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| Art Kusnyer | |
|---|---|
| Catcher | |
| Born: (1945-12-19)December 19, 1945 (age 80) Akron, Ohio, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 21, 1970, for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 1, 1978, for the Kansas City Royals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .176 |
| Home runs | 3 |
| Runs batted in | 21 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Arthur William Kusnyer (born December 19, 1945) is an American formercatcher inMajor League Baseball who was drafted by theChicago White Sox in the 37th round of the 1966 amateur draft. He played for theWhite Sox (1970),California Angels (1971–1973),Milwaukee Brewers (1976), andKansas City Royals (1978).
He was somewhat error-prone behind the plate during sporadic playing time at themajor league level, committing 20errors in just 136 games for a .970fielding percentage. He also had trouble at the plate, with a lifetimebatting average of just .176 with 3home runs and 21RBIs in 313 careerat bats.
Kusnyer was involved in a nine-player transaction when he was sent along withSteve Barber,Clyde Wright,Ken Berry and cash from the Angels to the Brewers forEllie Rodríguez,Ollie Brown,Joe Lahoud,Skip Lockwood andGary Ryerson on October 23, 1973.[1]
After his playing career, he eventually found his way back to the White Sox as thebullpen coach, where he served for 19 years (1980–87, 1997–2007). In between, from 1988 to 1995, he held the same position with theOakland Athletics.[2] He was a longtime member ofTony La Russa's coaching staffs in both cities. Kusnyer stepped away from coaching full time in 2007 when his failing eyesight became too much of an obstacle. Between August 2007 and April 2008, he underwent eight surgeries to attempt to restore his vision.[3] In 2008-2009, he was listed as a rovingminor league instructor by the White Sox.[4][5]