This card was cool to get because of the All Star designation on the front. Joe Rudi was signed by the Kansas City A's in 1964. He played in the minors from 1965-1969 and had short stints in the majors in 1967 (.186 in 43 AB) and in 1968 (.177 in 181 AB).
Rudi spent the first two months of the 1969 season in AAA Iowa. He was also there for the month of August. Joe batted .354 for Iowa, but only .189 for the A's. Joe swung the bat much better in 1970. He batted .309 with 11 HR and 42 RBI in 106 games at LF, 1B, and RF.
In 1971 the A's won the first of five straight AL West titles. Rudi batted .267 with 10 HR and 52 RBI as the starting left fielder. Joe was 1 for 7 in the ALCS.
Rudi finished second to Dick Allen in AL MVP voting in 1972. Joe batted .305, led the AL in hits (181) and triples (9), and hit 19 home runs. Rudi made his first AL All Star team and doubled in his only at bat. Joe batted in the .250 in the ALCS and .240 with a home run in the World Series.
Joe tailed off in 1973 and batted .270 with 12 HR and 66 RBI. He missed almost a month of the season in July and August. Rudi batted .222 with a home run in the ALCS and .333 in the World Series.
Joe Rudi: The A's Unheralded Star - March 1973 Baseball Digest
Rudi finished second in AL MVP voting again in 1974. There were four Oakland players in the top six, which may have split the vote and hurt Joe's chances at the award. He was an AL All Star (he was 0 for 2) and won his first Gold Glove. Joe batted .293 with 22 HR and 99 RBI and led the AL with 39 doubles. Rudi batted .154 with a home run in the ALCS and .333 in the World Series.
Joe had another nice year in 1975. He won another Gold Glove and went 1 for 3 as the starting LF in the All Star Game. Rudi played in 91 games at 1B and 47 games at LF for the A's in 1975. He batted .278 with 21 HR and 75 RBI in 126 games. Joe missed about five weeks in August and September. Rudi batted .250 in the 1975 ALCS.
Joe Rudi: He's Underrated No Longer - September 1975 Baseball Digest
The Oakland ballclub was breaking up in 1976. Owner Charlie Finley tried to trade or sell his players and get as much as he could for them. Rudi was sold to the Boston Red Sox on June 15 but Commissioner Bowie Kuhn invalidated the sale and Rudi returned to the A's on June 18. Joe played in 130 games for the A's in 1976 and batted .270 with 13 HR and 94 RBI. He also won his third (and last) Gold Glove. After the 1976 season Rudi became a free agent and signed with the California Angels.
Rudi missed a lot of the 1977 season due to a broken wrist. He didn't play after June 26. Joe batted .264 with 13 HR and 53 RBI in 64 games. Rudi played in 133 games in 1978 and batted .256 with 17 HR and 79 RBI.
Joe had a couple of stints on the disabled list in 1979 and didn't play after August 15 due to achilles problems. In spite of Rudi's absences the Angels won their first AL West title. Joe batted .242 with 11 HR and 61 RBI in 90 games.
Rudi played in over 100 games for the last time in 1980. In 104 games Joe batted .237 with 16 HR and 53 RBI. After the 1980 season Rudi was involved in a big trade -- he was traded with Jim Dorsey and Frank Tanana to the Boston Red Sox for Fred Lynn and Steve Renko.
Joe didn't play very much in 1981. He batted .180 in 49 games, became a free agent after the season, and signed with the A's. Rudi batted .212 in 71 games with the A's in 1982, missed all of the 1983 season, and was released by the A's on October 28, 1983.
Here is a Sports Illustrated "where are they now" article from July 16, 2000.
Liked to face: Dave Roberts (.429 in 21 AB); Mickey Lolich (.409 in 44 AB); Roger Erickson (.407 in 27 AB)
Hated to face: Steve Barber (.000 in 13 AB); Bob McClure (.059 in 17 AB); Lerrin LaGrow (.100 in 20 AB)
When I worked in a card store in Portland, we always knew when Joe was in town for a Ham Radio convention, cause lots of guys would show up looking for his cards.
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