Tag / Rusty Kuntz

by admin

By The Numbers – 47

In 1929, uniform numbers appeared on the back of baseball jerseys for the first time, thanks to the Indians and the Yankees.  By 1937, numbers finally appeared across all uniforms, both home and away, across both major leagues.  Since that time, 81 distinct numbers have been worn by members of the White Sox, while the Cubs boast 76.

Today, we continue our look at those players, picking our favorite, if not the best, player to wear each uniform number for both Chicago teams with #47.  73 players have donned #47 while playing in Chicago, 38 for the White Sox and 35 for the Cubs.

The somewhat unfortunately named Rusty Kuntz spent parts of 5 seasons with the White Sox, wearing #47 the entire time.  He was selected by the White Sox in the 11th round of the 1977 draft and made his major league debut 2 years later as a September call-up in 1979, starting in left field and going 0-3 in a 4-3 victory over the Tigers en route to 5 appearances and an anemic .091 average.  Kuntz split time between Triple A Iowa and Chicago in 1980, with slightly better results, before spending the entire strike-shortened 1981 season with the White Sox, appearing in 67 games and batting .255 in a mere 55 at bats.  Both 1982 and 1983 saw Kuntz back splitting time between Triple A and Chicago, until he was finally traded to the Twins for a minor leaguer.

Catcher Miguel Montero wore #47 during his 2 1/2 years on the North side.  He had a few highlights, including his Game One grand slam in the 2016 NLCS against the Dodgers to give the Cubs the win.  His tenure with the Cubs came to an abrupt end the following June when, after the Nationals stole 7 bases in one game to leave him at 0-31 at nabbing would-be base stealers for the season, he placed the blame on the pitching staff.  The next day, he was designated for assignment.

by admin

#102 – Juan Agosto

agosto

Name: Juan Agosto

Rank: 102

Position: P

Years With White Sox: 1981-1986

Juan Agosto signed with the White Sox organization as a free agent on January 18, 1980.  He made his major league debut the following year, giving up 3 earned runs in 5 innings of relief work in the White Sox 9-5 loss to the Mariners at Comiskey Park on September 7.  He made one other appearance before the season came to an end.

Agosto returned to Triple A for 1982, appearing in only 1 game for the big league club where he gave up 4 runs in only 2 innings of work.  The 1983 season again saw Agosto starting the year in Triple A, but he was recalled on June 2 to replace outfielder Rusty Kuntz and remained for the rest of the season.  He would appear in 39 games, picking up 7 saves and posting a 4.10 ERA as the White Sox earned their first post-season berth since 1959.  Agosto saw limited action during the ALCS, facing one Oriole batter for a perfect 1/3 of an inning pitched.

While the White Sox struggled to repeat their success of the previous season, 1984 was Agosto’s best as a member of the south siders.  In 49 appearances, he tied his career high with 7 saves, lowered his ERA to 3.09 and finished the year with a winning record.  On the negative side, he walked more batters than he struck out and gave up more hits than innings pitched.

Things rebounded for the White Sox in 1985 and Juan Agosto continued to be a useful cog in the bullpen.  He lowered his WHIP to a career low, though his ERA jumped up to 3.58.  He got off to a slow start in 1986, giving up 4 earned runs in just under 5 innings pitched.  At the end of April, Agosto was traded to the Twins, along with Kurt Walker, for pitcher Pete Filson.

Agosto’s numbers in a White Sox uniform, both for games I attended and overall, were:

Continue reading →

by admin

#177 – Rusty Kuntz

rusty

Name: Rusty Kuntz

Rank: 177

Position: OF

Years With White Sox: 1979-1983

Rusty Kuntz, possessing one of the finest names in recent baseball history, was drafted by the White Sox in the 11th round of the 1977 draft.  He made his major league debut 2 years later, as a September call-up in 1979, starting in left field and going 0-3 in a 4-3 victory over the Tigers.  He appeared in 4 other games over the course of the final month of the 1979 season, finishing up with an anemic .091 average.

Kuntz split time between Triple A Iowa and Chicago in 1980.  He had slightly better results, finishing the year with a .226 average in 36 games.  He spent the entire strike-shortened 1981 season with the White Sox, appearing in 67 games and batting .255 in 55 at bats.

1982 saw Kuntz back splitting time between Triple A and Chicago, appearing in only 21 games with the White Sox.  His batting average fell to .192.

As the White Sox raced to their first division title in 1983, Kuntz again was shuttling between the major leagues and Triple A, appearing in 28 games through June 21, when he was traded to the Twins for a minor leaguer.

Kuntz’s numbers in a White Sox uniform were:

Continue reading →