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Rusty Staub

Rusty Staub
Inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame, 1986
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 10 of 1218 players
Staub
Daniel Joseph Staub
Born: April 1, 1944 at New Orleans, La.
Died: March 29, 2018 at Palm Beach, Fla. Obituary
Throws: Right Bats: Left
Height: 6.02 Weight: 215

Rusty Staub has been the most popular Ultimate Mets Database daily lookup 128 times, most recently on February 24, 2024.

of 1b
Non-playing roles with Mets
  • Coach 1982
  • Broadcaster: Television 1986 - 1995

First Mets game: April 15, 1972
Last Mets game: October 6, 1985

Share your memories of Rusty Staub

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Brian Howells
I remember when I was working at the Mohawk Golf Club in Schenectady, NY. It was the summer of 1998, and Rusty Staub was in town to play our course. Our head professional had worked at a course in Cooperstown for a number of years before this, and had met Rusty a number of times in Cooperstown. He was in town for some free golf and I was working in the golf show. Our professional played in a foursome with Staub, one of Staub's cronies, and Ben Bates - a junior golfer who would go on to win the state junior tournament later that summer.

I guess Ben had a great day on the course. He finished with something like a 69 and ended up taking a lot of money off of Staub. Then the Grande Orange paid me twenty bucks to carry his clubs back to his car for him. I took the ragged bill home to show my father. He suggested that I keep it, but instead I spent it on lunch at a local pizzaria the next day. That's the only real memory I have of would be hall-of-famer Rusty Staub.

Darrin Gitlitz
How could the Mets have traded him even-up for an aging Mickey Lolich. This question has astounded me for years!

MFM
I will always remember him as having a GREAT arm in right field. I was sickened by the Lolich-Staub trade. Detroit got the best of that one. The first Met to hit 100+ RBI in a season. Rusty is a very knowledgeable man: played for Houston when Astrodome opened, end of career a great pinch hitter, great announcer and even owns a restaurant for New Orleans style food. Rusty is also a chef.

Luka
One of the classiest guy to wear a Mets uniform. Businesslike pinch-hitter. I always had this image of Rusty opening an attache case in the dugout, screwing his bat together like a pool cue, stepping up to the plate, getting his base hit, and then unscrewing his bat and putting it away. I wish he were more visible in the organization today. Always a fan favorite and a man's man.

Rich
If nobody else remembers then I'll say it, Rusty was a class act and a clutch player! They should have never traded him away to Detroit and had he been healthy in the 73 World Series we would have beaten the A's. Rusty single-handedly carried the Mets on his back against the Reds in those playoffs too. He was also a super clutch pinch hitter the last few years of his career.

Who will ever forget that one game where the Mets had to play Rusty in the outfield and they kept shuffling him back and forth between LF and RF so he wouldn't be near anything and then he made a running catch on a fly to RF. Rusty is truly a Met legend and should be more respected from the fans. If not for stupidity by management we would have seen another 5 great years by him.

He also made great ribs at his restaurant.

Bob-2
Rusty gave it his all in 73. He really played like a champ even if we lost to Oakland. Super student of the game; that is how he lasted so long.

David
Rusty was the first opposing team's player I ever liked. In '69-'71, my Dad always took me to the Sunday doubleheaders, which were usually against the Expos or the Padres. Rusty was a standout with that sad Montreal club. When he came to the Mets I was thrilled! He was a clutch hitter, and played great defense for a guy with a piano on his back. Remember the patented sliding catch? And his arm was a gun. He almost won a World Series for us in '73, playing in severe pain. Then we lost him for many good years, but when he came back he was still the best pinch-hitter in baseball. Thanks Rusty!

JOHN MAXWELL SR
Rusty for Mickey Lolich. My WORST memories of any Met trade. (I know there have been a few.) Let's see, Staub drives in 105 runs so let's trade him for a 12-18 pitcher who's best years were DEFINITELY behind him. I never understood how this trade happened. Three or four years earlier and I could have MAYBE understood this. What an insult to Rusty.

LenDog
January 11, 2001
August, 1968 - my first-ever ML game: Mets and Astros at Shea. It was like watching paint dry: final score, Houston 1, NY 0, in 12 innings.

