John Joseph Cust III...resides in New Hope, PA with wife (Jennifer) and daughter (Ava)...1997 graduate of Somerville (NJ) Immaculata High School...his father, Jack Jr., was an outfielder at Seton Hall...the Cust family (father, brothers) spend the offseason operating a baseball school for Little League players through the top levels of youth baseball in Flemington, NJ (Jack Cust Baseball Academy).
2011
Designated for assignment by Seattle on July 2...released Aug. 4 and became a free agent...signed by Philadelphia as a minor league free agent on Aug. 12...tied the Mariners club record (John Olerud) with six bases loaded walks (4/1 at OAK; 4/11 vs. TOR; 4/19 vs. DET; 4/22 vs. OAK; 5/1 at BOS; 7/1 vs. SD)...led the club with 12 multi-walk games, despite playing in final game July
27...did not hit a home run in his first 39 games of the season...hit first homer May 23 at MIN...appeared in six games for Lehigh
Valley (AAA PHI), batting .250 (5x20) with 1 HR...released from minor league contract on Aug. 20.
2010
Began the season at Sacramento (AAA) after being
designated for assignment on the final day of spring training...selected to Oakland on May 15...Hit career-high .272 (95x349) in 112 games with the A's...tied career-high with 19 doubles and slugged 13 HR...Had 36-game stretch June
3-July 24 where he combined
to bat .339 (37x109) with 9 doubles, 8 home runs, 23 walks and 26 RBI.
...Recorded 7th career multi-homer game July 24 at Chicago (AL)...reached base safely in
all 5 plate appearances going 2-for-2 with 3 walks.
...Hit his 100th career home run Sept. 13 at Kansas City.
...Hit .285 (80x281) with 12 of 13 home runs and 47 of 52 RBI against RHP...compared to
.221 (15x68) against left-handers.
...Batted .273 (30x110) with 6 doubles, 4 home runs and 19 RBI in 33 games with
Sacramento...hit all 4 of his homers in consecutive games April 25-29...was leading the
Pacific Coast League in walks (33) and ranked 3rd in OBP (.444) at time of promotion.
2009
Led the A's in home runs (25), walks (93) and strikeouts (185) for the third consecutive season and also topped the club in games (149), runs (88), on-base percentage (.356) and intentional walks (5)...his home runs were the fewest by an A's team leader in a non-strike season since Ruben Sierra had 22 in 1993...led the American
League in strikeouts for the third consecutive season and
is the first player to lead the AL in strikeouts in three
straight seasons since Minnesota's Bobby Darwin did it
from 1972-74...it was the second highest single season
total in Athletics history behind the record of 197 that he set last year...it tied for the third highest
strikeout total in AL history and it ranked third in the majors in 2009...is the first player to lead the A's
in strikeouts in three consecutive seasons since Jose Canseco (1986-88)...also ranked fifth in the AL
in walks but hit .240, which was fourth lowest...led the AL in lowest percentage of pitches put in play
(12.8%) and ranked third in pitches per plate appearance (4.24)...batted .577 (30 for 52) with seven
home runs and 13 RBI when putting the first pitch in play...the batting average was second best by
any Major Leaguer (min. 50 PA) since pitch count data was first available in 1988 (Jim Edmonds, STL
.603 in 2004)...walked or struck out in 278 of his 612 plate appearances (45.4%), which was the lowest
percentage in his three seasons with the A's...has 309 walks and 546 strikeouts in three seasons with the
A's, and has walked or struck out in 49.8% of his 1717 plate appearances in an Oakland uniform...had
career-highs in games, at bats (513), runs and hits (123), and also stole the first four bases of his career...
his on-base percentage and slugging percentage (.417) were the lowest of his three full seasons...hit 22
of his 25 home runs against right-handed pitchers and 71 of his 89 career home runs have come off righthanders...
had just five extra base hits off left-handed pitching for a .300 slugging percentage, compared
to .461 off righties...his career slugging splits are .382 against lefties and .483 against righties...nine
of his home runs gave the A's the lead and another two tied the game...batted .291 with a .397 on-base
percentage over his first 31 games through May 13, .172 with a .241 on-base percentage over his next
40 games from May 14 to June 29 and .258 with a .400 on-base percentage over his final 78 games...
hit .215 on the road and .216 during the day...started a team leading 95 games at designated hitter and batted .237 with 18 home runs and 52 RBI...also stole three bases as the DH, which tied for third among
AL designated hitters...his .237 average was the lowest by an A's DH since 1992 when Harold Baines
also hit .237...is a .231 (172 for 746) hitter with 47 home runs and 127 RBI in 213 games at DH as
an Athletic, with his games played seventh most in Oakland history...also made 50 starts in right field
and was 1 for 3 with a RBI as a pinch hitter...hit .270 in a team-leading 49 starts in the five spot in the
order...also made a team-leading 33 starts batting third but hit just .156.
