Rusty Kuntz

Russell Jay Kuntz (born February 4, 1955) is an American baseball coach and former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder.

Kuntz was born on February 4, 1955, in Orange, California.

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.

Nonetheless, following his senior year as an outfielder for the Bearcats, he was selected for All-CIF Second Team honors in 1973.

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.

At CSU Stanislaus, Kuntz played on two teams that went to the Division III World Series.

He was later inducted into the university's Warrior Athletics Hall of Fame.

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.

Kuntz was drafted by the Chicago White Sox as the first pick in the 11th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft.

Kuntz played 51 games for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League White Sox in the 1977 season.

He hit for .287 as the team finished first in the Gulf Coast League standings.

The next season, Kuntz was promoted to the Class AA team, the Knoxville Sox.

He bypassed the Class A affiliate because the Knoxville center fielder was suffering from migraine headaches, and he won the starting center field position.

He hit .263 for Knoxville with 10 home runs in 113 games; the team was managed by Tony La Russa for part of the season and won first place in the Southern League.

He played for the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers between 1979 and 1985.

He never appeared in more than 84 games in any season during his playing career.

Starting the 1979 season with Chicago's Class AAA affiliate, the Iowa Oaks, Kuntz played 122 games, batted .294 and hit 15 home runs in 394 at bats.

Kuntz stood 6 ft and weighed 190 lb 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.

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.

In the final game of the 1984 World Series, Kuntz hit a pop fly to the second baseman that became the deciding run batted in (RBI).

Kuntz grew up in Kansas and California, playing three sports in high school and community college.

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 Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates.

He has worked as an assistant to the general manager, minor league coach, roving instructor and major league base coach.

From 2012 to 2017, he served as the first base coach for the Kansas City Royals, and has received substantial praise for his contributions to the team's success during that period.

"Rusty Kuntz," Royals manager Ned Yost has said, "is the best first base coach in baseball."

He elected not to coach in the 2020 season, but he returned to the Royals as their first base coach for 2021.