Tim Hudson barely survived to see another day last year. He received 21 votes for the Hall of Fame, just one over the minimum required to remain on the ballot. Although he may not find himself in Cooperstown any time soon, the hope was to garner more votes as the writers give more attention to his career.
That has not been the case thus far. Hudson has yet to receive a vote on any of the 26 ballots that have been made public, putting him in early trouble in his quest to get a third chance for induction.
Tim Hudson deserves more Hall of Fame consideration
On the positive side, Hudson has not lost any votes. In that aspect, he is doing better than Curt Schilling (-4) or Omar Vizquel (-7) through the early voting. Losing just two votes would leave Hudson off the ballot for future years.
Hudson’s resume does warrant consideration. While he was never really dominant, he was a consistent arm who was typically a part of a winning franchise. A four time All Star, Hudson appeared in the postseason seven times over the course of his 17 years in the majors, winning a championship with the Giants in 2014.
Over the course of those 17 years, Hudson posted a 222-133 record, his .625 winning percentage ranking 22nd in MLB history amongst pitchers with at least 200 wins. He posted a 3.49 ERA and a 1.239 WHiP, striking out 2080 batters with 917 walks. He certainly deserves more consideration than he has received thus far.
There is still a long way to go. Approximately 400 ballots are expected to be cast, and Hudson needs to appear on just 20 of them to remain on the ballot. However, he did have to sweat out those votes last year, and this year does not appear as though it will be much different.
Tim Hudson has yet to receive a vote for the Hall of Fame. Based on his overall production, he deserves much more consideration.