A pall was cast on Opening Day of the 2018 MLB season with the passing of former MLB player turned restaurateur and philanthropist Rusty Staub. He died of multiple organ failure. Staub was hospitalized in late January after contracting pneumonia. He would have turned 74 on April 1st.
Born Daniel Joseph Staub in New Orleans, the expansion Houston Colt 45's signed him out of high school in 1961. Nicknamed Rusty because of his orange colored hair, Staub would make his big league debut in 1963 at the tender of age of 19. He is one of only four MLB players to hit a home run before he was 20 and after he was 40. The others are Ty Cobb, Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield.
The Colt 45's would become the Astros and Staub would be selected to back to back NL All-Star Teams in 1967 and 1968 before he was picked in the expansion draft by the Montreal Expos in 1969. Staub endeared himself to Montreal fans not only with his play on the field, but with his effort to learn French. For this he earned the nickname Le Grand Orange. He was named to the NL All-Star Team in each of his three seasons with the Expos.
Much to the shock of Staub and the people of Montreal, the Expos traded Staub to the New York Mets prior to the 1972 season for Ken Singleton, Tim Foli and Mike Jorgensen. After injuries limited him to 66 games in '72, he would be a key contributor to a Mets team which won the NL pennant. In his 23-year MLB career, this would be his only post-season appearance. In 11 post-season games, Staub hit .341 with 4 HR and 11 RBI.
After 13 seasons in the NL, the Mets traded Staub to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for veteran pitcher Mickey Lolich prior to the 1976 season. Staub thrived as the team's DH earning an AL All-Star Team selection in 1976 and back to back 100 RBI seasons in 1977 and 1978. In 1978, Staub would finish fifth in AL MVP balloting.
Staub's offensive numbers would decline in 1979. Mid-way through that season the Tigers traded Staub back to Montreal. His second Expos' stint proved short-lived as he was traded to the Texas Rangers prior to the 1980 season. In 1981, Staub signed as a free agent with the New York Mets where he would spend his final five seasons primarily as a pinch hitter. Staub retired after the 1985 season missing the Mets' World Series championship team by a year. In 2,951 games, Staub collected 2,716 hits for a .279 lifetime batting average with 292 HR and 1466 RBI. Staub spent 7 years on the BBWAA Hall of Fame ballot but never garnered more than 8% of the vote before falling off the ballot in 1997. However, he is the only MLB player to collect 500 or more hits with four different teams (Astros, Expos, Mets and Tigers). Not surprisingly, Staub was a fan favorite in each of these four cities.
New York City would be the center of Staub's post-playing career. Staub actually opened his first restaurant bearing his name in 1977 and added another restaurant on Fifth Avenue in 1989. Both restaurant emphasized Cajun cookery. His philanthropic work focused towards the New York Police and Fire Widows and Children’s Benefit Fund. Staub's work accelerated following the attacks of September 11, 2001. He would raise more than $100 million for the families of first responders killed in the attack. Staub might not be enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame of Human Kindness.
On a personal note, the closest I came to being in Staub's presence was at Citi Field on May 26, 2012. I, along with thousands of fans, received a Rusty Staub bobblehead prior to the game between the New York Mets and the San Diego Padres with Staub in attendance. The Mets won this game 9-0 on a complete game four hit shutout by Johan Santana. Six days later, Santana threw the first no-hitter in Mets' history against the St. Louis Cardinals. As great as Santana was on the mound, I always associate this game with Rusty Staub. R.I.P.
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