Twins' Orlando Hudson just gets in and gets out of there

The O-Dog did not O-Jog.

Orlando Hudson smacked a high fastball into the left field bleachers to lead off the bottom of the seventh on Saturday. His home run gave the Twins a 6-5 victory over the Royals.

With that swing, Hudson -- aka O-Dog or O-Dawg, depending on your level of hipness or illiteracy -- seized the stage on another glorious afternoon at Target Field. A sellout crowd celebrated and waited for the flamboyant second baseman to put on a show.

That's when he Usain Bolted. Hudson took one step, calculated trajectory and ball speed, tossed his bat, put his head down and sprinted like a man who is late for the bus and lacks cab fare.

Hudson did not celebrate. He did not run with one flap down. He did not pump his fists. He did not glance at the pitcher or stare at the bleachers.

He did not tarry. He did almost run over Royals first baseman Billy Butler, who didn't realize he was standing in the passing lane.

"It's not pimping it, that's for sure," said Twins shortstop J.J. Hardy, who used the common baseball term for excessive celebration. "It's not showing anybody up. Me, personally, I like to enjoy running around the bases after a homer. Or maybe I'm just not that fast."

"I don't hit enough home runs to be sitting there watching home runs, man," Hudson said. "Get around the bases and get out of there and let the big dogs come up and eat. Get in and get out of there. You don't need to be looking, man, showing anybody up."

To watch Hudson over the years on ESPN highlight shows is to observe an exuberant player. To watch him daily in a Twins uniform is to discover that those qualities do not translate into interviews.

His new teammates rave about his sense of humor and enthusiasm, but they have trouble repeating anything specific Hudson has said to make them laugh. "It's all spur of the moment stuff and it's all very positive, high-energy, stuff," Hardy said. "He just creates a great atmosphere. He's always in a good mood, makes other people in a good mood when you're around him."

Reliever Matt Guerrier played against Hudson in Class AA. Guerrier's teammates told him that when they tried to take out Hudson at second base, he'd chirp something like, "Not today, baby!"

On Saturday, Guerrier was talking to Joe Mauer and pitching coach Rick Anderson on the mound when Hudson, as Guerrier said, "scared me. I don't even know what he said. He just came up and said something and startled me. You see him talking to players all day. Players on both teams."

The signing of Hudson gave the Twins a natural No. 2 hitter, allowing Hardy to bat eighth. "He stretched out our lineup," Gardenhire said.

Saturday, Hudson went 2-for-3 with a walk, stretching his hitting streak to nine games. He also smoothly fielded a difficult grounder in short right field with two outs and a runner on second in the eighth.

Through 12 games, Hudson is hitting .280. At the end of last season, the Dodgers benched him in favor of Ron Belliard, which is not something an All-Star wants on his résumé.

With the Twins, Hudson doesn't need to be an O-Cog, just a contributor.

"He's definitely vocal," Mauer said. "He calls me 'Joe-Mo.' At spring training, he was getting to the clubhouse at 5 or 5:30. I tried to meet him a couple of times, but I'm not the biggest morning person."