Rusty Tillman (1982) Former Met with Three Game Winning Runs Scored - Who Later Went from Homeless to Opening a Baseball Clinic
Kerry Jerome Tillman, known as Rusty; was born on August 29, 1960, in Jacksonville, Florida. The six-foot right hand hitting outfielder, attended Florida College & was the first player out of the school to make it to the big leagues. Tillman was drafted by the New York Mets in the tenth round of the 1979 draft.
In 1979 Rusty began playing in the Mets organization at the Northwest & New York Penn. Leagues. In 1980 he hit .316 at A Ball Lynchburg, getting to AA Jackson the following season where he hit .278.
In 1982 he reached AAA Tidewater playing for manager Jack Aker, with teammates Ron Darling, Walt Terrell, Bruce Bochy, Mike Fitzgerald, Mike Cubbage & Jose Oquendo. In 108 games with the Tides, Tillman hit .322 second on the club to veteran Gil Flores.
MLB Career: On June 6th, he got called up & made his MLB debut as a pinch hitter in a 6-3 Mets win over the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium.
MLB Career: On June 6th, he got called up & made his MLB debut as a pinch hitter in a 6-3 Mets win over the Cincinnati Reds at Riverfront Stadium.
Tillman's next three games would be exciting, as he secured a place in Mets history as he scored either the winning runs, or insurance runs in each of those games. Scoring the Game Winning Runs: On June 9th he had his first big Mets moment, when he came in as a pinch runner for Dave Kingman in the 9th inning. The Mets were down 2-1 to the Pittsburgh Pirates, when George Foster singled scoring Bob Bailor to tie the game. Tillman advanced to third base & scored the game's winning run on a Hubie Brooks Fielder's Choice off reliever Kent Tekulve.
A week later on June 18th, the Mets rallied from a 3-0 deficit against the St. Louis Cardinals. It was in the first game of a doubleheader at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The Mets, Elis Valentine singled with the bases loaded, bringing the Mets to within a run 3-2.
Two nights later, the Mets & Cards were tied 3-3 in St. Louis in the tenth inning. George Foster led off the inning with a base hit off Bruce Sutter & Tillman came in to pinch run. John Stearns followed with a triple scoring Joel Youngblood & Tillman putting New York up 5-4.
The Cards scored one off Jesse Orosco in the bottom of the inning, but Tillman's insurance run proved to be the game winner.
Tillman was sent back to AAA Tidewater, returning to the Mets in September. He would get only one hit in 12 at bats in the month, ending the season at .154 (2-13).
In 1984 he only played in 44 games & his average fell off to a poor .219.
By Spring Training 1985 Rusty was traded to the San Diego Padres for Rick Lancellotti, who would never play as a Met at the big-league level.
Steroid Drama: It was during that season that Tillman claims he smuggled steroids in from Mexico for teammate Jose Canseco. He said he took charter flights back to the U.S & got away with it, because no one was checking a big-league ball players bag back then. When supplies ran low, he would have a friend meet him at the border & he would bring the steroids back to the clubhouse for Canseco & other players.
In 1988, he moved across the Bay with the Giants. He appeared in four games collecting just one hit, which was a HR off the Reds Tim Birtsas.
The next year, he finished his playing career in the minors. Years later, Tillman claimed that he may have been blackballed due to his steroid running.
Retirement & Hardships: Tillman had a rough life after baseball. He used steroids, abused drugs & made some other bad choices leading him to go broke. By the mid- 2000's Rusty found himself homeless. He was living in a tent in the woods in the Jacksonville Florida area.
According to a 2008 article in the Florida Union Times, he was selling his blood plasma to buy his only cell phone minutes, Copenhagen snuff & Sonic banana smoothies.
In his tent he had a television which he ran on a car battery & rode a bicycle that a pastor in a recreation center had given him.
In his tent he had a television which he ran on a car battery & rode a bicycle that a pastor in a recreation center had given him.
Tillman had a daughter with his ex-girlfriend & was allowed to see her only to tuck her in at night. After that he went back to his tent in the woods.
Tillman has since turned his life around, with a steady job & a roof over his head.
Rusty Tillman's Batting & Fielding Academy: Rusty now runs his own baseball training for kids in the Orlando Florida area.