Rudy May
Born: 7/18/1944 in Coffeyville, KS, USA
Died: 10/19/2024 in Hertford, NC, USA
MLB Debut: 1965-04-18 | Final Game: 1983-09-21
Bats: L | Throws: L | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 205 lbs
Full name: Rudolph May
Biography
Rudy May was a professional baseball pitcher whose career spanned from 1965 to 1983, leaving a significant mark on the game during a transformative era in Major League Baseball. Born in 1944, May played in an age characterized by the shifting dynamics of pitching strategies and the emergence of power hitters. Over his 18-year career, he compiled a record of 152 wins and 156 losses, showcasing his durability and persistence on the mound. With an impressive earned run average (ERA) of 3.46, May established himself as a reliable starter capable of competing at a high level throughout his tenure.
May recorded a total of 1,760 strikeouts and notched 12 saves, demonstrating his versatility as both a starter and a reliever. His ability to manage games and keep hitters off balance made him a valuable asset to several teams, including the California Angels and the New York Yankees. As a pitcher who navigated the complexities of the 1970s and early 1980s, May contributed to the evolving nature of the game, balancing traditional pitching techniques with the growing emphasis on strikeouts and game management. His career remains a testament to skill and resilience in a highly competitive sport.
Career Pitching Statistics
| W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | HR | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 152 | 156 | 535 | 360 | 87 | 24 | 12 | 2622.0 | 2314 | 1007 | 199 | 958 | 1760 | 3.46 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Pitching
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | LAA | AL | 4 | 9 | 30 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 124.0 | 111 | 54 | 78 | 76 | 3.92 | - |
| 1969 | LAA | AL | 10 | 13 | 43 | 25 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 180.3 | 142 | 69 | 66 | 133 | 3.44 | - |
| 1970 | LAA | AL | 7 | 13 | 38 | 34 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 208.7 | 190 | 93 | 81 | 164 | 4.01 | - |
| 1971 | LAA | AL | 11 | 12 | 32 | 31 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 208.3 | 160 | 70 | 87 | 156 | 3.02 | - |
| 1972 | LAA | AL | 12 | 11 | 35 | 30 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 205.3 | 162 | 67 | 82 | 169 | 2.94 | - |
| 1973 | LAA | AL | 7 | 17 | 34 | 28 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 185.0 | 177 | 90 | 80 | 134 | 4.38 | - |
| 1974 | LAA | AL | 0 | 1 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 27.0 | 29 | 21 | 10 | 12 | 7.00 | - |
| 1974 | NYY | AL | 8 | 4 | 17 | 15 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 114.3 | 75 | 29 | 48 | 90 | 2.28 | - |
| 1975 | NYY | AL | 14 | 12 | 32 | 31 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 212.0 | 179 | 72 | 99 | 145 | 3.06 | - |
| 1976 | BAL | AL | 11 | 7 | 24 | 21 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 152.3 | 156 | 64 | 42 | 71 | 3.78 | 188.1 |
| 1976 | NYY | AL | 4 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 68.0 | 49 | 27 | 28 | 38 | 3.57 | - |
| 1977 | BAL | AL | 18 | 14 | 37 | 37 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 251.7 | 243 | 101 | 78 | 105 | 3.61 | -1230.1 |
| 1978 | WSN | NL | 8 | 10 | 27 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 144.0 | 141 | 62 | 42 | 87 | 3.88 | - |
| 1979 | WSN | NL | 10 | 3 | 33 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 93.7 | 88 | 24 | 31 | 67 | 2.31 | - |
| 1980 | NYY | AL | 15 | 5 | 41 | 17 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 175.3 | 144 | 48 | 39 | 133 | 2.46 | - |
| 1981 | NYY | AL | 6 | 11 | 27 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 147.7 | 137 | 68 | 41 | 79 | 4.14 | - |
| 1982 | NYY | AL | 6 | 6 | 41 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 106.0 | 109 | 34 | 14 | 85 | 2.89 | - |
| 1983 | NYY | AL | 1 | 5 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18.3 | 22 | 14 | 12 | 16 | 6.87 | - |
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 536 | 341 | 12 | 42 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 22 | 164 | 0.123 | 0.180 | 0.150 | 0.330 | -2381.9 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | LAA | AL | 30 | 30 | 2 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 15 | 0.200 | 0.0 |
| 1969 | LAA | AL | 44 | 49 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 0.082 | -533.5 |
| 1970 | LAA | AL | 38 | 69 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 31 | 0.087 | -770.8 |
| 1971 | LAA | AL | 32 | 68 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 40 | 0.147 | -517.3 |
| 1972 | LAA | AL | 35 | 62 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 0.113 | -560.3 |
| 1973 | LAA | AL | 34 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1974 | LAA | AL | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1974 | NYY | AL | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1975 | NYY | AL | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1976 | BAL | AL | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1976 | NYY | AL | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1977 | BAL | AL | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1978 | WSN | NL | 27 | 42 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 19 | 0.143 | 0.0 |
| 1979 | WSN | NL | 33 | 21 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0.143 | 0.0 |
| 1980 | NYY | AL | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1981 | NYY | AL | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1982 | NYY | AL | 41 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
| 1983 | NYY | AL | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0.0 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | ALCS | NYA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1981 | AEDIV | NYA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1981 | WS | NYA | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 |
| 1980 | ALCS | NYA | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
Playoff Career Pitching
| W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 19.7 | 18 | 8 | 4 | 15 | 3.66 |
Playoff Pitching by Year
| Year | Round | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | AEDIV | NYA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 |
| 1981 | ALCS | NYA | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3.3 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 8.10 |
| 1981 | WS | NYA | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6.3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 2.84 |
| 1980 | ALCS | NYA | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 8.0 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 3.38 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | 535 | 360 | 87 | 382 | 37 | 18 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | CAL | P | 30 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 1969 | CAL | P | 43 | 25 | 6 | 26 | 6 | 3 |
| 1970 | CAL | P | 38 | 34 | 5 | 33 | 3 | 1 |
| 1971 | CAL | P | 32 | 31 | 7 | 31 | 4 | 3 |
| 1972 | CAL | P | 35 | 30 | 2 | 24 | 5 | 2 |
| 1973 | CAL | P | 34 | 28 | 2 | 39 | 1 | 0 |
| 1974 | CAL | P | 18 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | NYA | P | 17 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| 1975 | NYA | P | 32 | 31 | 9 | 25 | 2 | 0 |
| 1976 | BAL | P | 24 | 21 | 9 | 21 | 4 | 2 |
| 1976 | NYA | P | 11 | 11 | 4 | 10 | 1 | 1 |
| 1977 | BAL | P | 37 | 37 | 6 | 33 | 4 | 1 |
| 1978 | MON | P | 27 | 23 | 5 | 15 | 3 | 2 |
| 1979 | MON | P | 33 | 7 | 6 | 15 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | NYA | P | 41 | 17 | 5 | 26 | 2 | 2 |
| 1981 | NYA | P | 27 | 22 | 11 | 28 | 1 | 0 |
| 1982 | NYA | P | 41 | 6 | 2 | 19 | 1 | 1 |
| 1983 | NYA | P | 15 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 535 |