Joe Rudi

Joseph Oden “Joe” Rudi (September 7, 1946-) is a retired Major League Baseball left fielder and first baseman who spent 16 years playing for three different teams, most notably the Oakland Athletics. It was the Kansas City Athletics that signed Rudi as an amateur free agent in 1964, and he would play just 19 games with the squad while in KC before relocating with them to Oakland. While with the A’s franchise (1967-1976, 1982), Rudi batted .272 with 540 RBI, 1,087 hits, and 487 runs. Rudi batted a career-high .309 in 1970, and had a career-best (and league-leading) 181 hits and nine triples in 1972. That same year, he helped the A’s win the World Series while making a memorable … and game-saving … catch in Game 2. In 1974, he had career highs in home runs (22) and RBI (99), and led the league in doubles (39) and total bases (287). In Game 5 of that year’s Fall Classic, Joe hit a Series-clinching home run. (Rudi’s Athletics became the first team since the 1949-1953 New York Yankees to win three consecutive World Series). His days with the A’s also earned him three All-Star Game appearances (1972, 1974, 1975) and three consecutive Golden Glove Awards (1974-1976). Following four years with the California Angels (1978-1980) and a stop with the Boston Red Sox (1981), Rudi returned to Oakland before retiring. A lifetime .264 hitter, he accumulated 179 homers with 810 RBI and 1,468 hits in 1,547 games.