Rudy May Passes Away – MLB Trade Rumors

Former MLB pitcher Rudy May died earlier this week at age 80, according to an obituary published in the local North Carolina newspaper The Daily Advance. Jeff Pearlman first reported May's death yesterday. A veteran of 16 MLB seasons, May played for the Angels, Yankees, Orioles and Expos during his long career in the major leagues.

A left-handed pitcher, May grew up in Oakland with a childhood friend and future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. During his high school years, he impressed as one of the area's best pitchers before being signed by a Twins scout in 1962 and subsequently selected by the White Sox in the 1963 first-year player draft. At the end of 1964, May was already in the fourth season of his professional career when he was traded from the White Sox to the Phillies before the Rule 5 draft, before moving to the Angels shortly afterwards.

May finally made his big league debut with Anaheim in 1965, and the then 20-year-old hurler posted decent but not exceptional numbers in his rookie season. In 30 appearances (including 19 starts), May logged 124 innings of work but posted a pedestrian ERA of 3.92, which was 14% below the average in the era just before the pitcher's 1968 Year. That would have been May's only big league appearance. He spent many years in the minor leagues due to injuries he sustained in 1965, but he returned to the big leagues in 1969 as a 24-year-old. That year, May posted a league-average 3.44 ERA in 180 1/3 innings that cemented his place on the Angels' roster, and he spent the next five seasons as the club's quality back-of-the-rotation arm with an ERA of 3.51 (96 ERA+) over 948 2/3 innings.

He began the 1974 season again with the Angels, but a brutal 7.00 ERA in his first 27 innings that year after being forced into a bullpen role led the club to trade him to the Yankees that summer. May subsequently enjoyed a resurgence in New York, dominating the competition with a 2.28 ERA (156 ERA+) with 90 strikeouts in 114 1/3 innings during his 17 appearances (15 starts) in the Bronx following the trade. He followed up that performance with an excellent 1975 season, posting a 3.06 ERA (122 ERA+) in 212 innings pitched, in a middle-of-the-rotation role behind club ace (and future Hall of Famer). Catfish hunter. Unfortunately, a decline in performance in 1976 led to May being traded again, this time to the Orioles.

That 1976 season began something of a lull in May's career as he returned to the back-of-the-rotation form he had shown during his time with the Angels. In the three seasons between the Yankees, Orioles and Expos from 1976 to 1978, May pitched an average of 3.71 ERA in 99 appearances, including 92 starts, and amassed 616 innings. That led to the veteran southpaw being relegated to a relief role in his second year with the Expos in 1979, but the left-hander dominated in that role with a sterling 2.31 ERA (160 ERA+) in 93 2/3 innings and 33 operations. only seven of them were starts.

He continued to play this type of hybrid role after being reacquired by the Yankees in 1980, which turned out to be perhaps the best season of his career. Although May only started 17 of his 41 games that year, he posted phenomenal numbers in that role, as he led the American League with a 2.46 ERA (160 ERA+) and pitched 175 1/3 frames. The 1980 season also saw May 35 make his first postseason appearance in his career. The left-hander suffered an unfortunate loss in Game 2 of the ALCS against the Royals in October, when the Yankees lost 3-2 despite May pitching eight strong, three-run innings.

After a lackluster regular season, he returned to the postseason in 1981, but this time he and the Yankees had some success. May pitched a solid relief performance against the Brewers in the ALDS before getting off to a lackluster start against Oakland in the ALCS, but when the Yankees made it to the World Series against the Dodgers, he managed to pitch 6 1/3 strong relief innings scoring three appearances, although his club ultimately lost six games. Overall, May posted a respectable 3.66 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 19 2/3 postseason innings with the Yankees during those years, which ended up being the only postseason appearances of his career.

After the club's loss in the 1981 World Series, May spent two more years with the Yankees and had a strong rebound campaign in 1982. Although he signed a two-year contract with New York, he only played 15 games in 1983 due to injury and missed the entire 1984 season with back problems before retiring. In total, May appeared in 535 games in the major league and was in the starting eleven in 360 of these competitions. During his career, he pitched an above-average 3.46 ERA and collected 152 wins and 1,760 strikeouts in his 2,622 innings in the majors. We at MLBTR extend our condolences to May's family, friends and loved ones.