Arthur William Kusnyer (born December 19, 1945) is an American former

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who was drafted by the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

in the 37th round of the 1966 amateur draft. He played for the

White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The club plays its home games at Rate Fie ...

(1970),

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

(1971–1973),

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

(1976), and

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

(1978). He was somewhat error-prone behind the plate during sporadic playing time at the major league level, committing 20 errors in just 136 games for a .970

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

. He also had trouble at the plate, with a lifetime

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

of just .176 with 3

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 21 RBIs in 313 career

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

. Kusnyer was involved in a nine-player transaction when he was sent along with

Steve Barber Stephen David Barber (February 22, 1938 – February 4, 2007) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher. He pitched for the Baltimore Orioles and six other teams from 1960 to 1974. Barber spent his first eight years with th ...

, Clyde Wright,

Ken Berry Kenneth Ronald Berry (November 3, 1933 – December 1, 2018) was an American actor, comedian, dancer, and singer. Berry starred on the television series '' F Troop'' (1965–1967), '' Mayberry R.F.D.'' (1968–1971) and ''Mama's Family'' ( ...

and cash from the Angels to the Brewers for

Ellie Rodríguez Eliseo Rodríguez Delgado (born May 24, 1946) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1968 to 1976 for the New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels, a ...

, Ollie Brown,

Joe Lahoud Joseph Michael Lahoud (born April 14, 1947) is an American former professional baseball player. He played all or part of eleven seasons in Major League Baseball, primarily as an outfielder and designated hitter, for the Boston Red Sox (1968–71) ...

, Skip Lockwood and Gary Ryerson on October 23, 1973. After his playing career, he eventually found his way back to the White Sox as the bullpen coach, where he served for 19 years (1980–87, 1997–2007). In between, from 1988 to 1995, he held the same position with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. He was a longtime member of

Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager (baseball), manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis C ...

'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. In 2008-2009, he was listed as a roving

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

instructor by the White Sox.''Baseball America 2009 Annual Directory''

References

*1979 Baseball Register published by

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kusnyer, Art 1945 births Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball bullpen coaches Chicago White Sox coaches Chicago White Sox players California Angels players Milwaukee Brewers players Kansas City Royals players Baseball players from Akron, Ohio Oakland Athletics coaches Sacramento Solons players Omaha Royals players Spokane Indians players Lynchburg White Sox players Iowa Oaks players Salt Lake City Angels players Living people Kent State Golden Flashes baseball players