Dick Rusteck
From BR Bullpen
Richard Frank Rusteck
- Bats Right, Throws Left
- Height 6' 1", Weight 175 lb.
- School University of Notre Dame
- Debut June 10, 1966
- Final Game October 2, 1966
- Born July 12, 1941 in Chicago, IL USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Dick Rusteck pitched eight games in the major leagues for the 1966 New York Mets. He also pitched 14 years in the minors.
Rusteck went to the University of Notre Dame, at the same time as Ron Reed. Signed as a free agent in 1963, Dick spent most of three years in the minors primarily as a reliever before becoming a starter for part of 1965 and in 1966 in the minors. He had a 2.30 ERA for Jacksonville in 12 starts in 1966.
He came up to the Mets in June 1966. He was three years older than teammate Tug McGraw, who was primarily a starter that year, and he was five years older than rookie Nolan Ryan, who made his major league debut in September that year.
Rusteck spent many years in the minors after 1966. A notable year was 1971, when he went 17-8 for Charlotte, a team which also featured the young Rick Dempsey.
The book Notre Dame Baseball Greats has a page on Dick Rusteck, along with a photo. The book mentions that on October 2, 1966, former Notre Dame player Ron Reed won his first major league game (for Atlanta) and Shaun Fitzmaurice, another Notre Dame alumnus, played that day for the Mets. Rusteck on that day pitched three scoreless innings.
