WATCH: Tim Hudson speaks on Clingstones home opener against Pensacola
COLUMBUS (WRBL) – Tim Hudson graduated from Glenwood School, later playing Baseball for Chattahoochee Valley Community College ahead of his time at Auburn University.
From there – he took to the pros. Oakland, Atlanta, and San Francisco were all made better by the arrival of Hudson. For Oakland, he was an up-and-coming All-Star that made a name for himself. For Atlanta, he was a constant in the rotation for nearly a decade. Finally with San Francisco, he became a World Series champion in 2014. Hudson would be elected to an All-Star game at least once for each team.
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While coaching at Auburn, Hudson had three years with Blake Burkhalter. Burkhalter was a reliever at the time, and a solid one at that. Featuring nearly 14 strikeouts per nine innings. He was untouchable as Auburn moved through the 2022 playoffs. Following that season, the Atlanta Braves would draft him in the second round.
Burkhalter pitched for the Columbus Clingstones in their inaugural game, with his former pitching coach in the stands. He would deliver 5.2 scoreless innings, with eight strikeouts on the day. He has had a great start to his season, with consistent solid starts.
When asked about his time with Burkhalter, Hudson joked 'In spite of my coaching, it turned into a pretty good pitcher'.
Hudson joined the new team in welcoming fans to the brand new ballpark for it's first game by throwing out the first pitch. You can hear his thoughts on the history of Synovus Park, as well as the team in the video player above.
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