San Francisco pitcher Tim Hudson takes the mound on Friday as the Giants host Kansas City in game three of the World Series, a chance on baseball's biggest stage he once feared might never come.
The 39-year-old right-hander has 16 seasons in Major League Baseball -- making 457 career starts for Oakland, Atlanta and San Francisco.
In the early years, when playoff appearances were plentiful, he never doubted that he would one day pitch in a World Series.
But as post-season trips dried up, he admits doubts began to creep in.
"You see the window start to gradually shrink," Hudson said Thursday.
When his 2013 season ended with a broken right ankle in July "things looked bleak for a little bit there," Hudson said.
But he signed a $US23 million ($A25 million) two-year contract last November with the Giants, joining up with a contender that won the World Series in 2010 and 2012.
Now he finds himself tasked with leading their bid to rebound from a game-two loss to the Royals in Kansas City on Wednesday that knotted American baseball's best-of-seven championship showcase at one game apiece.
"This is what everybody hopes and dreams for throughout their career," he said.
"It's the same game we've played our whole lives. It's just going out there and controlling those emotions and understanding that it's still a simple game. You've got to go out there and make pitches, have a solid game plan and be mentally and physically prepared."
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