Art Kusnyer was a baseball lifer.
Kusnyer was longtime member of Tony La Russa‘s coaching staff when the Oakland A’s won the World Series in 1989.
Beginning his career in 1966 as a 37th round draft pick by the Chicago White Sox. He made his major league debut in 1970 by appearing in four games. Perhaps a look into the future, he had one hit in 10 at bats and also made an error behind the plate.
A year later, he was with the California Angels for six games with two hits and another error. The 1972 season would be the best in the big leagues for Kusnyer, he hit two of his three career homers and knocked in 13 runs with a .207 batting average.
In his final season with the Angels, Kusnyer was the second catcher among seven players to be a part of history for a future Cooperstown legend on July 15, 1973.
Nolan Ryan fanned a major league record 17 and walked four in a 6-0 no-hitter against the Detroit Tigers. Washington Nationals pitcher Max Scherzer would match that strikeout effort in a 2015 no-hitter against the New York Mets.
Ryan was quoted in an article appearing the next day by Jim Hawkins of the Detroit Free Press.
“This was the best stuff I’ve ever had,” he said. “I was really up for this game. Much more so than usual because of the way we’ve been losing lately. I knew we really needed it and I needed it too. I decided in the bullpen I was going to out there and shut them out.”
Kusnyer had the best seat in Tiger Stadium as he caught every pitch.
“He really had his stuff together,” said Kusnyer in the previously mentioned story. “His fastball was just exploding. And his curve was outstanding. This is the hardest he’s ever thrown when I’ve caught him.”
The second best seat in the house was right behind Kusnyer as umpire Ron Luciano called the balls and a lot of strikes.
His quote to Hawkins about the combination of Ryan’s fastball and curve ball was, “they ought to make one of those pitches illegal.”
Luciano learned a little bit that day about doing something illegal in the batter’s box. Norm Cash became famous for heading to the plate with a table leg from the clubhouse before becoming the final out of Ryan’s historic performance.
Offensively, Kusnyer scored a pair runs against the Tigers and had a single that ended an 0-for-30 streak at the plate.
At the end of the season, Kusnyer would be traded as part of the 10-player deal with the Milwaukee Brewers. Ironically, catcher Ellie Rodriguez was one of the players the Angels picked up in the trade. He would eventually catch Ryan’s fourth no-hitter in 1975.
Kusnyer would play professionally until 1979 with stops in the big leagues with the Brewers (1976) and the Kansas City Royals (1978). His final career homer was with the Royals as he tagged Frank Tanana of the California Angels.
Overall, Kusnyer played in 139 games in parts of six seasons in the big leagues with a career batting average of .176. He was also on a list that catchers do not want to make as he finished second in the American League with 12 passed balls in 1972.
After his second no-hitter of the 1973 season, Ryan was 11-11 overall. He would finish that year 21-16 with a MLB record 383 strikeouts, which was one better that the previous mark established by Sandy Koufax in 1965. He tossed his first no-hitter against the Royals on May 15.
Ryan would go on to set the standard with seven career no-hitters and become a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999. His catchers for his no-hitters were Jeff Torborg, Kusnyer, Tom Egan, Rodriguez of the Angels and Alan Ashby of the Houston Astros along with John Russell and Mike Stanley of the Texas Rangers.
The 1972 Topps Card
Baseball rookie cards link players through out their professional career. This is the only Topps card for Kusnyer and Tom Silverio, while Billy Parker had his own piece of cardboard in 1973.
Parker was with the Angels from 1971-73. He played in 94 contests with three homers and a .222 batting average.
Parker began his career in 1969 in the Angels system before playing in the minors for the New York Yankees. He finished his professional career in the Mexican League in 1977.
Silverio was an outfielder for the Angels from 1970-72. He was in 31 games with just three hits and a .100 batting average.
A native of the Dominican Republic, Silverio started with the Angels organization in 1965. After being released after the 1972 season, he played with five teams in the Mexican League until 1981 retiring at the age of 35.