Rusty Kuntz
Rusty Kuntz | ||
---|---|---|
Home runs 5 | | |
Runs batted in | 38 | |
Teams | ||
As player
As coach
| ||
Career highlights and awards | ||
|
Russell Jay Kuntz (
Kuntz grew up in Kansas and California, playing three sports in high school and community college. He went to the Division III World Series twice with California State University, Stanislaus before being selected by the White Sox in the 11th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft.
After the 1984 season, Kuntz was unable to return to form the next year. He was demoted to the minor leagues early in the 1985 season and was out of professional baseball as a player shortly thereafter.
Since his playing career ended, Kuntz has worked with several MLB organizations, including the
He elected not to coach in the 2020 season, but he returned to the Royals as their first base coach for 2021.
Early life
Kuntz was born on February 4, 1955, in Orange, California.[2] He was born to Chet and Willie Kuntz. His father was a bricklayer who later became an auto mechanic. The family moved from Orange to Wichita, Kansas when Rusty was young, then moved to Paso Robles, California a few years later.
He attended Paso Robles High School in California, where he played baseball, basketball, and football. He said that baseball was his least favorite of the three sports at the time and that he was drawn to basketball because of the game's pace.[3] Nonetheless, following his senior year as an outfielder for the Bearcats, he was selected for All-CIF Second Team honors in 1973.[4]
College career
Continuing his education, Kuntz attended Cuesta College and California State University, Stanislaus. At Cuesta College, Kuntz played center field on the baseball team, quarterbacked the football team and was the center on the basketball team. His six triples during the 1975 CCCAA season remain tied for an all-time single-season Cougars program record.
After hitting for .402 and .442 batting averages in two seasons at Cuesta, Kuntz's father encouraged him to focus on baseball.[3] At CSU Stanislaus, Kuntz played on two teams that went to the Division III World Series.[5] He was later inducted into the university's Warrior Athletics Hall of Fame.[6]
Minor league baseball ascent
Kuntz was drafted by the Chicago White Sox as the first pick in the 11th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft.[7]
Kuntz played 51 games for the rookie-level
MLB playing career
Early career
Kuntz stood 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) and weighed 190 pounds (86 kg) during his playing career. He batted and threw right-handed. Kuntz made his MLB debut with the White Sox on September 1, 1979. He spent all of the 1980 and 1981 seasons with the White Sox, but he was used sparingly, registering less than 120 plate appearances in the two seasons combined.[2] He started 1982 in the minor leagues with the Edmonton Trappers of the Pacific Coast League, hitting .269 with 7 home runs and 34 RBI in 193 at bats. He walked 50 times in 249 plate appearances for Edmonton. He was called back up to the major league team near the end of that season.[3]
He was traded to the
1984 World Series
In the fifth and deciding game of the 1984 World Series against the San Diego Padres, Kuntz pinch-hit for designated hitter Johnny Grubb with the bases loaded and the score tied at three. Kuntz hit a pop-up to short right field that Tony Gwynn was unable to see ("I lost it in the sky," he admitted in a radio interview years later). Second baseman Alan Wiggins made the catch, but was unable to prevent Kirk Gibson from racing home from third with the go-ahead run. The Tigers maintained their lead after that, giving Kuntz an unlikely game-winning RBI.[3]
The 1984 American League Championship Series and the ensuing World Series represented Kuntz's only career postseason appearances.[2] In a 2010 Baseball Prospectus article, Steven Goldman wrote that the 1984 Tigers were "a great team that relied on a lot of fluke elements... The club had no regular first baseman, no regular third baseman, and the primary left fielder hit .239/.302/.342 against right-handers. The club made up for this in part by getting terrific production out of role players like Ruppert Jones, Johnny Grubb, and Rusty Kuntz, players who wouldn't synch up again..."[12]
Later career
Kuntz returned to the Tigers in 1985 but appeared in just five games (last on April 24, 1985) before being sent back to the minor leagues. After batting .222 for Detroit's AAA affiliate, the Nashville Sounds, he was released by the Detroit organization. He signed with the Oakland Athletics a couple of months later, but he did not play any games with them.[3] Kuntz retired as a player with 277 games played, a .236 career batting average, 5 home runs and 38 RBI.[2]
Post-playing career
Kuntz was out of baseball in 1986, working for the
In late 2000, Kuntz decided not to return to his role as first-base coach and outfield instructor. Instead, he went back to his position as a roving instructor with the team, which allowed for more time to be spent with his family. At that time, Marlins players including Cliff Floyd and Mark Kotsay praised Kuntz for the amount of preparation that he put into his coaching. Kotsay gave Kuntz credit for the stolen bases he had accrued. Floyd said, ""I don't know what I'm going to do. I'm telling you, he's meant everything. He tells me about every pitcher we're facing. He keeps me going when I'm down. You don't get that too often in this game. You're expected just to be strong, handle everything. But it ain't that easy sometimes. He's a players' man. He loves us."[15]
Kuntz was dismissed from his position with the Marlins before spring training in 2002. The move was part of a mass firing of Marlins personnel in player development and scouting after the team's change in ownership. Kuntz, who was paid for the 2002 season in any case due to the terms of his contract, kept a job working on the grounds crew at the team's spring training site. He had performed ground crew duties at the site for several years in the offseasons.
