Joseph Oden Rudi (born September 7, 1946) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder between and , most prominently as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won three consecutive World Series championships between 1972 and 1974. A three-time All-Star, Rudi excelled as an offensive and as a defensive player, winning three Gold Glove Awards and was the 1972 American League leader in hits with 181. He also played for the California Angels and the Boston Red Sox. In 2022, Rudi was inducted into the Athletics Hall of Fame. Playing career Rudi was born in Modesto, California. He graduated from Thomas Downey High School in Modesto, California. He batted a career-high .309 in 1970 and led the American League a career-high 181 hits in 1972. He finished second in American League MVP voting behind Dick Allen. That year, he helped the Athletics win the World Series and made a great game-saving catch in Game 2 that went on to become part of the highlight reel for many Major League Baseball films. With Tony Pérez on first and Oakland leading 2-0 in the ninth inning, Rudi raced to the left-field fence and made a leaping, backhanded catch of Denis Menke's smash to save a run. Earlier in the game, Rudi hit a solo home run. He also caught Pete Rose's fly ball for the final out of the Series. In 1974 he had a career best 22 home runs and 99 runs batted in while leading the American League with 287 total bases. He was also awarded his first career Gold Glove Award and was once again the runner-up in AL MVP voting behind Jeff Burroughs. Rudi hit a home run in Game 5 of the 1974 World Series off Mike Marshall that would turn out to be the game winner and Series clincher. Rudi's Athletics became the first team since the 1949–1953 New York Yankees to win three straight World Series titles. In 1975, he was elected by the fans as a starter in the All-Star Game as an outfielder, where he joined four other Oakland A's in the American League starting lineup. He also played some first base for the A's in 1975. With baseball entering the free agency era, A's owner Charlie Finley attempted to sell Rudi and pitcher Rollie Fingers to the Boston Red Sox