Kerry Jerome "Rusty" Tillman (born August 29, 1960) is a former right-handed professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player. He played in 1982 for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

, in 1986 for the Oakland Athletics and in 1988 for the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

Career

Tillman was drafted by the Mets in the 10th round of the 1979 amateur draft out of

Florida Community College at Jacksonville Florida State College at Jacksonville (FSCJ) is a public college in Jacksonville, Florida. It is part of the Florida College System and one of several institutions in that system designated a "state college" as it offers a greater number of four- ...

, and he began his professional career that year. He played for the Grays Harbor Loggers and

Little Falls Mets The Little Falls Mets were a minor league baseball team located in Little Falls, New York. The team played in the New York–Penn League, and were affiliated with the New York Mets. Their home stadium was Little Falls Veterans Memorial Park. ...

, hitting a combined .297 with 23 stolen bases in 66 games. In 1980, he played for the

Lynchburg Mets Lynchburg is a toponym that may refer to: *Lynchburg, California *Lynchburg, Mississippi *Lynchburg, Missouri *Lynchburg, North Dakota *Lynchburg, Ohio (in Clinton and Highland counties) *Lynchburg, Columbiana County, Ohio *Lynchburg, South Carolina ...

, hitting .316 with 11 triples and 43 stolen bases. With the

Jackson Mets The Jackson Mets were a professional baseball team based in Jackson, Mississippi, from 1975 through 1990. As of 2010, they were the longest-tenured club to be based in the Jackson metropolitan area. For their entire sixteen seasons of existence, t ...

in 1981, he hit .278 with 29 stolen bases. He began the 1982 season with the

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesap ...

, hitting .322 with 26 stolen bases in 108 games. On June 6, he made his big league debut, appearing as a pinch-hitter for pitcher Craig Swan. He singled in his first big league at-bat. In 13 at-bats in 1982, he hit .154 with a double and a stolen base. Back in the minors in 1983, Tillman played for the Tides, hitting .255 with 23 stolen bases in 126 games. He began the 1984 season with the Tides, hitting only .219 in 44 games with them. He ended up in 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) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

organization, and with the

Denver Zephyrs The Denver Zephyrs (formerly the Denver Bears) were a Minor League Baseball team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They were a Triple-A team that played in the American Association from 1955 to 1962, the Pacific Coast League from 1963 ...

he hit .306. Overall, Tillman hit .273 with 12 home runs in 119 games in 1984. He ended up back in the Mets organization following the 1984 season, and on March 31, 1985, he was traded to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penn ...

for

Rick Lancellotti Richard Anthony Lancellotti (born July 5, 1956) is a former first baseman- outfielder in Major League Baseball who played for the San Diego Padres (), San Francisco Giants () and Boston Red Sox (). He batted and threw left-handed. Lancellotti ...

. He played for the Las Vegas Stars in 1985, hitting .337 with 12 home runs and 18 stolen bases in 115 games. Tillman started 1986 in the Padres organization, playing for the Stars, but on April 18, 1986, he was traded to the Athletics for

Bob Stoddard Robert Lyle Stoddard (born March 8, 1957) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the Seattle Mariners, Detroit Tigers, San Diego Padres and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). Stoddard attended Fresno Sta ...

and minor leaguer Kevin Russ. He played for the Tacoma Tigers in the A's organization after being traded. He also played 22 games in the big leagues, hitting .256 in 39 at-bats. On September 23, he hit the first home run of his career – off of Hall of Fame pitcher Steve Carlton. In the minors that year, he hit .314 in 74 games. On March 20, 1987, the Athletics released Tillman, and on April 26 the

signed him. He played for the

Phoenix Firebirds The Phoenix Firebirds were a Minor League Baseball team that played in Phoenix, Arizona, from 1958 to 1959, and from 1966 to 1997. Before 1986, the team was known as the Phoenix Giants. The franchise was a member of the Triple-A Pacific Coast Le ...

that year, hitting .316 with 10 home runs in 94 games. In 1988, he played for the Firebirds again, hitting .295 with 12 home runs. With the Giants in 1988, he appeared in four games, collecting one hit in four at-bats. His lone hit of 1988 – and the final hit of his career – was a home run, a three-run shot off of Cincinnati Reds pitcher

Tim Birtsas Timothy Dean Birtsas (born September 5, 1960) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. Though history remembers the "Nasty Boys" as a trio, according to Rob Dibble, Birtsas' name should be included when talking about the famed World Series wi ...

. On June 18, he played in his final big league game, and on October 15, he was granted free-agency by the Giants. He stuck around in the minors until 1989. That year, he played in the Giants, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers farm systems, hitting a combined .279 with six home runs for the Firebirds,

Tucson Toros The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona, in the United States. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, where they won the PCL Championship in ...

and Tulsa Drillers. Overall, he hit .232 with two home runs and three stolen bases in 38 big league games. In the minors, he hit .297 with 82 home runs and 209 stolen bases in 1,146 games.Baseball Reference Minors
/ref>

References

External links

Pura Pelota
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tillman, Rusty 1960 births Living people Acereros de Monclova players African-American baseball managers African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Baseball players from Jacksonville, Florida Charros de Jalisco players Denver Zephyrs players FSC Jacksonville Blue Wave baseball players Grays Harbor Loggers players Jackson Mets players Las Vegas Stars (baseball) players Little Falls Mets players Lynchburg Mets players Major League Baseball first basemen Major League Baseball outfielders Mexican League baseball managers New York Mets players Oakland Athletics players Olmecas de Tabasco players Phoenix Firebirds players Rojos del Águila de Veracruz players San Francisco Giants players Sultanes de Monterrey players Tacoma Tigers players Tidewater Tides players Tigres de Aragua players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Tucson Toros players Tulsa Drillers players 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople