Today's "missing" Topps card from the 1970's features a player who
did appear on a multi-player rookie card in 1972, but was left out of
the 1973 set even after some decent playing time the year before: Angels
catcher Art Kusnyer.
Kusnyer was yet another of those players I read about in a SABR
article that spoke of guys who posted the most career at-bats or innings
pitched who were not represented on a Topps card (in this case, a card
of their own).
Take a look at my 1973 card design first:
Kusnyer came up for a cup-of-cofee in 1970 with the White Sox after getting picked in the 37th round of the 1966 amateur draft.
After four games and ten at-bats with Chicago in 1970, he was
traded to California in March of 1971 for a couple of minor players,
appearing in only six games for the season.
However 1972 would fare much better for the young catcher, as he
would go on to play in a career high 64 games, good for 198 plate
appearances.
For the year he batted .207, getting 37 hits in 179 at-bats with two doubles, a triple and two homers.
However this wasn't enough to get him more playing time the
following season, as the Angels already had Jeff Torborg and John
Stephenson ahead of him in the depth chart for the position, so
all Kusnyer would see as far as playing time in 1973 would be
41 games, good for 67 plate appearances and an anemic .125 batting
average.
However, not all was a lost-cause for the youngster, as on July 15th
of that year Kusnyer would have perhaps the biggest thrill of his Big
League career, catching Nolan Ryan's second career no-hitter against the
Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium.
But when 1974 rolled around, Kusnyer found himself struggling to
find a spot for himself in the Milwaukee Brewers organization after
being traded by California in October of 1973 in a nine-player swap
between the two clubs.
He'd end up toiling in the Minors for the next two seasons before
finding his way back into a Major League game in 1976, getting into 15
games for the Brewers, hitting .118 on four hits in 34 at-bats.
His last hurrah on the Major League level would be in 1978 with the
Kansas City Royals, playing in nine games and getting three hits in 13
at-bats, good for a .231 average.
He'd scratch out another season of Minor League ball for the White
Sox in 1979 before calling it a career and eventually moving into
coaching work for the Sox and the Oakland A's over the next 28 years.
Nevertheless, here's yet another "missing" piece to total
representation for those of us that want players who saw enough playing
time in a season to get a card along the way.