Rusty Was One of the Greats
In the spring of 1972, I was getting ready to begin my fourth season as a fan of the New York Mets. The incredible rush of the 1969 Miracle Mets had been eclipsed by the disappointment of the oppressive mediocrity of the following two seasons. The Mets had finished in third place both years with identical 83-79 records. The pitching, other than Tom Seaver, had slipped a bit, and the offense was still pretty bad. The two stars of the position players, Cleon Jones and Tommie Agee, were seeing their careers slowly eroded by injuries.
The start of the 1972 season was delayed by the first baseball strike, which lasted from April 1 - April 13. It ended when MLB agreed to an increase in pension payments and the introduction of salary arbitration. To make matters much worse, Mets manager Gil Hodges died of a heart attack after a round of golf on April 2 and was replaced by Yogi Berra. To a young fan like myself, it felt like the world was falling apart.
It was in the midst of the chaos of the strike and the void left by Hodges' sudden death that the Mets traded 3 young players - OF Ken Singleton, SS Tim Foli, and 1B Mike Jorgensen - to the Montreal Expos in exchange for RF Rusty Staub.
The 28-year-old Staub was already a 9 year major league veteran at the time of the deal. He began his career as a 19-year-old with the expansion Houston Colt .45s in 1963. After struggling for a couple of years, Staub had become an excellent player for Houston, being selected to all-star teams in his last 2 seasons there. But Staub wasn't a favorite of manager Harry "The Hat" Walker, and Stuab was traded to the Montreal Expos before their 1969 inaugural season for Jesus Alou and a 33-year-old first baseman named Donn Clendenon. Clendenon had played for Walker in Pittsburgh, and felt that he was racist, so he refused to play for Houston and retired instead. The Expos sent other players to the Astros to complete the trade, causing Clendenon to unretire and return to the Expos. He would, of course, later be traded to the Mets, helping them to a title.
As for Staub, he thrived in Montreal. Away from the monstrous dimensions of the Astrodome, Staub's offensive numbers picked up, and the Montreal fans embraced the New Orleans-born Staub as the club's first star. Staub embraced the city, learning to speak French, and was named an All-Star all 3 seasons he played there.
Staub was very happy in Montreal, and cried when he learned that he was traded to the Mets. Still, Staub got off to an excellent start for the Mets, batting .313 in early June when his wrist was fractured by a pitch thrown by Atlanta's George Stone, who would be traded to the Mets and become a key member of their 1973 team. He tried to play through the pain, but ultimately required surgery and missed a large chunk of his first season in New York.
The 1973 season saw Staub still suffering from some injury problems, but he played 155 games and slashed a respectable .279/.361/.421 for the Mets. He had 15 HR and 76 RBI for that light-hitting club, and also scored 77 runs and drew 74 walks. The thing I remember most about Staub from that season was just how markedly different his at bats were from the rest of the team. Staub always seemed to have a high quality at bat, never getting himself out. He had little protection in the batting order, as Cleon Jones was diminished by injuries and John Milner was a raw 23-year-old. Everyone else in that lineup was mediocre or worse.
For a young guy like myself, just really starting to pick up on the nuances of baseball, Staub was like a masters-level class in being a professional hitter. The difference between Staub and the rest of the Mets offense was stark. He quickly became my favorite position player.
Staub was a key contributor down the stretch for the Mets in August and September of 1973 as the last place Mets caught fire and overtook the mediocre clubs ahead of them to win the NL East with 82 wins - one less win than the 83 they totaled in 3 third place finishes the previous three seasons.
They went in to the NLCS against the 99-63 Cincinnati Reds as decided underdogs. They lost the first game behind Seaver 2-1 as their offense could only manage 3 hits, one of them from Seaver. They evened the series in Game 2, thanks to a masterful 2-hit shutout from Jon Matlack. Staub homered in the fourth against southpaw Don Gullet to give the Mets their first run in an eventual 5-0 win.
Game 3 featured a nasty fight between Pete Rose and Bud Harrelson that turned into a huge brawl. It also featured plenty of fireworks from the Mets' RF:
Staub's pair of dingers powered the Mets to a decisive 9-2 victory.
Known primarily as a hitter, and not fleet of foot, Staub was underrated as a fielder. Rusty played the field with intelligence and fearlessness. The Mets would lose Game 4 in extra innings, but Staub did all he could to keep the Mets in the game with his defense:
Staub separated his shoulder on the second catch, forcing him out of Game 5 and hindering him for the rest of the playoffs. The Mets would win the decisive game 7-2 behind Seaver, as the offense finally supported the future Hall of Famer with some runs.
