Fan favorite, former Met Staub dies at West Palm Beach home,
Rusty Staub, the orangehaired outfielder who became a huge hit with baseball fans in two countries during an AllStar career that spanned 23 major league seasons, died Thursday. He was 73.
Staub died after an illness in a hospital in West Palm Beach, Fla., hours before the start of the baseball season, the New York Mets said in a statement. The team learned of his death from friends of Staub who were with him at the hospital, a spokesman added.
Affectionately dubbed “Le Grand Orange,” Staub was a six-time All-Star and the only player in major league history to have at least 500 hits with four teams. He became a huge hit with fans in the U.S. and Canada, most adored in New York and Montreal.
A savvy, reliable slugger with left-handed power and a discerning eye, Staub played from 1963 to 1985 and finished 284 hits shy of 3,000. He had 3½ great seasons with the Detroit Tigers and batted .300 for the Texas Rangers in 1980.
He broke into the majors as a teenager with Houston, lasted into his 40s with the Mets and spent decades doing charity work in the New York area.
Staub was the first star for the expansion Montreal Expos in 1969, embraced by French-Canadian fans at Parc Jarry who appreciated he learned their language.
Late in his career, often sporting black batting gloves and choking way up on the bat, he became one of baseball’s best pinch-hitters, tying an NL record in 1983 with eight consecutive pinch-hits and equaling a major league mark with 25 pinch-hit RBIs.
Staub worked as an announcer on Mets television broadcasts from 198695. He was inducted into the Texas Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Daniel Joseph Staub was called Rusty because of his bright red hair. He made his major league debut with the Houston Colt .45s in 1963, eight days after his 19th birthday.
Playing mostly right field and some first base, too, Staub retired with a .279 career average, 292 home runs and 1,466 RBIs.
He was the only player with at least 500 hits for four teams (Astros, Expos, Mets and Tigers).
He is survived by brother Chuck and sisters Sue Tully and Sally Johnson.
Angels: Shohei Ohtani got off to a perfect start at the plate.
The two-way newcomer from Japan quickly put aside a rough spring training, hitting a single in his first real at-bat Thursday.
Ohtani often looked overmatched in the Cactus League, managing just four singles in 32 at-bats (.125) and striking out 10 times.
Cardinals: RHP Greg Holland agreed to a $14 million, one-year contract, according to a person familiar with the deal.
A three-time All-Star, Holland was a free agent after leading the National League with 41 saves last year for Colorado. Holland turned down a $17.4 million, oneyear qualifying offer from the Rockies last fall.
Giants: Closer Mark Melancon was put on the 10-day disabled list with a right elbow flexor strain.
Reds: Closer Raisel Iglesias was placed on the 3-day paternity list. The Reds also put setup man David Hernandez on the 10-day disabled list with a sore right shoulder.
Salaries: Boston had a $224 million payroll and topped the major leagues for the first time since at least the 1980s. San Francisco was next at $207 million, followed by the Chicago Cubs ($182 million), Washington ($181 million), the Los Angeles Dodgers ($179 million), the Los Angeles Angels ($170 million) and the New York Yankees in seventh at $167 million — their lowest payroll since 2003.