Rusty Meacham
From BR Bullpen
Russell Loren Meacham
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 2", Weight 175 lb.
- School Indian River Community College
- Debut June 29, 1991
- Final Game June 20, 2001
- Born January 27, 1968 in Stuart, FL USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Rusty Meacham was drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 33rd round of the 1987 amateur draft. He signed on May 11, 1988. He spent the 1988 season with the Bristol Tigers where he won 9 and lost 1 with a 1.41 ERA, and the Fayetteville Generals where he went 0-3 with a 6.20 ERA. In 1989 he was with the Fayetteville squad again and went 10-3 with a 2.29 ERA. Then with the Lakeland Tigers he went 5-4 with a 1.95 ERA. In 1990 he was 15-9 and a 3.13 ERA with the London Tigers.
1991 was to be his year for a shot at the big guys and after a warm-up in the IL with the Toledo Mud Hens where he went 9-7 with a 3.09 Rusty made his first appearence in the majors. He went 2-1 appearing in 10 games and pitching 28 innings with a 5.20 ERA.
Rusty was claimed off waivers from the Detroit Tigers in 1992 and posted a 2.73 ERA in 101 innings of relief, good for a 1.48 ERA. He showed very good control and throwing sidearm ala Randy Johnson style.
He got off to a simply amazing start in 1992 for the Royals. On April 17, in his second appearance for his team, the California Angels touched him up for a run in three innings. He wouldn't give up another earned run until June 9, stretching 27 scoreless innings. On June 8, his ERA stood at a microscopic 0.28. As late as September, his ERA was 1.98.
In 1993 Rusty had elbow problems much of the year, and threw just 21 innings with an awful 5.57 ERA. He was streaky again in 1994, throwing 22.2 scoreless innings in a row during the summer. But he finished off terribly with a 7.04 ERA after the All-Star break and ended with an ERA of 3.73. In 1995 he was very hittable and posted a 4.98 ERA in 59.2 innings and on June 21, of 1996, the Royals traded him to the bullpen starved Seattle Mariners for Jose Amado, a minor leaguer.
On March 28, 1997 Rusty was released by the Seattle Mariners and he bounced around the minors with several different teams until signing with the Houston Astros for the 2000 season where he got into only five games before being granted free agency. In 2001 he turned up with the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, appearing in 24 games, winning 1 and losing 3 with a 5.60 ERA and was granted free agency on October 8, 2001.
Rusty was one of the favorite Royals in the early 90's. He was tall and gangly, quirky on the mound, and quirky in interviews. His fans almost always sat in the right field general admission seats, right next to the Royals bullpen. On sweltering August days, Rusty would continue the tradition carried by Dan Quisenberry and spray the right field fans with the bullpen hose. Every time he was approached by fans, he'd be more than happy to sign a baseball. He seemed like a guy that was just thrilled to be in the big leagues. After they traded him in 1996, the fans still cheered for the guy as he bounced around the minors.
Rusty finally hung em up in 2006, after pitching two seasons for the Yuma Scorpions in the Golden Baseball League. He then retired and became their 1st base coach for 1 year, then he left Yuma and is now the pitching coach for the Washington Nationals Class A affiliate the Vermont Lake Monsters.
Rusty Meacham played professional league baseball for 18 seasons, 1988 through 2006.
In Rusty's words....I wouldn't change anything about my career....It's been one heck of a ride. But baseball owes me nothing, and I'm just trying to give something back.
Career Pitching Statistics
| League | W | L | GP | IP | H | ER | BB | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minors | 85 | 66 | 406 | 1,174 | 1,196 | 467 | 284 | 3.88 |
| Majors | 23 | 17 | 218 | 343 | 381 | 169 | 93 | 4.43 |
| Total | 108 | 83 | 624 | 1,517 | 1,577 | 560 | 377 | 4.15 |
[edit] Sources
Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Library.com
SABR MILB Database:page