Houston won on an HR by Rusty Staub into the RF bullpen. From then on, I hated the guy who I called 'Rusty Stab' because 'Staub' sounded too funny to say.

Little did I know that he would leave the forces of evil and join the Mets in '72. Saw Rusty line a single to center to drive home Felix with the winning run, bottom of the 9th, August, 1973. Felix bowled over the catcher; McGraw got the win after going 0 - 6 up to that point.

Mr. Sparkle
March 1, 2001
Unbelievable how a guy with a body like that could hit so well. Rusty had to be one of the worst atheletes who was actually a very good hitter. Dom Deluise could beat him in a race. He's probably the best pinch hitter of all time. I remember him in the booth when he first started to Broadcast referring to the Mets as us and we. Not exactly a great commentator but you had to love him anyway. Always pronounced Howard Johnson's name "Jawnson."

Mr. Sparkle
April 20, 2001
His ribs are famous but I didn't think they were that great. The sauce was real good but the ribs were boiled instead of grilled so you could pull the bones out of the meat and it it with a knife and fork. I prefer to pick it off the bone like an animal.

Won Doney
June 30, 2001
He was a great player for the Mets and the other teams he played with. I remember in 1972 how he was injured for a good part of the year due to being hit on the hand by a pitch. That 1972 team should have been another championship year. It was ruined by injury, a terrible Jim Fregosi, and a horribly slumping Tommie Agee, in my opinion.

Jo-Ann George
September 27, 2001
My most cherished memory of Rusty. I was only 12 or 13 during the season when Rusty injured his wrist in I think it was '73. I must have written 9 or 10 letters to him and he took the time to answer everyone. In one letter I wrote how sorry I was that he was injured and told him that I had 20 or more mosquito bites. He wrote back and sympathized about how itchy they could be! He was my very favorite Met and always will be.

Bob
October 28, 2001
My favorite alltime player,class guy,solid major leaguer,involved in thecommunity throughout his career.

Rich S
November 19, 2001
Lots of Rusty memories - let's go chronologically.

1968 - in the stands at Shea behind the visitor's (Astros) dugout where during changeovers between innings Rusty chitchatted with the fans (including my grandfather) as he came in from the outfield. I was 5 at the time and he is the first opposing player I can remember.

1977 (approx) - in the bleachers at Yankee Stadium with Kevin Schumacher and my dad when Rusty's (then w/the Tigers) 200th career home run bounces off Schumacher's feet and down the row, into the hand of some lucky fan who exchanged it for an autographed bat. Schumacher never could catch.

1988 (approx) - While at Fordham law school I read in the paper that some clown from one of my classes, whose name I can't remember but who was dirty and smelled awful, was arrested for throwing paint on Rusty's fur coat as he was entering his 5th avenue restaurant. The guy was one of those PETA people, and I thought about throwing paint on him but it would have only made him look better.

Sorry Lenny Harris, but Rusty is easily the best pinch-hitter I ever saw.

Jim Snedeker
November 20, 2001
A class act, all around. Even when he was traded away in '75 in yet another bumbling management move, he didn't complain. I knew what his true feelings were, however, when he returned in the early 80s and said "I never really wanted to leave New York." I just wish he could have stuck around for the salad days of '86. And speaking of salad, Rusty, eat more of it and less of the baby-back ribs!

Jim Snedeker
January 12, 2002
Re the TRADE that sent Rusty packing to Motown in return for the once-great Mickey Lolich. I would rate this behind only the Seaver/Cincinnati fiasco as the most dunderheaded move pulled in the history of Mets management (and they pulled some beauts).

Rusty, the colorful, dependable, fan favorite that everybody loves, and who had just set the Mets team record for RBI's in a season, gets traded for a sub-par pitcher? You gotta be kidding me.

Larry Burns
May 31, 2002
Another one of the all time greats. His fame is even bigger than his pant size and talent! A great pinch hitter who had the most unusual stance. I still cannot figure how he actually hit like that.I remember the 17 inning Saturday game in 1985 against Pittsburgh when Staub was forced to play the field (it was his last time in the OF) Davey Johnson continually switched him from left to right field to make it less likely he would have to catch a ball. Finally the baseball gods intervened and hit one to him in rightfield. He had to run 25 feet and it was close to falling, but he got a huge ovation for the catch. Made a good, if somewhat overrated, rib. A mediocre announcer, but because he is Rusty I still like to hear him. He will forever be Le Grande Orange.

sean staub
July 1, 2002
Too bad he could not have been an Oriole and got a ring in '83. The one wish I had was to have seen him play live. To all the people with the negativity, you couldn't hold his jock even when he played injured like a real ball player should!

