Rudy Minarcin

Rudolph Anthony Minarcin
(Buster)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 195 lb.
• High School Vandergrift High School
• Debut April 11, 1955
• Final Game September 27, 1957
• Born March 25, 1930 in North Vandergrift, PA USA
• Died October 15, 2013 in Cabot, PA USA

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Biographical Information

Eighteen-year-old Rudy Minarcin turned down numerous college football scholarships and signed as an amateur free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies before the 1948 season. The young righthander was assigned to the hometown Vandergrift Pioneers of the Middle Atlantic League and went 7-7 with a 3.44 ERA during his first year in pro baseball. The Phillies assigned him to the Utica Blue Sox of the Eastern League in 1949, where he found it a bit tougher. His record that year was 6-11, pitching to a 4.81 ERA. On November 17th that year, the Cincinnati Reds selected him in the 1949 Rule V Draft.

Cincinnati sent Rudy to play for the Tulsa Oilers of the Texas League in 1950, where he won 13 and lost 7 with a 2.86 ERA. Minarcin pitched for the Buffalo Bisons of the International League in 1951, going 16-12 with a 3.20 ERA and was picked as a member of the league All-Star team. Minarcin spent the next two seasons (1952 and 1953) with the United States Army during the Korean War. Rudy came back ready to play in 1954 and won 11 while losing 2 with a 3.46 ERA for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League.

Minarcin join the big league Cincinnati Redlegs in 1955 and was used in both starting and relief roles. He had a 5-9 record, including one shutout in 41 appearances. Rudy returned to the International League in 1956 and won 15 games for the Havana Sugar Kings before being acquired by the Boston Red Sox in 1956. He made four appearances with the Sox that year, then worked exclusively out of the bullpen in 1957 and wound up with no decisions in 26 appearances. This was the last year in the "Show" for the 27-year-old. He finished out with a 6-9 record with a 4.66 ERA in 70 big league games overall.

Minarcin spent two more years (1958 and 1959) with the Toronto Maple Leafs, going 9-10 with a 4.66 ERA and then decided to call it a career. Rudy's eight-year minor league totals showed 77 wins and 61 losses with a 3.56 ERA. He returned to his native Pennsylvania where he owned a butcher shop, Martin's Market, in his hometown of North Vandergrift, PA from 1959 to 1995. He died on October 15, 2013 at the age of 83 at Good Samaritan Hospice.

See also: Baseball Players of the 1950s

Related Sites

• Rudy Minarcin at the SABR Bio Project