Hall of Fame
John Hudek - Florida Southern, Baseball
Hudek, who is a 1986 graduate of Tampa (FL) Plant High School and attended Florida Southern from 1986 to 1988 before leaving after being drafted in the major league draft by the Chicago White Sox of the American League, played two years of baseball for the Mocs. He was 5-1 as a starting pitcher in 1987 and 12-2 with a 3.62 earned run average in 22 relief appearances 1n 1988. One of his defeats was to the University of Florida. Hudek had a brilliant post-season in ’88 in helping the Mocs win the national championship. The righthander was 4-0, including the win in relief of the team’s 12-inning victory in the championship game. Hudek, who now lives in Sugarland, TX, pitched four years (1994-97) in the major leagues with the Houston Astros of the National League, as a relief pitcher, split the 1998 season with the New York Mets and the Cincinnati Reds of the National League, and this past season with Cincinnati and Atlanta of the National League and Toronto of the American League. He was named to the National League All-Star team in ’94 and became in the process only the fifth player in the history of baseball to begin the season in the minor leagues and play in the all-star game in the same season.