Rudy May, former Yankees hurler and ERA champion, dies at 80

Former Yankees pitcher Rudy May died on Saturday at the age of 80.

May's 16-year MLB career included seven stints with the Yankees over several stints in the '70s and '80s, as well as time with the California Angels, Montreal Expos and Baltimore Orioles

A cause of death was not given, although the southpaw was reportedly diabetic.

May grew up in Oakland, California and was a high school teammate of future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan. He was signed by the Twins as a free agent in 1962, at a time when baseball was on the verge of a turning point.

“I got in a little trouble because I was the only black player from the West Coast,” he told Jeff Pearlman at spring training in Florida in 2014 about his early days with Minnesota. “I didn't know that I wasn't behaving the way I should have. For example, the clubhouse was separated. The white people were on one side and the black people were on the other… and I was there for a whole week before I realized it. I didn't know. One of my teammates said to me, “Why are you walking through the front door of the clubhouse?” Why are you drinking from the fountain? You can't do that. There’s a bucket in the back we can drink from.”

Two years later, he was playing in the White Sox minor league system in Kinston, North Carolina, on the day the Civil Rights Act was passed.

“In the middle of the afternoon we were checked out of the black hotel and walked across town to the white hotel – we were scared to death!” he told Pearlman.

He debuted with the Angels in 1965, the first of his 536 games played.

Over the course of his career, May managed a 152-156 record with a 3.46 ERA and 1,760 strikeouts and was a member of the Yankees' teams that lost in the 1980 American League Championship Series and the 1981 World Series.

May began his first stint with the Bronx Bombers on June 15, 1974, when he was acquired from the Angels and remained a member of the club until he was traded to the Orioles on June 15, 1976, two years after being acquired.

The left-hander finally returned to the Yankees in the winter of 1979 when he signed with them as a free agent.

In an interview with The New York Times just days before he signed a contract with the Yankees, May expressed great excitement at the prospect of returning to the Bronx.

“It sounds awfully good to me,” he said. “I always loved playing in New York and I loved playing for the Yankees. It was unfortunate that I was transferred to Baltimore. I know the Yankees will have a good ballclub next year. George Steinbrenner seems to make sure of that.”

May ended up being part of two Yankee teams that had good success in the postseason, even leading the American League in ERA in the 1980 regular season by posting a career-best 2.46.

With the Yankees, he went 54-46 with a 3.12 ERA in seven seasons.

During spring training in 1984, May discovered that he was no longer able to pitch and retired. He worked briefly as a pitching coach at Yosemite High School in California before quitting after one season and eventually taking a job as a manager at Circle K, the Fresno Bee reported in 1990.

He worked his way up to a position as a marketing consultant at Circle K and then British Petroleum.

“My wife, my grandchildren, fishing and gardening: that's my life now and what really enriches me,” May told Jeff Pearlman. “At this point, I’m more proud of my fishing accomplishments than anything I’ve accomplished in baseball.”