Former Pirates Pitcher Retires After World Series Win
It was a storybook ending for former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Daniel Hudson.
Hudson announced his retirement after the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the New York Yankees 7-6 in Game 5 to win the World Series.
“This was the only reason I came back — to go out on top,” Hudson told Bill Plunkett of the Orange County Register. “And that’s what’s happening.”
The World Series win was the second of Hudson's career. He also won a ring with the Washington Nationals in 2019.
Hudson, 37, pitched for the Pirates in 2017, going 2-7 with a 4.38 ERA in 71 appearances. He also struck out 66 batters over 61.2 innings pitched and tied his career-best of 21 holds.
The hard-throwing right-hander is ending his career on a high note. He was 6-2 with a 3.00 ERA and 10 saves for the Dodgers and had 63 strikeouts over 63 innings pitched. He also had 17 holds and held opponents to a .198 batting average against him.
Hudson made seven appearances for Los Angeles in the postseason and was 0-1 with a 7.50 ERA over six innings, though, four of the five runs he allowed came in Game 4 of the World Series when he gave up a grand slam to Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe. Outside of the final outing of his career, the veteran right-hander didn't allow a run in five of his six appearances in the 2024 postseason.
Hudson isn't the only former pitcher for the Pirates to win a ring with the Dodgers. Starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow and reliever Brent Honeywell Jr. will also get rings.
Honeywell Jr. made two appearances for Pittsburgh before he was designated for assignment on July 12 and claimed by the Dodgers on July 13. The right-handed reliever finished the season 1-1 with a 2.63 ERA over 37.2 innings pitched and he had one save.
Honeywell Jr. began his season in Triple-A Indianapolis, making him the first player since Rawly Eastwick in 1975 to play for them and win the World Series in the same season.
Glasnow began his career with the Pirates and pitched two-plus seasons in Pittsburgh before he was traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in the middle of the 2018 season. Tampa Bay traded Glasnow to the Dodgers before the season and he went 9-6 with a 3.49 ERA and made his final start of the season on Aug. 11 before right elbow tendinitis ended his year.