Chris
July 1, 2002
I was on the #7 on 7/4/72 - the day Seaver one-hit the Padres - on the way to the stadium - and Rusty was sitting right across from me! Talk about surreal! It never failed to excite me when those orange and blue tiles would first become visible through the window of the subway car.

Max Power
November 18, 2002
I was at that game in 85. It was unbelievable. The crowd went nuts when Rusty caught that ball. Actually they went nuts every time he changed outfiled positions. I never saw anything like it before. Rusty was a fan favorite both times he was on the Mets. He was a great pinch hitter. Didn't he get 8 pinch hits in a row to set a record?

Bob R.
January 8, 2003
The list of horrible Met trades is long, but the Staub for Lolich deal must rank near the top. Lolich was washed up and Rusty had just set a Met record for RBIs in a single season. What were they smoking? That deal hastened the slide that made the Mets into a joke by '77. Rusty was probably the best hitter they had during the whole decade. If he hadn't hurt his arm prior to the '73 Series, the Mets probably would have beaten the A's. Anyway, it was good that Rusty came back and did such great work as a pinch hitter years later.

John
March 15, 2003
I take strong offense to Art's coment about Rusty, co-number one favorite Met and favorite baseball player of all time. Here's Rusty's almost Hall of Fame numbers which are better then more than half of the current members.

Hits: 2,716 RBI: 1,466 Dubs: 499 Games: 2,951

and is still the only player to have 500 or more hits with 4 different clubs: Astros, Expos, Mets, Tigers

One of the greatest professional hitters of all time, who hit lefties as well as righties. If he had only average speed he would have been a lifetime .300 hitter, 3000 hits and close to 2000 rbi's. No one with less physical talent and athletic ability has ever done more then Rusty. Some of my best memories of Rusty are the 73 championship and World Series, the 75 season, the throw he made in the 76 all-star game, Phil Rizzuto stopping short his on-air rambling by saying, "let me stop, Rusty's batting, this guy's dangerous" and Rusty promptly hitting it out of the park. Clutch hitter, great guy. He is baseball!

Joe Figliola
March 20, 2003
He put that club literally on his back, or should I say, on his one good shoulder in that '73 post-season. That catch he made on Dan Driessen is underrated amongst the great Mets defensive plays.

And he can cook, too.

LenDog
July 12, 2003
Hey Rosterman - why is Rusty a chump? Because he didn't give you an autograph?

Players don't owe us anything except 100% on the field and 100% attention to their physical fitness. Maybe Rusty could have done better on the fitness part, but he got the first part down.

Player don't owe quotations to sportswriters and they don't owe a thing to fans who approach them off field and ask for an autograph they may later sell for a profit. When you paid to see Rusty in the 70s and 80s, he played his hardest for you and the deal was complete. Approaching him in his free time and asking him for MORE is pushy. He owed you nothing, but chose to be polite and gracious anyway when you asked for more.

Oh, forget it - I agree with you. I just dumped all my great Rusty memories because he wouldn't give an autograph to you!! What nerve!!!

rich edwards
December 19, 2003
Frank, couldn't agree with you more. Rusty was a fantastic hitter and right fielder. I hated him prior to coming to New York. We could never get him out. Even without speed he was a terrific fielder, still remember the catch vs. the Reds in the 1973 playoffs. I think the answer is many of the voters never saw him play.

Maxwell Kates
December 25, 2003
It isn't only in his free time that Rusty Staub is penurious in his autograph policy. In 1993, I attended the Montreal Expos 25th anniversary dinner. Staub was one of the invited guests, along with Gary Carter, Felipe Alou, Gene Mauch, Bill Stoneman, Ken Singleton, among other former Expos, plus Cardinals Hall of Famers Bob Gibson and Lou Brock. Before I ordered my ticket, I asked a public relations representative in the Expos front office if the players would be signing autographs. His reply? "YES SIR!" I asked "What about Rusty Staub?" "He'd better sign, that's why we're paying him." I gather you know where this is going.

