PHOENIX -- Some hitters warm up with the weather. They slump
in April but by June they're cracking the ball all over the park.
Orlando Hudson used to be one of those guys. He batted .237 for
the Arizona Diamondbacks last April and .233 in May.
Come summer, his batting average rose like the temperature: .304
in June, .323 in July and .339 in August.
When Hudson went home to Darlington, S.C., last winter, he
decided there was no reason for another slow start in 2007.
"I was telling myself, 'This year is going to be a different
year," Hudson said. "'I'm going to finish the same way I've been
finishing, but I'm going to have a better start than I have in the
past.' "
So far, so good.
The switch-hitting second baseman has become the most potent
hitter in an anemic lineup, hitting a team-high .328 with five home
runs and 27 RBIs. He recently ended a streak of reaching base in 33
straight games, the third-longest in team history.
Hudson is also batting .297 from the right side this season -- 49
points higher than his career average.
Asked if he had tinkered with his stroke or his stance, Hudson
shook his head.
"The power of the tongue," he said.
Hudson has settled into the No. 3 spot in the batting order
vacated by franchise icon Luis Gonzalez, who signed with Los
Angeles Dodgers after Arizona refused to pick up a $10 million
option for this season.
It wasn't a natural fit. Hudson batted first, second, sixth,
seventh, eighth and ninth a year ago, and as late as spring
training he was still bouncing all over the lineup.
"You know, here forever it's been Luis Gonzalez in that three
hole, and somebody had to hit there," manager Bob Melvin said. "I
didn't really foresee (Hudson) being our three-hole guy when we
were in spring training, and he forced me to do it through success
and how far he's come right-handed. I kick myself for not doing it
earlier with this team."
No one will confuse the lithe, slick-fielding Hudson with
Gonzalez. But Hudson has filled an important role for a team
stocked with promising but inexperienced players.
This is Hudson's fifth full season in the majors. Among
Arizona's regular position players, only outfielder Eric Byrnes has
more experience -- by seven days.
The 29-year-old Hudson doesn't mind being considered a clubhouse
elder.
"I just have to be myself and keep playing the way I know how
to play," he said. "I just lead by example. I don't have to be a
president and be vocal and get on the microphone every day."
The club has been promoting Hudson heavily. The Diamondbacks put
him on the cover of the media guide with reigning NL Cy Young Award
winner Brandon Webb, and the team recently had a Hudson bobblehead
night.
Hudson won his second Gold Glove last year, becoming only the
sixth infielder to win the award in both leagues.
Hudson's glove seemed to be his main asset when the Diamondbacks
acquired him from Toronto in December 2005 in the deal that sent
slugging third baseman Troy Glaus to the Blue Jays. But Arizona
general manager Josh Byrnes thought Hudson also had plenty of
potential at the plate.
When Byrnes worked for the Boston Red Sox, he had first seen
Hudson as a third baseman in the Blue Jays farm system. The Blue
Jays drafted Hudson in the 43rd round in 1997.
"Playing third, switch-hitter, not huge power, a lot of people
said maybe he's a Terry Pendleton-type of player," said Byrnes,
referring to the Atlanta Braves' 1991 NL MVP. "Obviously, he went
to second and the rest is history. He was a guy we've always liked
on the clubs I've worked for, particularly in Boston. You see him
19 times a year, it's hard not to like him."
Melvin quickly turned into a Hudson fan. One of the running
jokes in the clubhouse is Melvin's ongoing effort to persuade
Hudson to take a day off.
Hudson said his days off coincide with the blanks in the
schedule -- like Thursday, when the Diamondbacks left for the start
of a nine-game trip to Houston, Colorado and Pittsburgh.
"Vacation is in the winter," he said.
Melvin said Hudson's professionalism is a good example to some
of the younger Diamondbacks, who are still learning how to go about
their business.
"He's got a lot of pride and accountability to his teammates,"
Melvin said. "He's the one guy that's been out there every game.
He's been our best hitter, and he takes pride in that.
"I think the fact that we stepped him up to that three spot
made him puff his chest out a little bit and seize the opportunity
to be the go-to guy," Melvin said.