1984 Profile: Rudy May

"He is a man of quiet class and quiet dignity, except when he is with his teammates on a bus or on a plane. It is then you detect the keen sense of humor of Rudy May. This year is his 22nd in organized baseball. It is hard to believe that Rudy May broke into the majors in 1965 with the California Angels and was clocked at speeds of better than 95 miles per hour. He was- simply- a thrower until a pitching coach named George Bamberger (Baltimore Orioles, 1976) took him aside.
'I never thought of it until George told me,' Rudy admits candidly. 'What's the sense of throwing the ball 95 miles an hour if you're ahead or behind in the count, and you miss home plate. All he said was cut it down to 88-89 and hit the outside corner.'
May listened, learned and executed. He was 18-14 for the Birds in 1977, 10-3 for the Expos in 1979, and when the Yankees signed him for 1980, people said, 'What for?'
What for? To go 15-5 and win the ERA title for manager Dick Howser and the Yankee team that won 103 games in 1980.
Injuries and age have slowed this classy lefty down, but his curve ball is still one of the best in baseball. He is he ideal 'one batter' relief pitcher, particularly if the batter is left-handed- and it makes no difference what left-hander it is."

-The New York Yankees Official 1984 Yearbook

"Rudy missed most of the 1983 season with an injury. He pitched in 11 games in the first half of the season, all in relief. He combined with Jay Howell on May 29 against Oakland for a 5-0 shutout; May worked 4.1 innings of scoreless relief.
May hurt his back while packing on June 19 and was placed on the disabled list; Ray Fontenot took his place on the roster. Rudy pitched four games at Columbus on a rehab assignment, was recalled to the Yankees in September and made four relief appearances.
Rudy pitched well in 1982 with excellent control despite a slight shoulder problem in mid-June. He was placed on the DL on June 4 with a sore left shoulder and was activated on June 27. Rudy struck out 16 batters before he allowed his first walk on May 15.
He began the '82 season in the bullpen, but was pressed into the starting rotation when Doyle Alexander suffered a broken hand. Rudy ended that season with 85 strikeouts and 14 walks with a strikeout to walk ratio of better than 6 to 1 (five of the 14 walks were intentional). He was selected by the White Sox in January 1983 from the compensation pool (as compensation for Steve Kemp), but the selection was voided by the American League because of a no-trade clause.
In 1980 Rudy won the AL ERA title with a 2.47 mark, though he was disabled early in the season with a lower back strain. He won his last eight decisions of 1980 and his first three of 1981 for a personal winning streak of 11.
May struck out nine batters in a row while at Portsmouth in 1964. He made it to the majors in 1965 with the Angels and threw a 1-hitter against Denny McLain and the Tigers in his first game, but without a decision. He suffered a sore shoulder later that year and struggled in the minors for three seasons. Rudy had been a mainstay of the Angels' pitching staff from 1969 through June 15, 1974 when he was sold to the Yankees.
He lettered in baseball, basketball, football and track at Castlemont High School in Oakland where he was a teammate of Joe Morgan and played against Willie Stargell and Paul Silas. He grew up rooting for the Giants. Rudy credits three of his pitching coaches for helping his career the most: George Bamberger, Jim Brewer and Whitey Ford."

-1984 New York Yankees Information Guide