Best Of The Oakland Athletics: Top 10 Seasons In Left Field
By Phil Watson
6. Joe Rudi, 1972
| Year ▾ | Age | G | PA | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS | OPS+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 25 | 147 | 653 | 94 | 181 | 32 | 9 | 19 | 75 | 3 | 4 | 37 | 62 | .305 | .345 | .486 | .830 | 151 |
Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 2/13/2014.
Rudi had his breakout year in 1972, finishing runner-up to Dick Allen of the White Sox in the AL MVP voting and earning his first All-Star berth while leading the A’s to their first World Series title in Oakland and the franchise’s first championship since 1930. Along the way, Rudi led the league with 181 hits and nine triples.
He was fourth in the American League with a 5.8 Offensive WAR, fifth with 95 Runs Created, sixth with a 151 OPS-plus and 10th with a 6.1 WAR (fourth among position players).
Rudi was also second in the AL with 94 runs and 32 doubles; third with 288 total bases, 60 extra-base hits and 15 sacrifice hits; fifth with a .305 batting average; sixth with a .486 slugging percentage and 12 intentional walks; eighth with an .830 OPS; and ninth with 75 RBI and nine sacrifice flies.
In the postseason, Rudi was 5-for-20 with a run, a double and two RBI in the A’s five-game win over Detroit in the ALCS and then was 6-for-25 with a run, a homer and an RBI in Oakland’s seven-game triumph over the Reds in the World Series.
In that series, Rudi made one of the greatest defensive plays in World Series history, smashing face-first into the left-field wall at Riverfront Stadium to rob Denis Menke of extra bases in the ninth inning of Game 2.