Staub Passes

It’s a sad opening day as Rusty Staub dies:

The New York Mets confirmed Staub’s death in a tweet Thursday morning.

The team said in a statement he died after an illness in a hospital in West Palm Beach, Fla., hours before the start of the baseball season. A team spokesman said the Mets learned of the death from friends of Staub who were with him at the time.

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred called Staub “a superb ambassador” for the sport.

“Across his accomplished 23-year major-league career, Rusty Staub earned the respect of fans in Houston, Montreal, New York, Detroit and beyond,” Manfred said in a statement. “Known for his power and patience at the plate, Rusty became an all-star for three different clubs and a fan favorite. He played a memorable role in the early franchise histories of the Astros and the Expos, and he starred for the Mets in the 1973 World Series.”

My thought go out to his family and friends.

His .362 career OBP was his most outstanding statistic. He fell one double short of 500 and eight home runs short of 300. His best stretch was in his early prime, from 1969 to 1971. He accumulated 17.4 bWAR in that time, with a .296/.404/.501 slash line.

In his later years, he became a type that has since disappeared, the designated pinch hitter. Now, there is no room on the bench for that kind of specialist.

Bruce Stark did a set of caricatures of Mets and Yankees players in 1973 for the Daily News. I looked up Staub’s, and it reminded me that he had a famous hobby. He was a cook who opened two restaurants.

Good bye to “Le Grand Orange”, and thanks for the memories.

from baseballmusings.com https://ift.tt/2Gj0RKl