SAN FRANCISCO — It's getting a little tiresome for the three Hudson children. Nearly every day in hotel rooms on the road this week, Giants' starting pitcher Tim Hudson will ask them, "You realize we're in the World Series, right?"
"Yes, Dad," they dutifully reply. "You keep saying that."
He can't help it. At 39, Hudson has spent 16 years in the big leagues — from the Oakland A's to the Atlanta Braves — and never even made it to a League Championship Series. Tonight, when the Giants return home to face the Royals in Game 3, Hudson will take the mound at last to start in the World Series.
"It's been a long journey," Hudson said this week in Kansas City. "You often wonder as your career keeps going and you get to 10 years, 12 years, 14, 16, you often wonder, 'Is it in the cards for me?' "
When the Giants won the pennant last week, defeating St. Louis, "I was beside myself," he said. "I had emotions going through my body that I never knew could happen."
It got even more intense when his wife, Kim, and their children, Kennedie, 13, Tess, 10, and Kade, 9, came running onto the field to join him. "I've never seen my wife cry so hard in her life," he said. "It was awesome. A lot of tears of joy for me and her."
His teammates are excited for him too.
"All the guys have mentioned, time and time again, how happy they are for me," he said. "It gets you choked up."
It gets his wife choked up, too. She has heard the same words of support from fellow pitchers Ryan Vogelsong, Jeremy Affeldt and Javier Lopez.
"It's like having kids around at Christmas. It's neat to experience things, but neater to experience with someone who's so excited about it," she said.
Hudson got his start in 1999 with the A's, then moved in 2005 to join the Braves, where he won his 200th big-league game last year. His teams went to the playoffs six times but lost in the division series each time.
He joined the Giants this year, adding a veteran presence. He was 9-13 with a 3.57 ERA in the regular season.
On Thursday, Tim and Kim — who met in college at Auburn and married just as he was getting his big-league start — celebrated their 15th wedding anniversary. Tuesday morning in Kansas City they were with the children, first exploring a toy store, then grabbing milk shakes.
"It's so fun to see him. He's not trying to hide it. He's loving every second," Kim Hudson said. "I feel so proud of him. He's come back from several major surgeries and an injury last year. I've seen him put in the work and he could have said, 'This is going to be too much to come back from.' I'm so proud of him."
With all the intense emotions, Hudson seemed almost calm when asked about actually taking the ball today.
"I feel like things will just fall into place when I get out there," he said. "I can't wait."
And to have his family in the stands, he said, "that just means everything. They'll be pulling for me and as emotionally involved as anyone in the stadium. Hopefully I can make it easier on them and be on top of my game."