| Charlie Hudson | |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | |
| Born: (1949-08-18)August 18, 1949 (age 76) Ada, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| May 21, 1972, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| July 10, 1975, for the California Angels | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 5–3 |
| Earned run average | 5.04 |
| Strikeouts | 38 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
Charles Hudson (born August 18, 1949) is an American former left-handedMajor League Baseball pitcher who played from 1972 to 1975 for theSt. Louis Cardinals,Texas Rangers andCalifornia Angels. He was 6'3" tall and he weighed 185 pounds. He attendedTupelo High School inTupelo, Oklahoma.
Hudson was originally drafted by theNew York Mets in the 10th round of the1967 draft. He had quite a bit of success as a starter in the minors, for example going a combined 20-9 with a 2.10 ERA in his first two minor league seasons. He was also used as a reliever at times in the minors, and he saw success in that role as well.
Before ever playing in a Major League uniform with the Mets, Hudson was traded withArt Shamsky,Jim Bibby andRich Folkers to theSt. Louis Cardinals forJim Beauchamp,Harry Parker,Chuck Taylor, andChip Coulter on October 18, 1971.[1]
He spent less than a year in the Cardinals minor league system before making his big league debut on May 21, 1972 against theChicago Cubs at the age of 22. Although he walked a batter in his first game, Hudson did not surrender a single hit or allow a single run in twoinnings pitched. The success he witnessed in his first game did not carry over to the rest of the season though, as he finished with a 5.11 ERA in 12 relief appearances.
On February 1, 1973, he was traded with a player to be named later to the Rangers for a player to be named later. The Cardinals' player to be named later ended up beingMike Nagy, while the Rangers' player to be named later ended up beingMike Thompson. He developed theknuckleball in 1973, and it became his key pitch.
Hudson appeared in 25 games in 1973, starting four of them. He posted an ERA of 4.62 and he struck out 34 batters in 621⁄3 innings of work. His one career complete game came on September 2 in the form of a 6-hit 2-0 shutout against the Minnesota Twins.[2]
On April 24, 1974, he was traded to theCleveland Indians forTed Ford. He never appeared in the Majors in an Indians uniform though, and he was sent to the Angels on September 12, 1974 forBill Gilbreth.
He appeared in three games for the Angels in 1975, starting one of them. He posted a record of 0-1. In five and two thirds innings of work that year, Hudson surrendered six earned runs for a 9.53 ERA. He played his final big league game on July 10, 1975.
Overall, Hudson went 5-3 with a 5.04 ERA in 40 games, five of which he started. In 801⁄3 innings of work, he surrendered 76 hits, walked 42 and struck out 38.