After the 2007 season, the
On November 3, 2021, the Royals announced that Kuntz would be moving from his coaching role to assume a front office role as the general manager of quality control, as well as a special assistant to team president Dayton Moore.[29]
Personal life
Kuntz's son Kevin was drafted by the Royals in the
The coach has been the subject of sophomoric humor, mainly due to his surname's resemblance to the vulgar word cunt. A 2010 Bleacher Report article said that his name was "hands down the best name ever. So many jokes, so little time."[32] In April 2013, The Big Lead published a post about the name after a photo depicted Kuntz standing to the right of White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko and Royals baserunner Chris Getz. The resulting image seemed to display the phrase "Konerko Getz Kuntz" on the backs of their uniform jerseys.[33]
References
- ^ Verducci, T. Secret Decoder Kings. Sports Illustrated, Vol. 124, No. 12 (March 28, 2016), p. 71.
- ^ a b c d e "Rusty Kuntz Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g h McClary, Mike. "SABR Baseball Biography Project: Rusty Kuntz". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "Rusty Kuntz gets berth on CIF second team". San Luis Obispo Telegram-Tribune. June 23, 1973. p. 7.
- ^ a b c d "Rusty Kuntz #18". MLB.com. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "Warrior Athletics Hall of Fame". California State University, Stanislaus. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "1977 Baseball Draft – Round #11 [June-Reg]". The Baseball Cube. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ a b "Rusty Kuntz Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "1977 GCL White Sox". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "1978 Southern League". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "Rusty Kuntz Trades and Transactions". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ Goldman, Steven (21 February 2010). "You Could Look It Up". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
- Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
- Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
- Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
- ^ Dvorchak, Robert (October 25, 2002). "Pirates hire coach; Jewett back in AAA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
- The Hartford Courant. October 4, 2005. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "Scoreboard". The Register-Guard. October 24, 2007. Archived from the original on February 18, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- Daily Herald. October 7, 2009. Archived from the originalon February 27, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- ^ Kaegel, Dick (September 15, 2010). "Jirschele taking over as KC's first-base coach". MLB.com. Retrieved September 16, 2010.
- ^ Dutton, Bob (4 August 2012). "Royals fire coach Sisson, bring back Kuntz to fill vacancy". kansascity.com. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- Daily Herald. October 5, 2012. Archived from the originalon February 27, 2014. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
- Boston Globe. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "Rusty Kuntz won't coach first base for Royals next season". kansascity. Retrieved 2018-02-17.
- ^ "Royals finalize Major League coaching staff for 2020". MLB.com. December 5, 2019. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
- ^ Gase, Thomas (7 July 2020). "Vallejo High graduate Damon Hollins is new first base coach with Royals". Vallejo Times Herald. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ Sloan, Nick (January 22, 2021). "Kansas City Royals announce return of Rusty Kuntz". KCTV Kansas City. Retrieved 10 May 2021.
- ^ "Royals move longtime coach Rusty Kuntz to front-office role". examiner.net. November 3, 2021. Archived from the original on February 25, 2022.
- ^ Gier, Kathleen. "Kuntz's son selected by KC in 28th round". MLB.com. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
- ^ "Kevin Kuntz Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ "What a Bunch of Dicks: Baseball's Funniest Names". Bleacher Report. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
- ^ Douglas, Stephen (4 April 2013). "When Kansas City's Chris Getz reaches first this season, base coach Rusty Kuntz will be there to greet him". The Big Lead. Retrieved February 16, 2014.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Rusty Kuntz at Baseball Almanac