Rudy May, a left-handed pitcher who toiled for four teams from 1965-83, passed away on Wednesday at age 80. In 535 career games, of which 360 were starts, the curveball artist was 152-156 with a 3.46 ERA and 1.248 WHIP. His lifetime stats don’t begin to tell the story, however.
Very sorry to hear about the passing of former #Expos pitcher Rudy May. Rudy spent 2 years in #Montréal and had an amazing 18 years in the majors. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. pic.twitter.com/9VhscMmprA
— Expos Fest ⚾️🎗️ (@ExposFest) October 24, 2024
Longtime Major League Pitcher Rudy May, 1980 AL ERA Champ, Has Passed Away
After spending one year each in the Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox systems, May finally broke into the major leagues at the age of 20 with the California Angels in 1965. Pitching for a seventh-place club, he was 4-9 with a 3.92 ERA in his rookie season. The Angels kept him in the minors for three more seasons. In 1969, he was in the big time for good.
“I Dedicate This Game to Myself”
May pitched well as an Angel, often with little to show for it. In spite of it all, he maintained his sense of humor. After tossing a complete game, 3-0 shutout against the White Sox on May 19, 1970, May told United Press International, “I thought I’d dedicate this game to myself because it took me so long to get my third win.” His best season with California was 1972, when he finished 12-11 with a 2.94 ERA. May began the 1973 season on a roll, pitching four complete game shutouts in five games from April 23 to May 13. Alas, his season fell apart after that. He finished 1973 at 7-17 with a 4.38 ERA. His 3.87 FIP indicated that his teammates weren’t much help to him, however.
On to the Bronx Zoo
After May had a rough start to the 1974 season, the Angels passed the pitcher along to the New York Yankees in a June cash deal. The deal revived his career. He was 8-4 with a 2.28 ERA for the Yankees in 1974. In 1975, he was 14-12 with a 3.06 ERA and was the stingiest pitcher in the American League in terms of giving up home runs. He surrendered just 0.4 per nine innings.
Like Harvey Haddix, May’s best game may have been one that his team lost. Against the Kansas City Royals on May 2, 1976, he took a no-hitter and a 1-0 lead into the ninth inning. Amos Otis led off the inning with a double. May was replaced by Sparky Lyle, who allowed Otis to score. The Royals won the game, 2-1 in 11 innings.
May would soon fall out of favor with his erratic, hot-tempered manager Billy Martin. After May lost to the Cleveland Indians on May 27, Martin berated him, telling him he’d never pitch for Martin again. However, an injury to a starter pressed May into service immediately on the 30th. May pitched a complete game shutout at Detroit, winning 4-0, but not before Martin angrily fired a ball and hit him during a pregame disagreement.
To Baltimore and Beyond
Martin felt that May didn’t pitch enough complete games and stopped speaking to him. (From 1974-76, May pitched 23 complete games for New York.) In June, the Yankees dealt May to the Baltimore Orioles in a 10-player trade. The deal also netted the Orioles Rick Dempsey, Tippy Martinez, and Scott McGregor. The Orioles would trade May to the Montreal Expos after the 1977 season and get Gary Roenicke and Don Stanhouse in return. Thus, May was directly involved in the Orioles obtaining five key pieces to their 1979 AL pennant winners, four of whom remained for their 1983 World Series championship. Meanwhile, in a season and a half with Baltimore, May was 29-21 with a 3.68 ERA.
May was just as effective with Montreal, going 18-13 with a 3.26 ERA over 1978 and 1979. However, in a strange twist, May returned to the Yankees as a free agent for the 1980 season. It was there, at the age of 36, that he had his best season, going 15-5 and leading the AL with a 2.46 ERA. Although nobody spoke of these things at the time, he also had the best ERA+, WHIP, and FIP in the AL.
May pitched for the Yankees in the 1980 and 1981 postseasons, but unfortunately, without distinction. He finished his career in 1983 with New York when Martin was reinstated as Yankees manager. Their relationship was distant but without further incident. They patched up their differences shortly before Martin’s death.
Pitcher Rudy May Has Passed Away
The cause of death was complications due to diabetes. With the recent passing of Fernando Valenzuela, both World Series participants have lost a key pitcher from their past.
Photo Credit: © Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