Le Grande Orange refused to sign for me or anyone else at the dinner, for that matter. Gary Carter, on the other hand, was friendly, cordial, and appeared happy to sign anything you wanted except card from 1984 and up. He even paused from an interview to inscribe my copy of his book! He VOLUNTEERED to do this! As for Rusty Staub, he clearly did not want to be in Montreal that evening. Still, he shouldn't have vented his frustration on the fans. I'm glad he's not in the Hall of Fame and Gary is.

koos36
January 5, 2004
I worshipped Rusty when I was a kid. This is even more the reason a celebrity should give an autograph. I don't care how busy or bothered someone would be by continously being hounded for autographs...they should still give them!! If someone wants to make money off them -- who cares? If that story is true, Rusty, I'm ashamed of you. You should feel priviledged to have a fan ask for your autograph. Next time take a second out of your busy life and give someone a good memory -- a gift that costs little, but lasts a lifetime.

Sierra
April 10, 2004
This is for all of you guys who are angry at Rusty for not giving autographs.

When I was younger, a friend of mine and I went to Rusty's restaurant for dinner. I was our favorite place. Rusty was never there. I was speechless when this tall red-head walked over to our table and sat down and started to talk to us. Rusty not only chatted with us for about 1 hour, he had a drink with us and then picked up the tab. He must of signed every napkin in the place. I started carrying a Rusty rookie card in my wallet after I noticed him on Mother's Day 1972. He signed that, plus my sweatshirt and jeans (neiter have been washed since). In another incident a young boy of about 9 or 10 walked over to him at the restaurant and asked him about hitting. The boy was still in his little league uniform. Rusty showed him how to hold the bat better. He then signed the bat, a ball, his hat and his uniform shirt. Rusty then gave to boy tickets to a future Mets game. I don't know who your Rusty Staub is. But mine is the greatest guy around.

Cappy
August 6, 2004
Staub was one of the best acquisitions ever made by the Mets. Playing hurt most of the season, and with a separated shoulder in the post season, he still nearly led the Mets to a World Series victory in '73. How they could trade this guy for Mickey Blubberolich boggles the mind!

Kiwiwriter
September 24, 2004
Funny all this talk about Rusty Staub and autographs because I asked him about that in an interview in 1981 on the field. He said he didn't mind doing it at the park or in the restaurant or for kids, but not when he was dining (with pals) or shopping. He also really disliked guys who came up and asked him to sign six or seven autograph cards. He knew it was for sale, not collection. I saw his point.

He was a great hitter, a fine outfielder, and I hope people remember him for his first tour and role on the 1973 Mets as well as his years of pinch-hitting.

Rusty's contributions to New York and the Mets include his work for 9/11 relief (which is great) and convincing the glum and newly-acquired Keith Hernandez to stay in New York when he became a free agent. Rusty showed Keith the museums, plays, clubs, restaurants, and babes, and that made Mex think differently about playing and living in New York.

Joseph Borozny
December 3, 2004
I've been a Rusty Staub fan for 34 years. I have a lot of fond memories of Le Grand Orange. In 1972 Rusty came to the Mets thanks to Gil Hodges. It's a shame that Gil died before he could manage him. Making that great catch in the 1973 Playoffs. The 3 run home run in The 1973 World Series. 1975 when he drove in 105 runs. With the Tigers when he hit a home run that hit the roof. In 1978 when Rusty won DH of the year with his 24 HRs and 121 RBI's. When he came back to the Expos in 1979. In 1980 when he had his 2500th hit. In 1981 when the Mets got him back.

Who could forget when he tied the pinch hit mark? September 25, 1984 was the most exciting Met game I ever went to. The Mets were down 4 to 2 in the bottom of the ninth. The Mets tried the score 4 to 4 with a runner on first. The Mets sent Rusty Staub up to pinch hit and he hit a homer over the rightfield fence. Making him and Ty Cobb the only players to hit a homer before their 20th birthday and after their 40th.

Rusty should make the Hall Of Fame. He has 2716 hits, 292 home runs and 1466 RBI's.

