Jump to content

Joe Rudi

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Joe Rudi
Left fielder
Born:(1946-09-07)September 7, 1946(age 77)
Modesto, California,U.S.
Batted:Right
Threw:Right
MLB debut
April 11, 1967, for the Kansas City Athletics
Last MLB appearance
October 3, 1982, for the Oakland Athletics
MLB statistics
Batting average.264
Home runs179
Runs batted in810
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Joseph Oden Rudi(born September 7, 1946) is anAmericanformer professionalbaseballplayer.[1]He played inMajor League Baseballas aleft fielderbetween1967and1982,most prominently as an integral member of theOakland Athleticsdynastythat won three consecutiveWorld Serieschampionships between 1972 and 1974.[1]

A three-timeAll-Star,Rudi excelled as an offensive and as a defensive player, winning threeGold Glove Awardsand was the 1972 American League leader in hits with 181.[1][2]He also played for theCalifornia Angelsand theBoston Red Sox.[1]In 2022, Rudi was inducted into theAthletics Hall of Fame.[3]

Early life

[edit]

Rudi was born inModesto, California.[1]He graduated fromThomas Downey High Schoolin Modesto.

Playing career

[edit]

Rudi batted a career-high.309 in 1970 and led the American League a career-high 181 hits in 1972. He finished second inAmerican League MVPvoting behindDick Allen.[1]That year, he helped the Athletics win the World Series and made a great game-saving catch in Game 2 that went on to become part of the highlight reel for many Major League Baseball films. WithTony Pérezon first and Oakland leading 2–0 in the ninth inning, Rudi raced to the left-field fence and made a leaping, backhanded catch ofDenis Menke's smash to save a run. Earlier in the game, Rudi hit a solo home run. He also caughtPete Rose's fly ball for the final out of the Series.

In 1974 he had a career best 22 home runs and 99 runs batted in while leading the American League with 287 total bases. He was also awarded his first careerGold Glove Awardand was once again the runner-up in AL MVP voting behindJeff Burroughs.Rudi hit a home run in Game 5 of the1974 World SeriesoffMike Marshallthat would turn out to be the game winner and Series clincher. Rudi's Athletics became the first team since the 1949–1953 New York Yankees to win three straight World Series titles.[4]

In 1975, he was elected by the fans as a starter in the All-Star Game as an outfielder, where he joined four other Oakland A's in the American League starting lineup. He also played some first base for the A's in 1975.

With baseball entering thefree agencyera, A's ownerCharlie Finleyattempted to sell Rudi and pitcherRollie Fingersto theBoston Red Soxfor $1 million each at the MLB trade deadline on June 15, 1976, rather than trading them (as he had done withReggie JacksonandKen Holtzmanprior to that season) or risking losing them in free agency. Rudi actually reported to the Red Sox and was issued a uniform, but never was permitted to play, as baseball CommissionerBowie Kuhnvoided the transaction as not being in the best interests of baseball.[5]Rudi later played for Boston in 1981.

Rudi, along withDon Baylor,ended up leaving the A's as a free agent and signed with theCalifornia Angelsfor the 1977 season. However, Rudi's tenure with the Angels was mostly injury-plagued, even though he posted respectable home run and RBI totals in his four seasons. His best year with the Angels was 1978, when he played in 133 games and hit.256 with 17 home runs and 79 RBI's. He missed the Angels' 1979 post-season run with injury. After the 1980 season, Rudi was traded by the Angels along withFrank Tananato the Red Sox forFred Lynn.[1]After one injury-filled season, he closed his career back with the A's in 1982 and hit a home run in his last professional at-bat.

In a sixteen-year major league career, Rudi played in 1,547games,compiling a.264batting average(1,468-for-5,556) with 684runs scored,287doubles,39triples,179home runs,810RBIand 369walks.[1]Hison-base percentagewas.311 andslugging percentagewas.427.[1]Strong defensively, he recorded a career.991fielding percentageat all three outfield positions.[1]In 38 post-season games, covering fiveAmerican League Championship Seriesand threeWorld Seriesfrom 1971 to 1975, he handled 124total chances(120 putouts, 4 assists) without an error.[6]

Rudi is retired and lives with his wife Sharon, inThe Villages, Florida.He is a long-timeamateur radiooperator with the call sign NK7U.

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^abcdefghij"Joe Rudi at Baseball Reference".Baseball Reference.RetrievedNovember 23,2019.
  2. ^Gregory, Jerry."The Best Fielders of the 1970s".Society for American Baseball Research.RetrievedNovember 27,2023.
  3. ^"Athletics Hall of Fame".mlb.RetrievedOctober 21,2022.
  4. ^Bock, Hall (October 18, 1974)."Oakland takes third straight title; Rudi blast wins it".Lewiston Daily Sun.AP.p. 24.RetrievedJuly 19,2010.
  5. ^"When a Commissioner Becomes a Dealbreaker (Published 2011)".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on February 6, 2022.
  6. ^"Joe Rudi postseason fielding record from retrosheet.org".retrosheet.org.RetrievedSeptember 28,2022.
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Rudi&oldid=1232897303"