In this series, I will look at each player who played in 1981, the year I was born. Because, why not?
It is fairly common knowledge, and I have certainly mentioned it before, but it bears repeating, Boston acquired Joe Rudi before 1981. Back in 1976, the Red Sox purchased the contracts of both Rudi and Rollie Fingers from the Oakland A's. The deals were finalized and the players came to Boston. There are pictures of them in Red Sox uniforms. But three days later, both purchases were voided by commissioner Bowie Kuhn as "not in the best interests of baseball". It's a shame, because Boston could have used them.
By the time Joe Rudi was acquired once again by the Red Sox in 1981, he was basically washed up. Rudi was part of the return Boston received from the Angels in exchange for Fred Lynn and Steve Renko. Frank Tanana and Jim Dorsey were the others. Rudi had been declining the previous couple of seasons, but he still hit 16 home runs in 1980.
In 1981 though, Rudi was a disaster. Limited to designated hitter and pinch-hitting duties, he played in just 49 games. He hit .180/.239/.352 with six home runs, three doubles and 24 RBIs. His OPS+ was 65. At just 34 years of age, he was basically done. After the season he was granted free agency and returned to Oakland for his final Major League season.
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