2008
Led the A's in home runs (33), RBI (77), walks (111), strikeouts (197), on-base percentage (.375) and slugging percentage (.476) for the second consecutive season...also topped the club in runs (77) and total bases (229) and tied for the team lead in games played (148)...his 77 RBI were the fewest by an A's team leader since Dwayne Murphy
led the club with 75 in 1983 and his .476 slugging percentage was the lowest since Jose Canseco led the 1986
club (.457)...his games played and runs scored were the fewest by an A's team leader since 1997...led the American
League in both walks and strikeouts and tied for sixth in home runs...set an AL record with his 197 strikeouts, topping
the previous mark of 186 set by Milwaukee's Rob Deer in 1987...broke the previous Athletics record of 175
set by Jose Canseco in 1986...it was the fourth highest single season total in ML history...his 111 walks tied for
the ninth highest single season total in Oakland history and he became the fifth player in Oakland history with backto-
back 100 walk seasons...became the ninth player (12th time) in major league history to lead his league in both
walks and strikeouts...walked or struck out in 308 of his 598 plate appearances (51.5%), the second time in Major
League history a player has walked or struck out in at least half of his plate appearances (min. 502 PA)...he was
the first to do it last year (53.1%)...also ranked second in the AL in pitches per plate appearance (4.37) but his .231
batting average was fourth lowest...did not swing at 62.1% of his pitches, which was fourth highest in the AL...had
2007
Began the season at Triple-A Portland in the San Diego organization but finished it as the A's team leader in home runs (26), RBI (82), walks (105), strikeouts (164), on-base percentage (.408) and slugging percentage (.504)...was acquired from the Padres organization for a player to be named later or cash in a minor league trade on May 3 and was selected by Oakland
on May 4...appeared in 124 games with the A's and batted .256...despite
spending the first month of the season in the minors, he led the American
League in strikeouts, ranked second in walks, seventh in on-base percentage
and tied for 11th in home runs...become the first Oakland player to
lead the AL in strikeouts since Tony Armas in 1981...his 164 strikeouts
were third most in Athletics franchise history and the most since Jose
Canseco set the record with 175 in 1986...his strikeout total was the highest in Major League history by a player with 125 games played or fewer
and his average of 3.09 plate appearances per strikeout was sixth lowest in
ML history...averaged 4.83 plate appearances per walk, which was the
best mark by an AL hitter since Mark McGwire had a mark of 4.72 in
1996...walked or struck out in 269 of his 507 plate appearances (53.1%)
to become the first player in ML history (min. 502 PA) to either walk or
strikeout in at least half of his plate appearances...his 26 home runs were
the fewest by an A's team leader in a non-strike season since Ruben Sierra
hit 22 in 1993...his 82 RBI marked just the second time since 1984 that the
A's team leader finished with fewer than 88 RBI (McGwire and Giambi,
81 in 1997)...hit 15 of his 26 home runs with runners on base (one grand
slam, five three-run, nine two-run), which tied for fifth most in the AL...11
came with two strikes, which also tied for fifth in the AL, and nine put the
A's ahead.