It has been a pleasure for me to have known Rusty all these years. One of the nicest guys around. I have the biggest Rusty Staub collection around. If anybody has anything that might interest me me please e-mail me, thanks.

Dana kramer
March 29, 2005
I remember his three seasons in Detroit very well; when you needed a hit you usually got it from him. Generally wasn't for extra bases, but he was a GREAT pure hitter.

jackstraw
May 21, 2005
I met Rusty a few times when he would come to my company's Xmas parties in the early '90s. The party was always held at his restaurant on 5th Ave. The first time I met him I was a bit drunk and was telling him how I went to a game against SF in 1982 where he hit a game winning 2 out pinch-hit HR off of Greg Minton. And can you believe he responded with "a slider that didn't slide"? 10 years later and he still recalled the pitch. Though he didn't recall it was helmet day when I brought that up.

We then got into a friendly argument when I told him I was at the game where he tied the record for most consecutive pinch-hits in 1983. I insisted it was 10 and he kept saying it was 8. I kept saying, "But I was there!" and he would say "But I had the hit!" He finally gave in, but when I looked it up later he was right. It was nice of him to just let me have my way about his own record.

KMT
May 29, 2005
Rusty was loved by fans everywhere he played! An exceptional hitter and above average outfielder. How many people remember Rusty getting involved in infield run-down plays? He hit over .400 with one shoulder in the '73 Series. His trade to Detroit was a bad move all around. His humanity is well documented on this list, and he will forever be a N.Y. Met!

Jim Mohan
July 5, 2005
Rusty Staub was my favorite player during his first stint as a Met. When they got him in a trade before the 1972 season, they added a much needed professional hitter to their generally weak lineup. It was a bummer when he returned to the team as an out of shape pinch hitter in 1981. Does anybody know why Topps didn't include Rusty Staub in their 1972 and 1973 baseball card sets? Too bad he didn't stay in the AL so he could have gotten 3,000 hits. I especially remember his sliding catches in right field. I was actually at the game against the Braves in 1972 in which George Stone hit him with a pitch that put him on the disabled list for most of the rest of the season.

jamey bumbalo
November 10, 2005
When I think of Rusty, I always recall his pinch-hitting expertise in the twilight of his career. He'd come to the plate with his black batting gloves and just his shirtsleeves. (Did anyone ever see him wear a shirt under his uniform, no matter how cold it was?) It seemed like he was always cranking a double, lumbering into second, and then coming out for a pinch-runner. It's too bad he didn't hang on for the '86 season. Rusty was a classy and highly talented player.

BobR
February 24, 2006
I just got Bill James' Historical Baseball Abstract (awesome book) and he ranks Rusty Staub as #24 in the list of top 100 right fielders! Of all time! That put him ahead of players like Pedro Guerrero, Roger Maris, Ken Griffey Sr., Sammy Sosa, Darryl Strawberry, Felipe Alou, Carl Furillo, and Dave Justice. Way to go Rusty!

DavidC
February 24, 2006
Like Mr.Sparkle's post in 2001, I do recall Rusty pronouncing HoJo's surname as "Jawson", while with Davey Johnson, he pronounced it the same way as a typical person would. For nearly past 20 years, I always have wondered why he had pronounced two Johnsons differently (perhaps others too). Very trivial issue, I know, but does anyone have a clue to this?

metfanforlife
December 10, 2006
Funny all this talk about Rusty Staub and autographs. I have my own tale.

Rusty was one of my favorites in the 70s and again when he came back in the 80s. A few years back, I ran a 5k race at Shea Stadium on a very hot July morning. The race was a benefit for the FDNY 9/11 fund, which Rusty was raising money for. I had bought a cotton orange Mets hat a couple months earlier to run in. My sister and I had finished stretching when we saw a big line forming. Rusty Staub had showed up and was sitting at a table, signing autographs! My sis and I joined line. I decided to ask Rusty to sign my new orange hat, which he did, graciously. For some reason, my sister became starstruck when she got to him, and blurted out, "I named my cat after you!", which caused Rusty to look up with a very quizzical look on his face. She then added, "But we call him Little Rusty!" He looked at her silently, shook his head, and continued signing.

No wonder he hates signing autographs!

