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Being Rusty Staub

Willets Point Feb 08 2006 08:41 AM

Now that I've reached the Top 20 I've decided to start a thread for each of these players and my memories of them. Rusty Staub is one of my favorite Mets and among the reasons I was drawn to the Mets over the Evil Empire in my youthful days when one could go either way. How could you not like a big lumbering redheaded guy who could hit? Of course, I'm too young to remember Staub in his prime albeit raised on stories of his role in the 1973 pennant winning team. My own memories are of Rusty as the premier pinch hitter as well as that game where he was swapped from right-to-left field and back again depending on the batter (and if I recall correctly the ball was hit to him anyway). Staub always struck me as an affable good guy as well as an excellent player, so three cheers for Rusty!!!

ScarletKnight41 Feb 08 2006 08:44 AM

I met Rusty at the Tug McGraw Foundation fundraiser in November. I asked him to sign a baseball for my mother, because her birthday was coming up and she always loved him. He signed the ball and was very nice about it. So yes, Rusty is definitely an affable good guy.

seawolf17 Feb 08 2006 08:49 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 08 2006 09:00 AM

I just started rereading Keith Hernandez' "If At First...", the story of the '85 season. Keith relates the story of Rusty and Clint Hurdle jogging back and forth between left and right field, keeping Rusty in the opposite field. They won, so I s'pose it worked, but Rusty had to make a long running catch in right field anyway on a fly ball from pinch-hitter Rick Rhoden (batting for outfielder Doug Frobel). According to Mex, "Rusty 'fined' Davey five bucks for all that running." I don't think there was anything not to love about Rusty. Like Tug here and in Philly, Rusty was equally beloved here and in Montreal. edit: There were so many great things about that game. * Joe Sambito made his Mets debut, pitching the 7th. * Not only did Rhoden pinch hit, but so did pitcher Larry McWilliams. * Jerry Dybzinski played short for Pittsburgh in the 18th; it was his penultimate major league game. * Roger McDowell made his first major league start. He started again on May 4, and never started another game. * The Mets played the game under protest after Harry Wendelstedt called a balk on Keith Hernandez for charging the plate and then returning to first to take a pickoff throw in the 9th. * The Pirates almost won the game in the 9th, but Gary Carter threw out Rafael Belliard trying to score on an Orosco wild pitch to end the inning. * The Pirates almost won the game in the 10th, but Clint Hurdle threw out a lumbering George Hendrick at the plate from left field to end the inning. * After Straw's grand slam in the first, the Mets went hitless until Rafael Santana led off the 12th with a single.

Benjamin Grimm Feb 08 2006 08:55 AM

I was at that game. It was an 18-inning affair against the Pirates at Shea Stadium in April of 1985. (I think it was the only game Roger McDowell ever started. If not the only one, it was one of a very few.) Rusty made his running catch while in right field. It was a short fly ball tailing off into foul territory. If my mental memory is correct, Rusty charged in and grabbed it at his shins as he was crossing the foul line.

Edgy DC Feb 08 2006 09:00 AM

That game summed up the joy the fans took in that team. Nothing like seeing fans go wild to the sight of a fat man making a dificult running catch with the go-ahead run on base in extra innings. Rusty's momentum took him to the edgy of the crowd, and two fans reached across the barrier and hugged him. And it was cool. It was OK. Earliest memories include watching Rusty toss the ball in underhanded in 1973. I didn't quite understand what was going on. I later thought that Berra should have moved him to first and Milner to the outfield, but what do I know?

Johnny Dickshot Feb 08 2006 09:09 AM

The one time I met Rusty, I was a teenager at a sports banquet thing in New York. Among the things they gave away were packs of baseball cards. I opened mine and found a Rusty Staub "super vet" card. I was especially shy then around famous people I admired, but this card gave me all the courage I needed. I was sure Rusty would be as delighted as me to see it. I approached him and showed it to him and he said flatly: "I don't sign baseball cards." I hadn't expected that. Not that I cared one way or another about getting autographs, I was disappointed mainly that I had nowhere to go in conversation, and that he didn't say "Hey! That's a cool card. Thanks!" or anything, so I just went back back to my seat, kind of mad at myself for ever bothering the guy. I still liked him a lot as a player. But if bb cards were really an issue, I'd hope instead he'd had offered to sign a piece of paper instead. My friend who met Rusty at a wine show had a much better time with him, he says, and did get his signature. Much more recently I've been struck by Rusty's place in Met history. Whitey Herzog left the Mets in disgust in the early 1970s after calling the trade to acquire Staub (Singleton, Jorgensen, Foli) "stupid," which is something I never much considered but am now. That he was traded *away* poorly has never been a subject of debate.

cooby Feb 08 2006 09:10 AM

Nice idea, Willets.

