Craig Kusick
First Baseman · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1973-1979)
Craig Kusick was a first baseman who played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1979 for the Minnesota Twins and the Toronto Blue Jays, a span of 7 seasons. In 497 career games, he hit .235 with 291 hits, 46 home runs, and 171 RBI. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 1,446.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- First Baseman
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 6'3" / 210 lb
- Died
- 9/27/2006 in St. Paul, MN, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1973-09-08
- Last Game
- 1979-09-30
Full name: Craig Robert Kusick
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 497 | 1,238 | 155 | 291 | 50 | 3 | 46 | 171 | 11 | 194 | 228 | .235 | .342 | .392 | .733 | 1,446 |
Career AVG .235 vs. league average .259 across their career seasons — 9.4% below league average.
Career OBP .342 vs. league average .326 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career SLG .392 vs. league average .380 across their career seasons — near league average.
Career OPS .733 vs. league average .706 across their career seasons — near league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | MIN | AL | 15 | 48 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 9 | .250 | — | — | — | — | -26.7 |
| 1974 | MIN | AL | 76 | 201 | 36 | 48 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 26 | 0 | 35 | 36 | .239 | .256 (-7%) | .324 (+9%) | .369 (+9%) | .693 (+9%) | 402.9 |
| 1975 | MIN | AL | 57 | 156 | 14 | 37 | 8 | 0 | 6 | 27 | 0 | 21 | 23 | .237 | .257 (-8%) | .327 (+6%) | .374 (+8%) | .701 (+7%) | 244.4 |
| 1976 | MIN | AL | 109 | 266 | 33 | 69 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 36 | 5 | 35 | 44 | .259 | .255 (+2%) | .320 (+8%) | .360 (+20%) | .681 (+14%) | 706.9 |
| 1977 | MIN | AL | 115 | 268 | 34 | 68 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 45 | 3 | 49 | 60 | .254 | .264 (-4%) | .329 (+13%) | .401 (+8%) | .730 (+10%) | 670.3 |
| 1978 | MIN | AL | 77 | 191 | 23 | 33 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 3 | 37 | 38 | .173 | .257 (-33%) | .323 (-6%) | .378 (-28%) | .702 (-18%) | -469.1 |
| 1979 | MIN | AL | 24 | 54 | 8 | 13 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 11 | .241 | .265 (-9%) | .329 (-15%) | .397 (+21%) | .727 (+5%) | 21.2 |
| 1979 | TOR | AL | 24 | 54 | 3 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 7 | .204 | .265 (-23%) | .329 (-9%) | .397 (-16%) | .727 (-13%) | 21.2 |
| Career · 8 seasons | 497 | 1,238 | 155 | 291 | 50 | 3 | 46 | 171 | 11 | 194 | 228 | .235 | — | — | — | — | 1,571 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Season-by-Season Pitching
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | W | L | G | GS | CG | SHO | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA | Lg ERA | Pitcher PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979 | TOR | AL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.91 | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 1 season | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.91 | — | 0 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (498 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 241 | 594 | 74 | 148 | 20 | 77 | .249 |
| Away | 256 | 644 | 81 | 143 | 26 | 94 | .222 |
Pitching — Home / Away
| Split | G | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 1 | 3.2 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 4.91 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979-09-30 | TOR | NYY | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979-09-29 | TOR | NYY | L | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1979-09-22 | TOR | NYY | L | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979-09-21 | TOR | NYY | W | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| 1979-09-13 | TOR | BAL | L | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979-09-11 | TOR | BAL | W | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979-09-07 | TOR | CLE | L | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979-09-03 | TOR | BAL | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 1979-09-03 | TOR | BAL | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1979-09-01 | TOR | SEA | L | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
Last 1 Games — Pitching
| Date | Tm | Opp | Dec | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1979-08-25 | TOR | LAA | — | 3.2 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 238 | 176 | 1601 | 142 | 21 | 156 |
| OF | 11 | 9 | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | MIN | 1B | 11 | 10 | 86 | 5 | 1 | 7 |
| 1973 | MIN | OF | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1974 | MIN | 1B | 75 | 57 | 479 | 42 | 2 | 45 |
| 1975 | MIN | 1B | 51 | 40 | 372 | 31 | 4 | 45 |
| 1976 | MIN | 1B | 23 | 11 | 109 | 17 | 3 | 16 |
| 1977 | MIN | 1B | 23 | 13 | 133 | 7 | 4 | 9 |
| 1978 | MIN | 1B | 27 | 24 | 213 | 22 | 3 | 14 |
| 1978 | MIN | OF | 9 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1979 | MIN | 1B | 8 | 3 | 46 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| 1979 | TOR | 1B | 20 | 18 | 163 | 15 | 4 | 14 |
| 1979 | TOR | P | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Pitcher | 1 |
| First Base | 239 |
| Left Field | 11 |
| Designated Hitter | 216 |
College History
| School Name | City | State | Years Attended |
|---|---|---|---|
| University of Wisconsin at La Crosse | La Crosse | WI | 1969, 1970 |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Craig Kusick (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Craig Kusick: the record in brief
The profile opens with Craig Kusick's first major league game on September 8, 1973; the last one listed came on September 30, 1979. Club by club, the record runs the Minnesota Twins (1973 to 1979) and the Toronto Blue Jays (1979). Listed as a first baseman, Kusick batted and threw right-handed. Kusick is listed at 210 pounds on a 6-foot-3 frame. Kusick was born on September 30, 1948, in Milwaukee, WI, USA. The bio records the death on September 27, 2006, in St. Paul, MN, USA. Craig Kusick was the playing name; the full given name is Craig Robert.
Kusick collected 291 hits in 1,238 at bats across 497 games, good for a .235 batting average, plus 46 home runs and 171 RBI. Kusick's career OPS of .733 combines a .342 on-base mark with .392 slugging. Over the seasons Kusick played, league hitters batted .259; the .235 career figure is 9.4% below that. The home run peak was 12 in 1977 with the Minnesota Twins.
Frequently Asked Questions about Craig Kusick
- What years did Craig Kusick play?
- Craig Kusick played in Major League Baseball from 1973 to 1979.
- Was Craig Kusick a pitcher?
- No. Craig Kusick was a position player (First Baseman), though he did pitch in 1 career game.
- How many home runs did Craig Kusick hit?
- Craig Kusick hit 46 career home runs with 291 hits.
- What teams did Craig Kusick play for?
- Craig Kusick played for 2 teams: the Minnesota Twins (1973–1979) and the Toronto Blue Jays (1979).
- What were Craig Kusick's career stats?
- In 497 games, Craig Kusick had 291 hits, 46 home runs, 171 RBI, 155 runs, and 11 stolen bases, with a .235 batting average.
- What position did Craig Kusick play?
- Craig Kusick played primarily as a first baseman, the position where he appeared in the most games.
- How tall was Craig Kusick and how much did he weigh?
- Craig Kusick was listed at 6 feet 3 inches and 210 pounds.
- How many home runs did Craig Kusick hit each season?
- Craig Kusick's home runs by season: 0 in 1973, 8 in 1974, 6 in 1975, 11 in 1976, 12 in 1977, 4 in 1978, and 5 in 1979. His most in one season was 12, in 1977.
- What was Craig Kusick's career batting average?
- Craig Kusick batted .235 over his career, with 291 hits in 1,238 at bats.
- How many RBI did Craig Kusick have?
- Craig Kusick drove in 171 runs in his career.
- What was Craig Kusick's career ERA?
- Craig Kusick finished with a 4.91 career ERA, going 0-0 with 0 strikeouts.
- Is Craig Kusick in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Craig Kusick has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.