Mr. Sparkle
December 13, 2006
I almost met Rusty at a fund raiser last month for the Astor Home for Children. I was there, Rusty was there but I didn't get a chance to say hello. Tony Guida, the new anchor introduced Rusty and told about the 18 inning game in 1985 where Rusty swapped outfield positions with Clint Hurdle depending on the batter. He got a good laugh but Rusty was a good sport and re-told the story. He told how Cint Hurdle and he kept laughing each time they crossed in the outfield and then they had to look away from one another to avoid busrting out on the field. Rusty is a class act and has done a great deal for charity. He left soon after he spoke so I didn't get a chance to speak to him. Classy man and a great baseball mind.

Feat Fan
February 25, 2007
Loved him in Houston, followed him in Montreal, cheered him at Shea. A better defensive outfielder than one would think with a cannon of an arm.

Haunted by inappropiate comments and gossip concerning his private affairs, boy, are some people ignorant!

Was a killer before coming over (21-98 .288) and those numbers as an opponent (157 games) reflected a typical Staub year.

We were blessed to have him here. Solid guy, class act.

BobR
March 9, 2007
Inappropriate comments and gossip....you mean about the fact that Rusty is gay? That's kind of been an open secret for many years. How does that change the fact that Rusty was a superb hitter in the National League? Wake up, everybody. There are gay people in professional baseball just like in every other profession there is. Someday it will all be public and a lot of folks will be shocked when the learn the truth about their favorite players.

feat fan
April 22, 2007
In response to the last posting about Rusty, that's EXACTLY my point!

Joe
June 11, 2007
I've been reading through all of these Rusty posts, and would like to put in my 2 cents regarding the character of this man.

Back in the early seventies, I was attending a Mets game with a cub scout organization that I was a part of. Me and a bunch of the other kids in our group saw Rusty coming out of Shea after the game and went right over to excitedly greet him. Rusty not only didn't give out any autographs, but just walked right past us without even acknowledging that we were there!

Make no mistake about it, this man's a total chump, and ranks right up there with other Met "wonderfuls" such as Bobby Bonilla and Vince Coleman.

BobR
August 14, 2007
Rusty was one of the best hitters the Mets ever had. If he hadn't broken his hand in 1972, they might have won the pennant that year.

Smith
May 25, 2008
When I was a kid (early 70s), my aunt had a partial season ticket package. Her seats were first row in right field. She brought me to a game in Sept 1973. Rusty walked over, said hello to her by name and chatted with me. He did the same for everyone else who was sitting in that section before excusing himself to partake in the pre-game warm-ups. I recall that we were playing the Cardinals that day. Seemed genuine to me.

Anthony Del Priore
June 29, 2008
Back around 1997, I was in a building on 5th Avenue where one of the tenants was Rusty's Restaurant. Rusty was coming out of his restaurant, apparently in a hurry, while I was leaving another store. Anyway, I'm riding up the escalator with Rusty and asked him for an autograph. He refused but was really nice about it. He said he was in a rush and apologized, saying, "Under the circumstances, I won't be able to sign, but I will offer you my hand," and extended his hand and then said, "Please forgive me." A true gentleman and in my opinion the greatest pinch hitter of all time. One of my favorite players in the 1970s.

Teresa Gardella
September 16, 2008
As a young girl my dad would take me to Shea Stadium to watch the games. I fell in love with Rusty, a huge teen age crush, there was just something about him. Now I am middle aged and still have a huge crush on him. Now that's the sign of a good player!

Steve Aronson
June 12, 2009
I have wondered if Rusty was gay, only because of my curiosity. He is a great humanitarian, has had multi- millions donated to his post 9/11 organization and has helped many people very much. He was a wonderful ballplayer and I was so glad the Mets got him. He played hard all the time. A man who minded his own business, played the game as a true professional, was and is a role model. He never disgraced the game that gave him a good living and that is the only way I will remember him. How he has acted as a person should be the only way he should be judged. I give him my highest praise, as a ballplayer, "He was a professional."

Joel Hueston
May 20, 2010
I live in Canada and back in the late 60's and early 70's Rusty was the darling of baseball fans across the country, including me. He will always be my favourite ballplayer.

He had some great years in Montreal and went on to consistently deliver solid offensive numbers for every team he played for. I was horrified when he was traded to the Mets prior to the 1972 season but I got over it.

