Glendon Rusch

Glendon James Rusch (/ˈrʌʃ/; born November 7, 1974) is a left-handed former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies.

Early life

Rusch played baseball at Shorecrest High School in Seattle, Washington. As a senior, he had a 0.79 earned run average and struck out 134 batters while walking 15. He committed to play college baseball for the Washington Huskies. Rusch was selected out of high school by the Kansas City Royals in the 17th round of the 1993 MLB draft and chose to sign.

Baseball career

In September of 2006, Rusch was diagnosed with a life-threatening blood clot in his lung and missed the rest of the 2006 season. On January 25, 2007, the Chicago Cubs released the left-hander. He had one year left on his contract.

On October 31, 2007, Rusch announced that he was officially a free agent and would attempt a comeback for the 2008 season. He threw a bullpen session for interested teams on November 2 and on December 14, signed a minor league contract with the San Diego Padres. On March 26, 2008, the Padres purchased his contract and added him to the major league roster. On May 15, Rusch turned down an assignment to Triple-A, and became a free agent.

On May 16, 2008, he signed a minor league contract with the Colorado Rockies. On May 31, the Rockies purchased his contract and added him to the active roster.

On January 14, 2009, Rusch signed a one-year, $750,000 minor-league deal. He made the team out of spring training. On May 15, Rusch was designated for assignment.

Coaching career

On January, 2015, Rusch was named pitching coach for the San Diego Padres Class A – Advanced team Lake Elsinore Storm, of the California League.