Rex Allen Hudler (born September 2, 1960) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

utility player and color commentator for the Kansas City Royals. He played a total of 14 seasons after being a first round draft pick of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

in 1978.

Playing career

Hudler played for six different

teams, and at every position except pitcher and catcher throughout his career: the

(1984–1985),

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

(1986),

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos (french: link=no, Les Expos de Montréal) were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal, Quebec. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in t ...

(1988–1990),

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1990–1992), California Angels (1994–1996), and Philadelphia Phillies (1997–1998). He also played for the

Yakult Swallows The Tokyo Yakult Swallows () are a Japanese professional baseball team competing in Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, they are one of two professional baseball teams based in Tokyo, the other being the Yom ...

of the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

Central League The or is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League in the annual Japan Series. It currently consi ...

in 1993, contributing to the team's

Japan Series The Japan Series ( , officially the Japan Championship Series, ), also the Nippon Series, :File:2014_JS_logo.png is the annual championship series in Nippon Professional Baseball, the top baseball league in Japan. It is a best-of-seven series ...

championship. A 1978 graduate of

Bullard High School (Fresno, California) Bullard High School is a public secondary school located in Fresno, California, United States. Founded in 1955 and recognized as one of Fresno's top public schools, it is part of the Fresno Unified School District, and had around 2,650 students o ...

, Hudler played baseball, soccer and football, earning first-team All-America honors as a wide receiver. Prior to signing with the Yankees, Hudler was visited by Notre Dame, which hoped that he would suit up for their football team. Hudler saw playing time in the minor leagues with the Rochester Red Wings of the Triple-A International League in 1986 and 1987. He then saw playing time with the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians of the American Association in 1988 as the starting

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

. Hudler was nicknamed "Bug-Eater" during his time in St. Louis. During a game, he picked an enormous June bug off his cap. Cardinals teammate

Tom Pagnozzi Thomas Alan Pagnozzi (born July 30, 1962) is an American former professional baseball player. He played his entire 12-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career as a catcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, from through . A three-time Gold Glove Award w ...

dared him to eat it. His teammates collectively offered him $800 to eat the bug, which he accepted. Hudler was a 1999 inductee into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame.

Broadcasting career

From 1999 through the 2009 season, Hudler was the

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main ( play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and ...

for the

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team h ...

radio and television broadcasting team, alongside play-by-play announcers

Steve Physioc Steve Physioc () is a retired American sportscaster who has called play-by-play for various baseball, basketball, and football teams. He retired while working with the Kansas City Royals, who he had worked with since February of 2012. Early life ...

Rory Markas Rory Markas (December 20, 1955 – January 4, 2010) was an American sportscaster best known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's play-by-play broadcaster for eight seasons and as the radio voice of the University of Southern California men's ba ...

, and Terry Smith. He is also the color commentator for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable games '' MLB 06: The Show'', '' 07'', '' 08'', '' 09'', '' 10'', and '' 11'' and is also featured in '' 10'' for the

PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 (PS3) is a home video game console developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. The successor to the PlayStation 2, it is part of the PlayStation brand of consoles. It was first released on November 11, 2006, in Japan, November ...

along with Dave Campbell and

Matt Vasgersian Matt Vasgersian ( '; born 1967) is an American sportscaster and television host. Vasgersian is a play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Angels, as well as a studio host for MLB Network and FOX Sports. In the past, he has served as an an ...

. For the 2011 edition on the PlayStation 3, he was replaced by

Eric Karros Eric Peter Karros (born November 4, 1967) is an American former professional baseball first baseman. Karros played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1991 to 2004 for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and Oakland Athletics. He was the Nati ...

. He also provided color commentary, with ESPN's

Jon Miller Jon Miller (born October 11, 1951) is an American sportscaster, known primarily for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball. Since 1997 he has been employed as a play-by-play announcer for the San Francisco Giants. He was also a baseball annou ...

on play-by-play, for the 2004

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the ...

and PlayStation 2 title ''ESPN Major League Baseball''. Hudler was suspended briefly from his broadcast job in 2003 after being arrested at Kansas City International Airport for possession of

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: '' Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternative ...

and medical paraphernalia. In November 2009 the Angels and FSN West announced they would not renew the contracts of Hudler and Physioc for the 2010 season. In October 2010, Hudler hosted ''The Wonder Dog Hour'' on Angels flagship station KLAA, 830 AM in

Orange, California Orange is a city located in North Orange County, California. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District were built before 1920. While many other ...

. On February 13, 2012, he was announced as the new television color commentator for the Kansas City Royals, teaming up with

Ryan Lefebvre Ryan Lefebvre (; born February 12, 1971) is an American sportscaster, best known as a play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Kansas City Royals since 1999. In 2008, he became the primary announcer for Royals' television broadcasts on B ...

and his old partner

Personal life

Hudler was hospitalized in 2001 with a

brain aneurysm An intracranial aneurysm, also known as a brain aneurysm, is a cerebrovascular disorder in which weakness in the wall of a cerebral artery or vein causes a localized dilation or ballooning of the blood vessel. Aneurysms in the posterior circ ...

.St. Petersburg Times, "TV announcer Hudler hospitalized with brain aneurysm", April 9, 2001

References

External links

Rex Hudler
at Baseball Almanac *Rex Hudler * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hudler, Rex 1960 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada American expatriate baseball players in Japan Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Arizona Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players California Angels players Fort Lauderdale Yankees players Kansas City Royals announcers Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim announcers Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball second basemen Montreal Expos players Nashville Sounds players New York Yankees players Nippon Professional Baseball first basemen Nippon Professional Baseball second basemen Philadelphia Phillies players Sportspeople from Tempe, Arizona St. Louis Cardinals players Yakult Swallows players