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Joseph Oden Rudi
Oakland Athletics
Outfield
Born: September 7, 1946, Modesto, CA
Signed: Signed by the Kansas City Athletics as an amateur free agent, June 13, 1964
Major League Teams: Kansas City Athletics 1967; Oakland Athletics 1968-76; California Angels 1977-80; Boston Red Sox 1981; Oakland Athletics 1982
World Series Appearances: Oakland Athletics 1972-74
Joe Rudi played in parts of 16 seasons in the major leagues, and was the All-Star left fielder during the Oakland Athletics dynasty of the early 1970s, in which the team won World Championships three years in a row between 1972 and 1974. Rudi earned a starting job in 1970, batting a career-best .309. His career year came in 1972 when he batted .305 while leading the league in hits (181) and triples (nine). He made his first of three All-Star teams that season and his defense helped the Athletics defeat the Reds in the 1972 World Series. Rudi's best power season came in 1974 when he led the league in doubles (39) while collecting career highs in home runs (22) and RBIs (99). He also won the first of three Gold Gloves in 1974. Rudi batted .300 (21 for 70) in his three World Series appearances, with three home runs. He departed for the Angels via free agency following the 1976 season. Rudi was a steady player for the Angels for four seasons before finishing up his big league days with the Red Sox and briefly returning to Oakland in 1982.
Joe Rudi played in parts of 16 seasons in the major leagues, and was the All-Star left fielder during the Oakland Athletics dynasty of the early 1970s, in which the team won World Championships three years in a row between 1972 and 1974. Rudi earned a starting job in 1970, batting a career-best .309. His career year came in 1972 when he batted .305 while leading the league in hits (181) and triples (nine). He made his first of three All-Star teams that season and his defense helped the Athletics defeat the Reds in the 1972 World Series. Rudi's best power season came in 1974 when he led the league in doubles (39) while collecting career highs in home runs (22) and RBIs (99). He also won the first of three Gold Gloves in 1974. Rudi batted .300 (21 for 70) in his three World Series appearances, with three home runs. He departed for the Angels via free agency following the 1976 season. Rudi was a steady player for the Angels for four seasons before finishing up his big league days with the Red Sox and briefly returning to Oakland in 1982.
Rudi batted .264 in 1,547 games, collecting 1,468 hits, 287 doubles, 179 home runs and 810 RBIs. He finished second in the American League MVP voting in 1972 and 1974. The Oakland Athletics inducted him into their Hall of Fame in 2022.
December 15, 2024 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards)
On Sunday, December 15th, Doug and I attended the latest Philly Show, spaciously spread out inside Hall A of the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania. I wrote a full show report over at The Phillies Room, including some thoughts on attending the show with our oldest son, who first graced the Philly Show floors back in 2012.
Having had success the prior two shows at Uncle Dick's Cards with his well-organized, neon common binders, I opted to pull up a chair once again at the friendly dealer's array of tables. The aim was simple: Clear out Uncle Dick's 1969 Topps commons, starting off where I had left off the year before with card #501 and going through the end of the set, card #664. In less than 25 minutes, I completed my quest, and this is the 51st of 98 commons pulled from the binder. More a semi-star than a common, after a generous dealer discount due to my bulk purchase, this card cost me a little less than $4.50.
The Card / Athletics Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
This is Rudi's rookie card, and he's sporting the relatively new Oakland hat featuring the stylized letter A. I want to nudge Rudi's photo a little more to the right, but then the purple name circle would cover up part of his hat. Topps was prescient in its write-up on the back of the card, noting Rudi "is figured for a long big league future." Topps reprinted this card in its 2001 Topps Archives set.
Accuracy Index: It's another late series, +5 Athletics card.
1969 Season
This was the last season in which Rudi spent time in the minor leagues. He started the season with the Triple-A Iowa Oaks, batting .395 by early June as the Oaks' everyday first baseman. Promoted to the majors, Rudi was moved to left field where he struggled at first. He'd be sent back down to the Oaks in late July, returning to the Athletics as a September call-up. In 57 games with the Oaks, Rudi batted .354 with 11 home runs and 65 RBIs. In 35 games with the Athletics, he batted .189.
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First Mainstream Card: 1969 Topps #587
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (15): 1969-83
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2024 Topps Heritage Oversized 1975 Topps Box Loaders #OB-4
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 145 in the Beckett online database as of 5/3/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Joe Rudi spent the first month of the 1968 season in triple-A. His first game back with the A's was on May 8th, which was Catfish Hunter's perfect game. Rudi started the game in left field and made 3 putouts while playing the first 8 innings. Imagine the pressure, having that be your first game of the season!
ReplyDeleteBTW, the A's won 4-0, with Catfish Hunter getting 3 RBI!
ReplyDelete