Bob Gordon suggested this 1979 Rudy Meoli card a long time ago. I’m finally getting around to using it.
Meoli was your typical 1970s no-hit infielder only more so. With the Angels, Cubs and Phillies, he played second, third and short but never hit over .250. In fact, in his six years, he only hit over .225 once.
His saving grace in his last season in 1979 was that he actually hit better than his previous year with the Cubs. While .178 is nothing to write home about, he hit .103 with the Cubbies in 29 at-bats in 1978.
Meoli didn’t hit a dinger in 1979 either. He settled for four doubles and one triple in 73 at-bats.
| Split | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 Totals | 30 | 84 | 73 | 2 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 9 | 15 | .178 | .268 | .260 |
One thing I’ve not brought up before is the lone ‘4’ or ‘5’ in the second column on players who didn’t hit any homers in real life. Such is the case with Meoli’s card here with his 55-9-4. Some purists might take issue with this since Meoli didn’t hit a homer in 1979 and the existence of the 4 would give him a remote chance to do that.
Personally, I like this practice by APBA. While it certainly won’t skew the stats too much, it adds a randomness factor since most anyone (Duane Kuiper excepted) has the capability to hit a homerun at any time.
Finally, if anyone’s hairstyle typified the 70s, it was Rudy Meoli.
Thanks Bob!
I had him on a couple of my teams and am still trying to erase his horridness from my mind. Thanks for the bad memories.
The way it looks now, Leury Garcia will be getting significant playing time for the 2015 Northboro Phoenix in TBL. I’ll send you a scan of that pile of doo-doo when the cards make it.
I just noticed that Meoli is wearing a Giants uni in the photo. He actually never played a game for them.
He was a free agent for SF and was subsequently dropped by them. He retired right after.
I once had hair like that in the ’70s
Jim, that I’d like to see!
Meoli had a pop-out forever immortalized on his 1975 Topps card.
http://cardboardgods.net/2006/09/27/rudy-meoli/
I remember pinch hitting Kuiper with a man on 3rd against Dave Smith & rolling a 66-6 for a walkoff 2-1 winner, Champs over T*Chix in the Illowa APBA League, YES!
oh yeah, I do seem to remember that. You did have a penchant for the sixty-sixes. :)