The festivities of Iron Bowl weekend kicked off Friday night in Plainsman Park during Tim Hudson's 10th annual Celebrity Home Run Derby.
Hudson, a former pitcher and outfielder for Auburn and current pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, uses the annual event to raise money for the Hudson Family Foundation, which is dedicated to helping children in need of physical, emotional or financial assistance.
"A lot of the people here are very supportive of what we have going on," Hudson said. "We get a bunch of guys to come out every year and hit. Former players and current players, we're excited and hopefully we can put a good show on for these guys and raise some money for our foundation which is such a great cause."
The professionals participating in this year's event included three-time All Star closer Craig Kimbrel, former Auburn and Oakland Athletics third baseman Josh Donaldson and former Auburn outfielder Brian Fletcher.
"This place brings back so many memories, especially with this weekend being the Iron Bowl, it's been incredible," Fletcher said. "The last time I was here was when we were hosting the regional playing against Clemson. This brings back great memories."
First year head coach Sonny Golloway said it's important for the Auburn baseball program to have successful former players return to their collegiate stomping grounds.
"We're just humbled to be a part of this," Golloway said. "It's great to have Kim (Hudson) and Tim utilize the ball park and come back and to continue to be great members of the Auburn family. It's not just Tim, but you think about (Jason) Dufner coming out for this. I thought it was a great twist to have him involved in this too."
Former Auburn athletes Philip Lutzenkirchen and Stan White also made appearances at the event, competing in a golf contest with Hudson against Dufner.
Split up into Team Kimbrel and Team Hudson for the home run derby competition, Hudson's squad rode a seven home run performance from current Auburn hitting coach and former major leaguer Greg Norton to a 16-11 victory.
Capping off the night, the Alabama crimson tide fan Kimbrel was forced to don an Auburn sweatshirt as part of a bet made between him and Hudson.
The Hudson family also established the Scott Shockley scholarship for baseball managers at the event, the first of which was presented to Justin Veazey.
Despite his recent signing with the San Francisco Giants, Hudson said his heart will always be in the South.
"This is home," Hudson said. "We love Auburn and we'll always be here. I'll always be here until the day I die. My kids are going to be in school here in Auburn and we're going to still live here when I'm not playing ball."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
