Rusty Meacham

Russell Loren Meacham

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 175 lb.
• School Indian River Community College
• High School Martin County High School
• Debut June 29, 1991
• Final Game June 20, 2001
• Born January 27, 1968 in Stuart, FL USA

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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 International League with the Toledo Mud Hens where he went 9-7 with a 3.09 ERA, Rusty made his first appearance 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 by the Kansas City Royals 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 a la Randy Johnson style.

He got off to a simply amazing start for the Royals that year. On April 17th, 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 9th, stretching 27 scoreless innings. On June 8th, 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 2/3 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 2/3 innings and on June 21, 1996, the Royals traded him to the bullpen-starved Seattle Mariners for class A infielder Jose Amado.

On March 28, 1997 Rusty was released by the Mariners and he bounced around the minors with several different teams until signing with the Houston Astros for the 2000 season when 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 8th.

Rusty was one of the favorite Royals] in the early 1990s. 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 him as he bounced around the minors.

Rusty finally hung up his cleats in 2006, after pitching two seasons for the Yuma Scorpions in the Golden Baseball League. He then retired and became their first base coach for one year, then he left Yuma and was the pitching coach for the Washington Nationals Class A affiliate, the Vermont Lake Monsters, for two years.

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."

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Library.com
SABR MILB Database:page

Related Sites

• BR Minors page