[Merkle923]

For a couple of days in 1966, Dick Rusteck was Tom Seaver before there was a Tom Seaver. Later ranked by a Met fan blog as the 12th best prospect of the Mets' pre-draft era, Rusteck was recalled from the Mets' AAA team in Jacksonville in early June, the Notre Dame product electrified Shea Stadium by four-hitting the Reds and besting Met nemesis Jim Maloney, 5-0.

Four days later the Cardinals chased him with five in the first, and he never won another big league game. Rusteck was slowed by injury and wasn't even a serious candidate to make the team in 1967. He did reappear in the 1969 training camp and went to spring training with the Twins in 1971.

There have been two widely-distributed color photos of Rusteck, one in the Fritsch One Year Winners set taken from a Topps shoot from 1966, and another in the TCMA '60s Series.