Pitcher with local roots goes to White Sox

Dan Hudson, a baseball player with deep roots in Amherst County, completed a rapid rise through the minor leagues this season to pitch with the Chicago White Sox last week.

Hudson is the grandson of Pat Hudson and the late William Hudson, of Clifford.

William Hudson was a well-known baseball player in Amherst County in the late 1940s and once had a tryout with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization, according to relatives.

Dan Hudson is the son of Sam and Kris Hudson of Virginia Beach, where he graduated from Princess Anne High School.

He was drafted by the White Sox last year out of Old Dominion University.

He started off this season with the Class A White Sox affiliate in Kannapolis, N.C., and was promoted to Class A Winston-Salem, Class AA Birmingham and then Class AAA Charlotte before joining the major league team last week.

Hudson’s first appearance for the White Sox was Friday night, and he pitched two scoreless innings in relief against the Boston Red Sox. His first pitch was a 94 mph fastball, according to http://www.mlbblogs.com.

“It’s pretty crazy going out there for the first time,” Hudson told Scott Merkin of mlbblogs.com.

“You have an adrenaline rush and you try to keep that in the back of your head and go out and throw strikes, especially being up so big.”