Looking at the stats some more, Hudson's strength is definitely not in having a few dominating years. It's that over the past 12 seasons, he's been one of the most consistently GOOD pitchers. Since Hudson's rookie year of 1999, here's a list of ALL the pitchers who have put up well-rounded seasons of 200 IP, ERA+, OAV+, and WHIP+ over 100, BB/9# under 3, and HR/9# under 0.70 at least 5 times:
Roy Halladay 6
Roy Oswalt 6
Tim Hudson 5
C.C. Sabathia 5
To extend that back another couple decades - since 1980 - we only add to the list 8 more:
Greg Maddux 11
Roger Clemens 9
Kevin Brown 7
Tom Glavine 7
Pedro Martinez 7
Kevin Appier 6
John Smoltz 6
Dennis Martinez 5
Hudson may not have the sparkle other pitchers do, but if I'm looking to put together a team for the long haul, not many modern pitchers are better in terms of long-term value. And coming off a great season, who's to say Hudson's anywhere near done?
(Anyone like the way I tailored the stat criteria to Hudson's favor? Figured I'd better admit it before someone else pointed it out!)