Rusty showed his guts in the World Series against the A's. He had to make his throws from the outfield underhanded, but still hit .423 in the series, with 2 doubles, 1 home run and 6 RBI.
Continue reading by clicking here.
The start of the 1972 season was delayed by the first baseball strike, which lasted from April 1 - April 13. It ended when MLB agreed to an increase in pension payments and the introduction of salary arbitration. To make matters much worse, Mets manager Gil Hodges died of a heart attack after a round of golf on April 2 and was replaced by Yogi Berra. To a young fan like myself, it felt like the world was falling apart.
It was in the midst of the chaos of the strike and the void left by Hodges' sudden death that the Mets traded 3 young players - OF Ken Singleton, SS Tim Foli, and 1B Mike Jorgensen - to the Montreal Expos in exchange for RF Rusty Staub.
The 28-year-old Staub was already a 9 year major league veteran at the time of the deal. He began his career as a 19-year-old with the expansion Houston Colt .45s in 1963. After struggling for a couple of years, Staub had become an excellent player for Houston, being selected to all-star teams in his last 2 seasons there. But Staub wasn't a favorite of manager Harry "The Hat" Walker, and Stuab was traded to the Montreal Expos before their 1969 inaugural season for Jesus Alou and a 33-year-old first baseman named Donn Clendenon. Clendenon had played for Walker in Pittsburgh, and felt that he was racist, so he refused to play for Houston and retired instead. The Expos sent other players to the Astros to complete the trade, causing Clendenon to unretire and return to the Expos. He would, of course, later be traded to the Mets, helping them to a title.
As for Staub, he thrived in Montreal. Away from the monstrous dimensions of the Astrodome, Staub's offensive numbers picked up, and the Montreal fans embraced the New Orleans-born Staub as the club's first star. Staub embraced the city, learning to speak French, and was named an All-Star all 3 seasons he played there.
Staub was very happy in Montreal, and cried when he learned that he was traded to the Mets. Still, Staub got off to an excellent start for the Mets, batting .313 in early June when his wrist was fractured by a pitch thrown by Atlanta's George Stone, who would be traded to the Mets and become a key member of their 1973 team. He tried to play through the pain, but ultimately required surgery and missed a large chunk of his first season in New York.
The 1973 season saw Staub still suffering from some injury problems, but he played 155 games and slashed a respectable .279/.361/.421 for the Mets. He had 15 HR and 76 RBI for that light-hitting club, and also scored 77 runs and drew 74 walks. The thing I remember most about Staub from that season was just how markedly different his at bats were from the rest of the team. Staub always seemed to have a high quality at bat, never getting himself out. He had little protection in the batting order, as Cleon Jones was diminished by injuries and John Milner was a raw 23-year-old. Everyone else in that lineup was mediocre or worse.
For a young guy like myself, just really starting to pick up on the nuances of baseball, Staub was like a masters-level class in being a professional hitter. The difference between Staub and the rest of the Mets offense was stark. He quickly became my favorite position player.
Staub was a key contributor down the stretch for the Mets in August and September of 1973 as the last place Mets caught fire and overtook the mediocre clubs ahead of them to win the NL East with 82 wins - one less win than the 83 they totaled in 3 third place finishes the previous three seasons.
They went in to the NLCS against the 99-63 Cincinnati Reds as decided underdogs. They lost the first game behind Seaver 2-1 as their offense could only manage 3 hits, one of them from Seaver. They evened the series in Game 2, thanks to a masterful 2-hit shutout from Jon Matlack. Staub homered in the fourth against southpaw Don Gullet to give the Mets their first run in an eventual 5-0 win.
Game 3 featured a nasty fight between Pete Rose and Bud Harrelson that turned into a huge brawl. It also featured plenty of fireworks from the Mets' RF:
Staub's pair of dingers powered the Mets to a decisive 9-2 victory.
Known primarily as a hitter, and not fleet of foot, Staub was underrated as a fielder. Rusty played the field with intelligence and fearlessness. The Mets would lose Game 4 in extra innings, but Staub did all he could to keep the Mets in the game with his defense:
Staub separated his shoulder on the second catch, forcing him out of Game 5 and hindering him for the rest of the playoffs. The Mets would win the decisive game 7-2 behind Seaver, as the offense finally supported the future Hall of Famer with some runs.
Rusty showed his guts in the World Series against the A's. He had to make his throws from the outfield underhanded, but still hit .423 in the series, with 2 doubles, 1 home run and 6 RBI.
Continue reading by clicking here.
1 comment:
The trade really bothered me when it was done... 3 young players... but, in the long run, proved to be a great trade.
Post a Comment