Ranked first in the AL in lowest percent of pitches put in play
(10.6%), second in pitches per plate appearance (4.40) and fourth in percent
of pitches taken (64.1%)...the percent of pitches put in play were the
lowest by a Major Leaguer since 1988 and the pitches per plate appearance
were second best by an Athletic over that span (Henderson, 4.60 in
1994)...had a roller coaster season with his batting average as he hit .222
in May, .329 in June, .213 in July, .314 in August and .193 in September...hit
.273 against right-handed pitchers and .218 against lefties...batted .294 in
Oakland and .219 on the road...hit .347 in 16 interleague games compared
to .243 against AL teams...had two home runs in 39 games against AL
West teams and 24 home runs in 85 games against everyone else...made
56 starts at designated hitter, 46 in right field and 12 in left field...also
went 1 for 6 (.167) with three walks and two strikeouts as a pinch
hitter...started games at every spot in the order from third through eighth,
including 50 starts hitting cleanup and 31 starts batting third...batted .283
with eight home runs and 20 RBI in 32 games total in the three spot...was
tied for the Pacific Coast League lead and tied for fifth in all of minor
league baseball with eight home runs when he was traded to the A's on
May 3...his first week as an Athletic was one of the most memorable in
Oakland history...made his A's debut on May 6 at Tampa Bay and homered
to become the 15th player in Oakland history to homer in his first game as
an Athletic...then had his first career two-homer game on May 10 at Kansas
City...that began a streak of four consecutive games with a home run
and he had five home runs and 12 RBI total over that span...capped the
streak with his first career walk-off home run on May 13 against
Cleveland...his three-run home run in the bottom of the ninth inning completed
the A's five run ninth inning in a 10-7 win over the Indians...was
named American League Co-Player of the Week for the week of May 7-13, an honor he shared with teammate Dan Johnson...went 8 for 23 (.348)
with five home runs and 13 RBI in six games...hit a three-run home run on
May 19 against San Francisco, giving him eight home runs and 20 RBI in
his first 13 games as an Athletic...became the first player in Oakland history
to hit eight home runs in his first 41 at bats with the A's...the previous
quickest was Dave Kingman, who did it in 63 at bats in 1984...snapped a
career long 0 for 17 streak with his second inning double on May 28 against
Texas.
Hit the 200th minor league home run of his career on June 15 while
playing for Oakland...had homered in a game that was suspended on May
2 and that game was completed on the 15th and added to the statistics...had
three straight three-hit games from June 15 to 17, the 11th time in Oakland
history a player has done that...is the first to do it since Scott Hatteberg
(April 8-10, 2003)...snapped a season high 23-game, 67-at bat homerless
streak on June 17 against St. Louis and hit seven home runs over a 14-
game span from June 17 to July 3...compiled a season best seven-game
hitting streak from June 20 to 29 (10 for 27, .370)...had a then-career high
five RBI on June 27 at Cleveland...hit .385 (15 for 39) with seven home
runs and 19 RBI in 10 games against Cleveland in 2007...the seven home
runs equaled the most in Oakland history in one season against the Indians
(Canseco and McGwire also had seven each in 1990)...was 2 for 5 with
his first career grand slam, a double and a career high seven RBI on August
10 at Detroit...the seven RBI were the most by an A's designated
hitter since Troy Neel also had seven on July 8, 1993 vs. Boston...had his
second career two-homer game on August 14 against Chicago...led the
Majors with 41 strikeouts and 30 walks in 25 games in September...is just
the second player in Oakland history to strike out 40 times in one
month...joins Rick Monday, who had 43 in August of 1968...is the fifth
player in Oakland history to walk 30 times in a month, the first since Jason
Giambi had 30 in June of 2000...had at least one walk or strikeout in each
of his final 45 games beginning on August 11...that is the second longest
such streak in Oakland history to a 50-game streak by Jose Canseco from
October 6, 1985 to May 31, 1986...reached base safely via hit or walk in
each of his final 24 games beginning on September 2...hit .300 with nine
home runs and 20 RBI in 25 games with Triple-A Portland in the San
Diego organization...that gave him 35 home runs and 102 RBI in 149
professional games in 2007...added 19 walks in the PCL for a .430 on-base
percentage and struck out 29 times...went 3 for 26 (.115) with no RBI
over his first eight games, 18 for 36 (.500) with eight home runs and 17
RBI over his next 10 games and 3 for 18 (.167) with one home run and
three RBI over his final seven games...had three two-homer games with
the Beavers (April 14 vs. Fresno, April 20 vs. Sacramento, April 23 at
Colorado Springs).
2006
He signed as a Minor League free agent in December 2005. He spent most of the season with Triple-A Portland before his September callup. He had one hit in three at-bats for the Padres in 2006. He was one of the top Beavers hitters, third on the team with 77 RBIs, and second on the team in home runs with 30.