What I remember about Rusty was his keen batting eye and clutch hitting. For a .279 career hitter the guy sure could drive in runs. He was also a very good outfielder, something a lot of people forget. He had a great arm and was a gifted right fielder up until the mid-70's when he started DHing. Reggie Jackson is great but Rusty should have won MVP in the 1973 World Series.

I know there is a pretty convincing argument for Rusty to be in the Hall of Fame but there's no point beating that to death. I am grateful for having seen him in his prime and I will always appreciate the great memories he gave to me.

April
February 18, 2011
I am surprised that I am hearing that Rusty might be gay. I can assure you that in 1972-1973 he was not. I was living in Houston and he was playing for the Mets. He also worked during off season with a real estate friend at a company called Land BARREN INVESTMENTS. He is a very considerate man. He and I dated for some time. I met his family in New Orleans and had so much fun. I assure you he was not gay.

Kevin
May 11, 2012
Rusty was also my favorite player as a kid. The 73 year was his best culminating in game 4 vs the Reds with that catch and then game 5 when he won it with his bat even though he could not move his arm. He played well in the series too and his injuring definitely cost the Mets.

Lots of talk about the trade to the Tigers which is up there with trading Seaver, Dykstra and Ryan with getting no value back. The knucklehead GM traded him for 2 reasons, Staub was about to become a 10 and 5 man and could have vetoed trades the following season and there were gay rumors. Neither were any reasons to trade a player of his caliber for an obvious has-been.

Then the bring him back and play him BEHIND Kingman. Rusty then got screwed a final time by the Mets after the 85 season when they reduced rosters from 25 to 24 for that year only I believe! It is amazing he actually talks to the Mets the way he was treated.

I will add, I have his autograph. Not sure about everyone else, but he was nice to me.

C
September 2, 2012
Rusty was one of my all time favorite players growing up in the 70's. We would emulate his forward roll after making a play. He made right field a cool position. And to the guy who didn't like his ribs - you're nuts. That meat fell right off the bone and was delish. Rusty always to care of the NYPD Children and Widows Foundation. Great guy!

Mark Corrao
February 15, 2013
I was 8 years old when the Mets got Rusty. He was one of the first players I remember. I remember him hurting his wrist that year in 1972 and he had a limited number of at bats that season. When he finally came off the DL, me and my brother got excited that he was playing.

He carried the team in the playoffs and World Series in 1973 with a bad shoulder he banged up crashing into an outfield wall during the playoff series against the Reds. He came back in the World Series, batted pretty good, but had to throw the ball in from the outfield underhanded because of the pain.

I can't believe they traded him to the Tigers for a fat washed up Mickey Lolich.

He was an outstanding pinch hitter in the 1980's for the Mets. I had the honor of meeting Rusty in the late 1980's in his restaurant while I was there with about 6 of my friends celebrating a bachelor party. Rusty walked right over to us at the bar and shook every one of our hands and welcomed us to his place. A real classy guy on and off the field.

Todd Brewster
November 20, 2013
I knew Rusty pretty well when he had his restaurant at 73rd and 3rd. About 10 years ago, I wrote several tributes to him at this site and for some reason they were taken down and so I had not come back until now.

I forgot all that I wrote except I am sure I included how I used to kid Rusty that he should have taken the DH job in Toronto instead of coming to NY. As a DH, he would have reached all the career numbers needed to easily get into the Hall of Fame.

I moved to Dallas 35 years ago and lost touch, but I always had a lot of respect for Rusty. It does not surprise me at all that he has done so much for the City.

Bob
January 10, 2014
In 1973 I was at a game at Shea, Friday night against the Reds. One out, Bobby Tolan made it to third in the top if the first inning. Tony Perez hit a deep fly ball to right field, Staub caught it on the warning track above his head, as you should, and threw a rocket of a line drive to Grote standing over the plate and got Tolan out tagging up from third by a mile to end the inning. Best arm the Mets ever had in the outfield until he crashed into the wall later in the year.

Best arm I've ever seen from a Mets outfielder.

