Best San Francisco Giants of the 2010s: 33. Tim Hudson

Veteran Tim Hudson still had plenty left in the tank when he joined the San Francisco Giants to close out his MLB career.

The San Francisco Giants signed Tim Hudson to a two-year, $23 million deal in free agency prior to the 2014 season.

With 15 MLB seasons and 205 wins under his belt at the time of the signing, Hudson was among the most accomplished active starters in baseball when he joined the Giants.

He posted a 3.97 ERA and 1.19 WHIP in 131.1 innings spanning 21 starts in his final season with the Atlanta Braves, the 38-year-old was still pitching at a high level when he joined his third team.

The Giants ultimately outbid the Oakland Athletics for his services, stepping in the way of what would have been a reunion with the team that originally drafted him in 1997. Hudson spent the first six seasons of his career in Oakland, going 92-39 with a 3.30 ERA in 183 starts.

Hudson was an All-Star in his first season in San Francisco, going 7-6 with a 2.87 ERA and 1.10 WHIP in 18 first-half starts.

His production fell off a bit after the break with a 4.73 ERA in his final 13 starts, but he still finished the season with a solid 3.57 ERA in 189.1 innings. It was the 11th time in his career that he recorded at least 180 innings in a season.

He threw a gem in his NLDS start, allowing seven hits and one earned run in seven innings of work. He also started Game 3 of the NLCS (ND, 6.1 IP, 7 H, 4 ER) and Game 3 of the World Series (L, 5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER) before making an early exit from Game 7 of the World Series (ND, 1.2 IP, 3 H, 2 ER).

It all worked out, though, and he walked away with his first and only World Series ring.

The right-hander returned the following season and posted a 4.44 ERA and 1.38 WHIP in 123.2 innings, before riding off into the sunset.

So while he wasn’t quite prime Tim Hudson during his two seasons with the San Francisco Giants, he was still a solid pitcher and an excellent veteran presence in the clubhouse.

Check back here regularly as we count down the 50 best San Francisco Giants of the 2010s.