My mother use to tell me how sad she and New York felt when Babe Ruth died. As a kid I did not fully grasp the idea, but,
as I grow older, and my own mortality comes into question, and I see the heroes
of my youth all pass , I now know what my mother felt and talked about all
those years ago.
Rusty Staub passed away at the age of
73 of kidney failure.
He played 23 seasons in the major leagues, nine with the Mets and became an icon mostly for his play in 1973
and his pinch hitting prowess. He was
inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 1986, a year after he retired with the
team.
Rusty
was a six-time All-Star. He also played for Houston, Montreal, Detroit,
and Texas. He ended his career with
2,716 hits and 292 home runs. In his nine seasons with the Mets, Staub played
in 942 games, had 709 hits, 75 home runs, 399 RBIs and a career batting average
of .276.
My favorite memory of Rusty was a
game in his last season. I believe, he
pinch hit and had to stay in the game because Davey Johnson had used all his players. Rusty was way past his prime
for playing the outfield and had not done so for sometime and Davey tried to
hide him. Rusty was in right for a right handed hitter
and in left for lefty hitter running back and forth between positions for the
batters. As it turned out a righty hit a
ball down the right field line and Rusty had to make a running catch in a very
key point of the game.
Rusty retired , and went on to great philanthropic
work . He founded the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit
Fund. The benefit fund provides money and support for the families of first
responders who are killed in the line of duty, as well as worked tirelessly
for many other charities.
He was also a bon vivant, a man about
town. Rusty was a wine expert,
restaurant owner and chef, and a world traveler. Yet always remained humble and a NY Met.
R.I.P. Rusty
2 comments:
Well said, Gary.
Rusty was a true professional and an even better person.
Gary, nice.
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