Mark Silverman
July 22, 2015
One of my favorite memories of a great two time Met happened the day after the Mets acquired Gary Carter. Rusty had been released during the off season because there was no room on the 40 man roster, as I recall. Three players were traded to get Carter. That same day, for the first time, I had gotten a season ticket mini-plan, and my friend and I went out to Shea to pick our seats. We celebrated by going to lunch at Staub's Upper East Side restaurant, and sure enough, the man himself was behind the bar. I went up, said hello, the usual big fan kind of prattle, and then I said, "So they cleared some roster space, any chance you coming back?" He went, "That's right, I'm supposed to call. Anyway, I sat down to eat and about ten minutes later he made eye contact with me and gave me a thumbs up. Later that day, they announced his return to the team!

George
January 24, 2020
I remember the early years of Staub's career with the Houston Astros. In 1968 at the Astrodome, the Mets got into a team brawl with the Astros when Doug Rader came up sliding hard into third base with an elbow that caught rookie utility man Kevin Collins square in the jaw. Mets pitcher Don Cardwell retaliated and clocked Rader good, with started the melee. Tommie Agee, Cleon Jones, and Ron Swoboda and other Mets were ready for battle. The Astros Denis Menke and Rusty Staub wanted no part of that! I don't blame them. The Mets saw the act by Rader as quite a cheap shot.

Personally speaking, I respected Rusty Staub as a baseball player. And it is true that he didn't give out autographs. At least that's what he told my friend (Roger) and me when we asked him about it. He did let me take a picture of him and his friend, which was cool. In fact, I was lucky enough to have taken his picture at two different times. In both of those instances, he was very polite.

I had heard about the rumors as well. But who really cares one way or the other? What's really sad is that he passed away at a reasonably young enough age. And this guy belongs in the Baseball Hall of Fame!

Larry’s (Rusty) Memories
June 21, 2022
It’s hard to argue with anyone named Einstein. His Rusty plaque is nothing short of “genius”. But the line must be drawn between the Best-Evers and the Border-Liners. There are two major criteria (nonpitchers) for Hall of Fame:
1)Milestones: 3K-hits, 500HR or near-misses like LouGehrig;
2)Decade of Dominance: Gehrig again, Joe DiMaggio, Yogi, Phil Rizzuto, the Duke, Jackie Robinson, Brooks Robinson, Willie Stargell, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Ozzie Smith, Barry Larkin, Kirby Puckett, Pudge Rodriguez -- none reached the career metrics but dominated their respective positions and won World Series for a convincing period of time.

Carlton Fisk (two Pudges at the same position!) didn’t win a WS but set a longevity standard for catchers. Vladimir Guerrero: no pennants, no major milestones -but comparable to Frank (another Robinson!) as the best RF since the Bambino.

Others like Richie Ashburn, Orlando Cepeda, Ron Santo, Billy Williams, Andre Dawson, Hal Baines, Tim Raines, Larry Walker and most recently Tony Oliva and Minnie Minoso were all elected but, IMO, are Border-Liners. So was Gil Hodges as a player (his leadership as Mets manager sealed it). Joe Torre, ditto (no joke, his tenure as Mets manager is on his plaque for all to ponder!). Tony Perez was a cog in the Big Red Machine but second-best to Stargell at 1B. Jeff “Bulging” Bagwell?

So why not Rusty? What’s so frustrating is that he’s so close on numerous milestones: his “mistake” was returning to the Mets in 1981, instead of remaining in the AL as a most-of-the-time DH. He would’ve at least approached the magic 3K-hit mark -- in the end might’ve backed into it with a suffering BA (The DH role itself is arguably a back door: Are Baines, Paul Molitor, Edgar Martinez and David Ortiz in without it?).

But with-or-without an asterisk, in addition to 3K-hits: 10K AB (missed by 80), 3K GP (missed by 49), 300+HRs (missed by 8), over 1,500RBIs (missed by 34) & 500doubles (missed by only 1!) -he’s in an exclusive club. Also, missed 50 triples by only 3. However, that number would’ve been the least attainable -3 outfielders slower than him?!

LG
March 13, 2024
Hit .426 in the 73 WS despite shoulder injury...Still raked in Detroit after the stupid trade... Reinvents himself to one of the great pinch hitters of all time...Could've elected to be a DH somewhere in the AL and get his 3000 hits stamping his ticket to the HOF...

Nonetheless not being in the HOF irregardless is a travesty itself.








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