Books and articles about Joe Rudi

Rudi was an underrated superstar for the mighty A's of the early 1970s, overshadowed on his own team with better stats and more dynamic personalities. Oakland won three consecutive World Series (1972-74) with a lineup that featured Reggie Jackson, Sal Bando, and pitchers Catfish Hunter, Vida Blue, and Rollie Fingers. But nobody was more important to the A's overall success than Rudi. He was an excellent defensive player, a smart hitter, and a good baserunner. His arm was strong and accurate, and he was outstanding in the clutch. In Game Two of the 1972 WS against Cincinnati, Rudi homered, then saved the 2-1 win with a spectacular ninth-inning catch. And in Game Seven against the Dodgers in 1974, his seventh-inning homer broke a 2-2 tie, and Oakland held on to win 3-2.

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Rudi broke into the ML with the Kansas City Athletics in 1967, but never hit better than .189 while playing infrequently in his first three seasons. He came into his own in 1970, hitting .309 in 350 at-bats, and for the next six seasons he would be a mainstay in the Oakland lineup, often playing first base or DH. He led the AL in hits and triples in 1972, and in doubles in 1974.

When owner Charlie Finley began to break up the A's in the mid-1970s, he tried to sell Rudi and Fingers to the Red Sox, but Commissioner Bowie Kuhn voided the deal. Rudi then signed with the Angels as a free agent after the 1976 season, but was hampered by injuries for most of his four seasons with California. He finally made it to Boston in 1981, arriving in the trade for Fred Lynn, but he hit only .180 in limited playing time and closed out his career with Oakland again in 1982. (SCL)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » May 3, 1965: The Indians claim minor-league OF Joe Rudi on waivers from the KC Athletics. » December 1, 1965: The KC Athletics, which waived young Joe Rudi to the Indians in May, got him back, along with backup C Phil Roof. The Indians receive veteran OF Jim Landis and P Jim Rittwage. Rudi hit .254 at Dubuque this past season. » July 31, 1972: Vida Blue retires the first 17 batters before Texas pitcher Rich Hand beats out a surprise bunt in the 6th. Blue allows one other hit to win, 2–0 for Oakland. Hand allows just two hits in seven 1/3 innings, but two errors and a mental boner by LF Ted Ford allows two runs. With a runner on 3B, Ford catches Joe Rudi's fly and trots in thinking it is the 3rd out. It was the 2nd. Rudi added another sac fly for the other run. » August 11, 1972: The A's defeat the White Sox 5–3 on Joe Rudi's 2-run home run in the 19th inning. The game had been renewed after a 3–3 tie in 17 frames the night before. » October 15, 1972: The A's win 2–1 as Joe Rudi clouts a home run and makes a game-saving catch in the 9th to back up Catfish Hunter's pitching before an afternoon crowd of 53,224, a record for Cincinnati. The A's take a 2-game advantage as the Series moves to Oakland. » November 15, 1972: The White Sox Dick Allen wins the American League MVP Award by an overwhelming margin over Joe Rudi of the A's. Allen led the league in home runs (37), RBI (113), walks (99), and slugging (.603). » October 17, 1974: Vida Blue and Don Sutton are tied 2–2 going into the bottom of the 6th when Mike Marshall relieves and retires the side. In the 7th, a shower of debris halts the game for 15 minutes. When play is resumed, Joe Rudi hits Marshall's first pitch for a homer to give the A's a 3rd 3–2 win, clinching a 3rd straight World Championship for the team. » June 18, 1976: Commissioner Kuhn voids the A's sales, totaling $3.5 million, of Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers to the Red Sox, and Vida Blue to the Yankees, saying they are "not in the best interest of baseball." A's owner Charlie Finley files a $10 million damage suit against Kuhn, and will refuse to use any of the three players until June 27th. » November 4, 1976: The first mass-market free-agent reentry draft is held at New York's Plaza Hotel. Among those available are Reggie Jackson, Joe Rudi, Don Gullett, Gene Tenace, Rollie Fingers, Don Baylor, Bobby Grich, and Willie McCovey. McCovey and Nate Colbert are the only two players not selected, but McCovey will catch on with the Giants in spring training and have a banner year at his old position. » January 23, 1981: Faced with the possibility of losing star OF Fred Lynn to free agency because of a front-office blunder, the Red Sox trade Lynn and P Steve Renko to the Angels for pitchers Frank Tanana and Jim Dorsey and OF Joe Rudi. The Players' Association contends that Lynn and C Carlton Fisk are free agents because the Red Sox failed to mail their new contracts by the deadline provided for in the Basic Agreement. Lynn signs a 4-year deal with the Angels and agrees to drop his case. Fisk's case will go to arbitration. » December 4, 1981: Oakland signs free-agent OF-1B Joe Rudi, who hit just .180 in 49 games for the Red Sox last season, to a 2-year contract. » October 3, 1982: Veteran Joe Rudi hits a double and a 4th inning homer to pace to A's to a 6–3 win at Kansas City, The homer comes in Rudi's last at bat as he is replaced by Kelvin Moore.