Richard Frank Rusteck (born July 12, 1941) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets during the season. He is most widely known as one of the few pitchers to deliver a shutout in his first major league game, which was in a match against the

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on June 10, 1966.

Playing career

Early years

Rusteck was born in Chicago, Illinois. The 1963 Notre Dame graduate made three stops in 1965 en route to the New York Mets. All three contained a large measure of success. He began the year at Greenville, SC with a 2.14 earned run average in 21 innings. Moving on to Auburn, NY, he fashioned a 3-0 record in 44 innings and a 1.64 earned run average. His last stop was Williamsport (Eastern League) where he completed the year throwing 50 innings with a 1.98 earned run average although he won only one of six decisions. He was 6-4 at Jacksonville in 1966.

New York Mets

Rusteck was 24 years old when he broke into the big leagues on June 10, 1966, with the New York Mets. After his impressive debut, he gave up five runs in one inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in his second game for his first major league loss. He pitched in six more games without a victory before returning to the minor leagues.

Back to the minors

Rusteck spent another eleven years in the minor leagues hoping to regain his initial success. His best season statistically was , when he went 17-8 with a 2.40 earned run average for the

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, the Double-A affiliate of the

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. While it earned him a shot at Triple-A in the

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organization the following year, his ballooned to 5.16. After sitting out the season, he played for four seasons in the independent Northwest League with the

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and Salem Senators before retiring.

References

External links

Entry at UltimateMets.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rusteck, Dick 1941 births Living people Major League Baseball pitchers New York Mets players Portland Mavericks players Baseball players from Chicago Notre Dame Fighting Irish baseball players Salem Senators players Florida Instructional League Mets players Auburn Mets players Cafeteros de Córdoba players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Charlotte Hornets (baseball) players Dorados de Chihuahua players Eugene Emeralds players Evansville Triplets players Greenville Mets players Jacksonville Suns players Memphis Blues players Rochester Red Wings players Salinas Mets players Williamsport Mets players Winter Haven Mets players