Kusiak talks pro opportunity, thought of being traded

Henry Kusiak was the best hitter on his team for five games with the Long Island Ducks to start his 2026 campaign. But when he got a call at 10 p.m. from his manager, Lew Ford, his first thought wasn’t necessarily optimistic.

“I thought he was going to tell me he traded me,” Kusiak said.

When asked about Kusiak’s thought, Ford laughed and said: “They’re not expecting a call from their manager, usually, on their off day and at night. But I had good news for him, and I knew he was going to be excited.”

That thought had entered the former MSSU star’s mind because the Ducks were loaded with middle infielders. In fact, Kusiak had played outfield to start the season. His position for his career with the Lions at Missouri Southern State University was shortstop.

He was thinking maybe Ford had to make a trade to go get a pitcher or something and clear out some of the second basemen/shortstops on the team.

“He didn’t know how else to tell me other than ‘you’ve been picked up by the (Minnesota) Twins,’” Kusiak said. “I think he was involved in some way, so, I’m thankful to him.”

Ford spoke about having a connection with the Minnesota Twins.

“The Twins have signed a couple of our guys. I do know their contact there, and they ask about guys here, including Henry,” he said. “It’s nice to have familiarity, but he’s the one who did what it took to get signed. I think our team and this league is good exposure for our guys.”

The Ducks are a part of the Atlantic League.

The 25-year-old now has joined the Twins’ Single-A ballclub in Fort Myers, Florida. That team is the Fort Myers Mighty Mussels. He played in his first game with them on Wednesday. The Mussels lost 4-3 and Kusiak went 0 for 5 at the plate. He played shortstop in the field.

The first day on the new job is not indicative of what Ford saw in a week’s time.

“He hit well. His bat is a big reason that the Twins had signed him. ... He did make some good defensive plays here for us in the short time. Ultimately, he was ripping the cover off the ball,” Ford said.

Kusiak mentioned he’d piqued the interest of some teams the season prior when he played for the Chicago Dogs. He was optimistic he might get a phone call this season if he got off to a good start. But when asked if he expected it after five games, he said, “Not at all.”

His first call after getting the news was to his girlfriend, Maggie Finnegan, and then his mom and dad, Kathy and Kevin Kusiak.

He said he thought his parents would be OK with coming in second to Finnegan, saying, “They know we’re close.”

“It was emotional,” Kusiak said of calling each of them. “I couldn’t hold it back. I put in a lot of hard work. I haven’t done anything yet, but it’s nice to hit a goal and it’s nice to share that with them.”

He is “grateful” for sacrifices made by his parents and for things such as them letting him live at home with them at the beginning of his pro career and the travel.