Rusty Greer
Rusty Greer | ||
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Runs batted in | 614 | |
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Thurman Clyde "Rusty" Greer III (born January 21, 1969) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball for the Texas Rangers from 1994 to 2002. He is currently the Head Baseball Coach for Fort Worth Christian School.
Biography
Greer attended high school in Albertville, Alabama before playing college baseball at the University of Montevallo. (Montevallo was the only college interested in Greer prior to a senior-year all-star game where he finally drew attention from larger schools; however, he chose to remain at Montevallo since they initially offered him a scholarship.) While at Montevallo, Greer was a Resident Assistant in Napier Hall. The Rangers made him their tenth-round pick (279th overall) in the 1990 amateur draft, and he spent the rest of the season playing for their rookie-level minor league club in Butte, Montana. He would spend all 15 years of his professional baseball career in the Rangers organization, a feat that had become a rarity among professional ballplayers thanks to free agency.
At Butte, he batted .345 with an
Major league career
Greer continued his successful run at Oklahoma when he was called up to Texas, where he batted .314 with ten
Greer cooled off slightly in his second season, batting .271. However, in 1996, he had one of the best seasons of his career, batting .332 (fifth in the
The 1997 season also proved successful for Greer, as he finished seventh in the AL with a .321 batting average, played in a career-high 157 games, and he hit a career-high 26 home runs. In 1998, he had a career-high 108 RBI and a .306 batting average. The Rangers honored him for his contributions by granting him a new contract that paid him
In 2001, Greer was limited to 62 games because of injuries, but he still hit seven home runs. Still a fan favorite, he was honored with a three-year, $21 million contract before the 2002 season. However, due to injuries he would only play 51 games with the Rangers in 2002.
Injuries and attempted comeback
Greer's aggressive style of play took a severe toll on his body, and he spent the remainder of his baseball career undergoing and recovering from
Nevertheless, he was still determined to come back; and he and the Rangers expected to see him back on the field as a designated hitter during the last month of their season. He worked out at the Rangers' spring training facility in Surprise, Arizona, with the intention of doing a rehabilitation assignment in the minor leagues shortly thereafter. However, his workout was cut short; he returned to Texas, where he had surgery to remove scar tissue on his forearm and was declared out for the season. The Rangers, not surprisingly, decided to buy out the option year on his contract; he actually made almost as much money during the two lost seasons as he did in the rest of his career combined.
Greer received invitations from the Rangers and the Minnesota Twins to go to spring training as a non-roster invitee, but he decided that he would rather retire than move his family to another state. Thus, on February 20, 2005, he announced his retirement, officially ending his comeback attempt.[3]
On August 11, 2007, the Rangers inducted Greer into the
Career statistics
Seasons | Games | PA
|
AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR
|
RBI
|
SB
|
BB | SO
|
HBP | AVG | OBP | SLG | FLD% |
9 | 1027 | 4420 | 3829 | 643 | 1166 | 258 | 25 | 119 | 614 | 31 | 519 | 555 | 22 | .305 | .387 | .478 | .978 |
In the 1996, '98 and '99 American League Division Series, Greer batted only .111 (4-for-36). He played all three outfield positions and first base in his career. His fielding percentage was .980 at left field, .970 at right field, .981 at center field and .960 at first base. At 9 years, Greer had the longest tenure of any player to only play for the Rangers during his career.
Life after playing career
Today, Greer resides in Colleyville, Texas and has three children.[5] For several years he ran a baseball training facility, the Rusty Greer Baseball School, in Euless, Texas.[6] Greer announced in 2022 that he would be closing the school to take an assignment with the Jacksonville State Gamecocks as the Graduate Baseball Manager. [7]
On July 12, 2023, Greer was named Head Baseball Coach at Fort Worth Christian School located in North Richland Hills, Texas. [8]
References
- ^ "Texas Rangers at Oakland Athletics Box Score, May 16, 1994".
- ^ "Rusty Greer: Biography and Career Highlights | Texas Rangers". Archived from the original on 2019-12-16.
- ^ ESPN: Rusty Greer opts to retire
- ^ "Rusty Greer selected as 2007 inductee to Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2016-03-03.
- ^ "Greer hasn't played in 3 years due to injury". espn.go.com. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
- ^ "Instructional Sessions Colleyville | Baseball School". rustygreerbaseballschool.com. Retrieved 2021-02-12.
- ^ https://jsugamecocksports.com/sports/baseball/roster/coaches/rusty-greer/1023
- ^ "Former Rangers star Rusty Greer named baseball coach at Fort Worth Christian". Dallas News. 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)