2005
Batted .257 with 19 home runs and 75 RBI in 134 games for Oakland's Triple-A Sacramento team...led the River Cats with 19 home runs and finished third with 75 RBI...2005 marked his first season without a trip to the Majors since 2000...batted .345 with six homers and 23 RBI in 29 games in May...batted .305 against left-handers while 16 of his 19 home runs and 55 of 75 RBI came against righties...drew a team-high 115 walks, which led the Pacific Coast League and ranked second in all of minor league baseball...had 29 multi-hit games including a season-high four-hit outing (4 for 6) on May 9 at Las Vegas...also drove in a season-high four runs in that game...had 16 multi-RBI contests.
2002
Spent the first four months of the season at Triple-A Colorado Springs and led Rockies' farmhands with 23 home runs...was named most valuable player of the Triple-A All-Star game after breaking a scoreless tie with a pinch-hit, two-run single in the sixth inning and later adding a solo home run...
was recalled by Colorado Aug. 2 and made his Rockies debut that day at Chicago against the Cubs...hit a ninth-inning, game-tying, two-run home run off Cubs closer Antonio Alfonseca but the Rockies lost,
6-4, in 12 innings...became the sixth player to homer in his Rockies' debut...appeared in 35 games for
Colorado and made 15 starts, all in left field...went 3 for 16 (.188) with one RBI as a pinch-hitter, but
drew four walks...reached base safely in 87 of 105 games at Colorado Springs...batted .330 over his
first 29 games but then hit .239 over his final 76 games...struck out at least one time in 16 consecutive
games, April 6-23.
2004
Was on the Baltimore Orioles' Opening Day roster but appeared in just one game before he was sent to Triple-A Ottawa where he spent the remainder of the season...struck out as a pinch-hitter on April 7 against Boston and was designated for assignment on April 14...was assigned outright to Ottawa on April 16 and batted .235 with 17 home runs and 55 RBI in 102 games with the Lynx...was second on the club in RBI and tied for second in home runs...led the team and ranked fifth in the International League in walks (65)...also topped the club with 127 strikeouts...hit .249 with 15 of his 17 home runs against right handed pitchers compared to .164 against lefthanders...appeared in 67 games at designated hitter, 32 in left field and two in right field...was batting .214 over his first 39 games before connecting for a pinch-hit home run on June 12 against Syracuse in his only pinch-hitting appearance of the season...that began a 35-game stretch from June 12 to July 30 where he batted .325 with 12 home runs and 31 RBI...had his first of three five-RBI games on June 22 at Durham...had a season best 11-game hitting streak from July 6 to 22 (.412, five home runs, 14 RBI and 12 walks)...hit eight of his 17 home runs over a 14-game span from July 10 to 30...had 16 RBI over that stretch, including five RBI performances on July 10 at Indianapolis and July 20 against Louisville in the second game of a doubleheader...then hit .120 with 34 strikeouts in 22 games in August...went 0 for 23 over a six-game stretch from August 3 to 12 and 0 for 23 over a six-game stretch from August 23 to 28.
2001
Opened the season at AAA-Tucson, seeing his first career action above the AA level...Cust was named to the All-Pacific Coast League team as an outfielder at seasons end...he was also named to the AAA mid-season all-star team...with the AAA-Tucson Sidewinders, Cust batted .278 (123-for-442) with 24 doubles, two triples, 27 homers and 79 RBI in 135 games...in the PCL at year's end, he ranked first in walks (102), third in games played and on-base pct. (.415) and his home runs were the fourth most...with the 102 walks drawn in b01, he has compiled back-to-back 100-plus walk seasons; earning 117 free passes in 2000...with the Sidewinders, he had a season high 10-game hit streak from April 20-May 5...the ten-gamer saw his average raise from .319 to .395 at streaks end...during the streak, he batted .500 (19-for-38) with two doubles, a triple, three homers, scored nine runs and knocked in 12...as the cleanup hitter for Tucson, Cust was a .280 (77-for-275) hitter with 14 doubles, two triples and 19 homers...Jack was called up in September by the Diamondbacks, making his major league debut Sept. 26 vs. Milwaukee when he drew a walk as a pinch hitter...he appeared in only three games for Arizona, but did notch his first career hit in the season finale at Milwaukee, October 7 off Mark Leiter.
