Rusty Kuntz

Russell Jay Kuntz (/ˈkuːnts/ KOONTS; born February 4, 1955) is an American baseball coach and former Major League Baseball (MLB) outfielder. He played for the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers between 1979 and 1985. He never appeared in more than 84 games in any season during his playing career. In the final game of the 1984 World Series, Kuntz hit a pop fly to the second baseman that became the deciding run batted in (RBI).

Kuntz grew up in Kansas and California, playing three sports in high school and community college. He went to the Division III World Series twice with California State University, Stanislaus before being selected by the White Sox in the 11th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball draft.

After the 1984 season, Kuntz was unable to return to form the next year. He was demoted to the minor leagues early in the 1985 season and was out of professional baseball as a player shortly thereafter.

Since his playing career ended, Kuntz has worked with several MLB organizations, including the Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners, Florida Marlins, Kansas City Royals, Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates. He has worked as an assistant to the general manager, minor league coach, roving instructor and major league base coach. From 2012 to 2017, he served as the first base coach for the Kansas City Royals, and has received substantial praise for his contributions to the team's success during that period. "Rusty Kuntz," Royals manager Ned Yost has said, "is the best first base coach in baseball."

He elected not to coach in the 2020 season, but he returned to the Royals as their first base coach for 2021.

Kuntz was born on February 4, 1955, in Orange, California. He was born to Chet and Willie Kuntz. His father was a bricklayer who later became an auto mechanic. The family moved from Orange to Wichita, Kansas when Rusty was young, then moved to Paso Robles, California a few years later.

He attended Paso Robles High School in California, where he played baseball, basketball, and football. He said that baseball was his least favorite of the three sports at the time and that he was drawn to basketball because of the game's pace. Nonetheless, following his senior year as an outfielder for the Bearcats, he was selected for All-CIF Second Team honors in 1973.

Continuing his education, Kuntz attended Cuesta College and California State University, Stanislaus. At Cuesta College, Kuntz played center field on the baseball team, quarterbacked the football team and was the center on the basketball team. His six triples during the 1975 CCCAA season remain tied for an all-time single-season Cougars program record.