher and an outfielder, earned All-American recognition in the utility slot and won the SEC Player of the Year Award. That season, he broke Auburn single-season records belonging to future Baseball Hall of Famer Frank Thomas with 95 RBIs and 183 total bases.
Mobile native Satchel Paige pitched the Bismarck Churchills to the first NABC World Series title in 1935.
