Rusty Staub

From The Met Wiki

Daniel Joseph “Rusty” Staub was an outfielder for the Mets from 1972 to 1975 and from 1981 to 1985. He hit .276 with 75 home runs and 399 runs batted in as a member of the team. Staub played in a total of 942 regular season games with the Mets.

Staub was acquired by the Mets from the Montreal Expos in a trade for Ken Singleton, Mike Jorgensen and Tim Foli on April 6, 1972. In the ’72 season, Rusty was batting .298 with nine home runs before a fractured left wrist caused him to miss all but one game from mid-June to mid-September. He played in 66 games for the year and finished at .293, but hit no homers after June 12. In a doubleheader at Shea Stadium on April 23, Staub had six hits and three runs scored as the Mets defeated the Cubs, 8-2 and 7-6 (in 12 innings.) He hit a grand slam in a 5-4 Mets win over the Giants at Shea on May 14. Rusty had two singles, two doubles and four RBIs in the Mets’ 7-0 victory over the Phillies on May 30 at Shea. Two days later, he hit a three-run homer to propel the Mets to a 6-1 triumph over the Phils. Staub also had a single, a double and three runs scored in an 8-3 Mets win at Atlanta on June 14.

In 1973, Staub led the Mets with 74 walks and 76 RBIs. He also set a Mets record with 36 doubles in the pennant-winning season. On April 25, Rusty had a single and two home runs in the Mets’ 5-2 win at Houston. He singled four times and drove in the winning run with a double in a 7-3 Mets victory in 19 innings at Los Angeles on May 24. Staub had two doubles and drove in three runs in the Mets' 4-2 win over the Dodgers on June 9 at Shea. In this game, he ran in from right field during a rundown and got a putout and an assist for a double play. Rusty had five RBIs with two homers and a bases-loaded walk in a 12-2 Mets victory at Atlanta on July 18. He also hit a grand slam in the Mets’ 6-5 triumph over the Padres on August 27 at Shea.

In the ’73 National League Championship Series against the Reds, Staub homered in the Mets’ 5-0 victory in Game 2 at Cincinnati on October 7. He hit two homers for 4 RBIs in a 9-2 Mets win in Game 3 on October 8 at Shea. Rusty batted .423 in the ’73 World Series against the Athletics. He hit a three-run homer and a two-run single in the Mets’ 6-1 win in Game 4 of the Series at Shea on October 17.

Staub played in a team-leading 151 games for the Mets in 1974. His 145 hits and 78 RBIs were also team highs for the year. At Shea on May 4, Rusty hit a three-run homer in a 6-3 Mets win over the Padres. He had two singles and a two-run homer in the Mets’ 6-2 victory over the Phillies at Shea on July 3. Staub singled to drive in the winning run in the ninth inning for a 3-2 Mets triumph over the Dodgers on August 14 at Shea. He had another game-winning single in the ninth to give the Mets a 5-4 victory over the Astros at Shea on August 26. Rusty also delivered a two-run single in the eighth inning on August 31 for a 6-5 Mets win over the Braves at Shea.

In 1975, Staub led the Mets with 93 runs scored and 257 total bases. He also became the first player in team history to reach the 100-RBI mark for a season, totaling 105. On April 23, Rusty hit a grand slam off Bob Gibson in the Mets’ 7-1 win over the Cardinals at Shea. He had two singles, a homer and three RBIs in a 5-1 Mets victory over the Giants at Shea on May 14. Staub had a two-run single in a 7-2 Mets win at San Diego on June 13. He hit a two-run homer to ignite a Mets comeback for a 4-3 win over the Braves at Shea on July 17. Rusty hit a two-run homer in the first inning in the Mets’ 6-4 triumph on August 22 at San Francisco. On September 18 at Shea, he reached 100 RBIs for the year with a two-run homer in a 7-5 Mets victory over the Cubs.

Staub was traded with Bill Laxton to the Detroit Tigers for Mickey Lolich and Billy Baldwin on December 12, 1975. He played three full seasons in Detroit and split the 1979 season between the Tigers and Expos. After playing for the Texas Rangers in 1980, Rusty returned to the Mets as a free agent.

In his first year back with the team, Staub played in 70 games for the Mets during the strike-shortened 1981 season. He batted .317 with 5 home runs and 21 RBIs. In the season-opener on April 9, Rusty homered in the Mets’ 2-0 win over the Cubs at Chicago. He had five hits in a doubleheader split against the Expos at Shea on April 19. Staub had a single and a homer in a 3-1 Mets victory at Pittsburgh on September 8. He also hit a pair of homers for both Mets runs in a game against the Cubs at Shea that ended in a 2-2 tie due to rain in the ninth inning.

In addition to being a player, Staub had the role of a Mets coach in 1982. He appeared in 112 games during the year, only 45 of which he was in the starting lineup. At Shea on May 9, Rusty hit a home run in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 6-5 win over the Giants. He singled, doubled and drove in a run in the Mets’ 10-4 victory over the Braves at Shea on May 31. Staub hit a two-run double in a 5-4 comeback win for the Mets at Montreal on June 29. He also had two singles and an RBI in the Mets’ 5-1 win over the Astros on September 1 at Shea that ended the team’s 15-game losing streak.

Rusty batted .296 in 104 games in 1983. He collected 24 pinch hits to lead the major leagues and drove in 25 runs as a pinch-hitter to tie a major league record. On June 11 and June 12, Staub began a streak of eight consecutive hits in pinch-hitting appearances with a pair of two-run doubles against the Expos at Shea. His pinch-hit RBI single in the 10th inning gave the Mets a 4-3 victory over the Cubs at Shea on June 14. Rusty hit a pinch-hit two-run homer to put the Mets ahead to stay in a 7-4 win over the Reds on July 14 at Shea. Also as a pinch-hitter, he hit a two-run double off Jeff Reardon in the bottom of the ninth for a 5-4 Mets win in the second game of a season-closing doubleheader at Shea on October 2.

Staub played in 78 games for the Mets in 1984. He had 18 RBIs for the season, all of which came as a pinch-hitter. At Montreal on April 25, Rusty doubled to drive in the tying run in the eighth inning of the Mets’ eventual 2-1 win in 11 innings over the Expos. He hit a run-scoring single in the seventh inning to put the Mets ahead to stay for a 10-7 victory over the Phillies at Shea on June 21. Staub had a pinch-hit RBI double in the Mets’ 3-2 win over the Dodgers on August 29 at Shea. He also hit a two-run homer in the ninth inning to give the Mets a 6-4 victory over the Phillies at Shea on September 25.

In 1985, Staub concluded his career with 54 games with the Mets. He collected 12 hits in 45 at-bats on the season. Rusty made his only appearance in the field all year on April 28 at Shea, shifting between left field and right field during the Mets’ 5-4 victory over the Pirates in 18 innings. As a pinch hitter on June 22, he hit his last major league home run in a 5-4 Mets loss to the Expos at Shea. Staub drove in a run with his last career double during a ninth-inning Mets comeback for a 4-3 win at San Francisco on September 1. He also singled for his last hit in the Mets’ 12-1 win over the Pirates on September 21 at Shea.

Staub was inducted (with Bud Harrelson) into the Mets Hall of Fame in 1986. Also in the Mets’ World Championship season, he began a 10-year career as a television broadcaster for the team. Rusty has done much charity work with his Rusty Staub Foundation and New York Police and Fire Widows and Children Benefit Fund. He is also a gourmet chef and wine connoisseur.