2003
Split the season between Triple-A Ottawa and the Major Leagues, having three separate stints with the Orioles...began the season at Ottawa and batted .190 with two home runs and seven RBI in his first 26 games...hit .317 with seven homers and 51 RBI over his final 71 games with the Lynx...led the International League with a .422 on-base percentage and 80 walks...ranked 10th among all minor leaguers in OBP...did not appear in a game for the Orioles during his first two call-ups from May 24 to 27 and July 11 to 21...was recalled for the third time on August 5 and stayed with the Orioles for the remainder of the season...at Ottawa, reached base via hit or walk in 91 of 97 games...reached base safely via hit or walk in 32 straight games, June 12 to July 29...in his second game with the Orioles on August 7, hit a go-ahead, three-run home run in a 5-3 win over Minnesota...appeared in only nine games (six starts) from August 17 until the final week of the season, going 3 for 20 with 11 strikeouts...hit safely in seven of his final 10 games, batting .429 to lift his average from .156 to a season-ending .260...made only one appearance in the field with the Orioles, playing the final five innings in left field on September 13 at Toronto.
2000
Jack reached AA-El Paso in only his fourth professional season...he was named to the Texas League all-star team as an outfielder and also played in the Futures All-Star game held in Atlanta prior to the Major League All-Star game...with El Paso, he led the league in walks (117) and strikeouts (150), finished second in on-base pct. (.440) and fourth in runs (100)...in the month of April, he batted .373 (25-for-67) with a pair of doubles and triples, adding seven homers and 21 RBI...his April numbers earned him Arizona's Minor League Player-of-the-Month award...Cust also earned the Texas League Player-of-the-Week award for his performance from June 26-July 2 when he hit .529 (9-for-17) with four doubles, a triple, homer and eight RBI in only five contests...he reached base in 115 of the 129 games he saw action in...on the year, he had 28 multi-hit contests (17 two-hitters, eight three-hitters and three four-hitters)...in the playoffs vs. Round Rock, Cust went 4-for-14, a .286 average, with with four RBI and two homers.
1999
Jack was named Arizona's organizational Minor League Player-of-the-Year for his efforts at High Desert (A)...led the California League in homers (32), on-base pct. (.450) and slugging pct. (.651)...he finished second in average (.334), extra-base hits (77), runs (107) and total bases (296)...his home run per AB ratio was also the highest in the league at one homer per every 14.22 at-bats...his final stat line at the end of the year earned him a spot on the California League all-star team.
1998
Opened the season at South Bend (A), but was sent to Lethbridge after 16 games...with Lethbridge, he batted .345 (77-for-223) in 73 contests...he led the Pioneer League in walks (86), on-base pct. (.530) and runs scored with 75...in July, he batted .404 with seven homers, knocked in 30 runs and was named Arizona's Minor League Player-of-the-Monthb&at season's end, he was named to the league's all-star team and Topps Class A Short Season/Rookie League All-Star team...career highs in games, at bats (481), runs, hits (111), doubles
(19), home runs, walks, strikeouts and total bases, but his .231
batting average, .375 on-base percentage and .476 slugging
percentage dropped off from his .256/.408/.504 last year when
he had his first significant playing time in the majors...batted .220
at night and .229 against right-handed pitching...had the second
lowest night batting average in the AL and third lowest mark
against righties...hit .172 with runners in scoring position and
two outs...20 of his 33 home runs came with the bases empty
and the other 13 were two-run shots...25 came off right-handers
as have 49 of his 64 career home runs...20 came in Oakland
and 18 were hit with no outs, which tied for the AL lead...12 came in the seventh inning or later and seven came
against Texas...12 gave the A's the lead and another three tied the game...started 77 games in left field and 61 at
designated hitter, both of which led the A's...also made five starts in right field and was 0 for 2 with three walks as
a pinch hitter...hit .207 with 17 home runs and 30 RBI as the DH...started games in each spot of the order from
three through six and led the A's with 62 starts batting third and 46 hitting clean-up...hit just .198 when hitting third,
which was the lowest mark from the three spot in the majors, and .216 hitting fourth, which was second lowest in
the majors...hit .297 when batting fifth and .361 when hitting sixth.
1997
His first professional season saw Cust bat .306 (37-for-121) in 35 games...he led his team, the Rookie League Diamondbacks, with a .488 slugging pct....the SLG pct. was also second best in the Arizona League.