Edgy DC Feb 08 2006 09:16 AM

Teams trying to stay on top lose perspective, no doubt. By 1973, Singleton was better than Staub, and would more or less remain so for the rest of his career. Foli and Jorgenson weren't quite as good as Harrelson and Milner yet, but they were close and would have taken their jobs shortly after. Funny that Jorgy later became Rusty's partner on Bambi's bandits when they each had their second tour of duty.

seawolf17 Feb 08 2006 09:18 AM

="Johnny Dickshot"]The one time I met Rusty, I was a teenager at a sports banquet thing in New York. Among the things they gave away were packs of baseball cards. I opened mine and found a Rusty Staub "super vet" card. Mr. Baseball Cards to the rescue.

Bret Sabermetric Feb 08 2006 09:19 AM

"Staub was one fellow whom I absolutely figured out. He liked to pull the ball early in the count, then back off and go the other way with two strikes, anticipating breaking balls. So I would pitch him backwards, feeding him my sorry curveballs until he was set up, then blowing the ball by him inside. Worked every time." STRANGER TO THE GAME, p. 179

Edgy DC Feb 08 2006 09:20 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 08 2006 09:38 AM

Not to turn this into a wound-licking exercise, but I wonder if it wasn't so much the trading of Singleton/Foli/Jorgenson that disgusted the Rat, so much as that trade on top of the Ryan and Otis divestments. Even without the benefit of hindsight which we enjoy, it must be frustrating to work in development and see a team regularly cash in their chips on the prospects you worked develop, just as they're ready to go.

seawolf17 Feb 08 2006 09:29 AM

Bret Sabermetric wrote: "Staub was one fellow whom I absolutely figured out. He liked to pull the ball early in the count, then back off and go the other way with two strikes, anticipating breaking balls. So I would pitch him backwards, feeding him my sorry curveballs until he was set up, then blowing the ball by him inside. Worked every time." STRANGER TO THE GAME, p. 179 It's a quick study and a small sample size,and I might be off by an at-bat or two, but: Rusty Staub vs Bob Gibson 1973: 0-for-8 1974: 1-for-17, single 1975: 1-for-3, grand slam -- Bob Gibson retired that season. (Coincidence? I think not.)

metirish Feb 08 2006 10:01 AM

Great idea Willets, great memories guys, that sucks that he wouldn't sign the card Dickshot, as per the Christmas charity thing just gone I donated to his Fire & Police fund.

MFS62 Feb 08 2006 10:57 AM Edited 1 time(s), most recently on Feb 08 2006 11:59 AM

And if you never ate at his ribs place in Manhattan, let me get you drooling by telling you that the ribs were so tender that the meat practically fell off the bone. Better than Virgil's. EDIT: Hopefully made more understandable as a result of Bret's vaild comments. Later

Bret Sabermetric Feb 08 2006 11:48 AM

MFS62 wrote: And if you never ate at his ribs place in Manhattan, the fell practically fell off the bone. Better than Virgil's. You mean of course that "if you never ribs at his place ate in Virgil's, the fell practically bone off the meat. Better than Manhattan", no?

MFS62 Feb 08 2006 12:00 PM

I edited my post. You were right. Happy now, bubeleh? Later

Frayed Knot Feb 08 2006 12:35 PM

I had two seperate "first" impressions of Rusty. 1) First time I saw him at a stadium. He was still with the Expos at a time when most of my baseball had been viewed through a b&w TV, so while I knew who he was I had never really "seen" him. I was in the RF stands at Shea when his hat fell off as he was making a catch ... and I'm not sure I had ever seen hair that color before. That hair color would mellow in later years but, at that point, it was obvious why Daniel Joseph had acquired his particular nickname. It truly looked odd upon first viewing. 2) Seeing him in person for the first time up close ... and realizing how freaking huge he was!! This was while he was still playing; heavier than he was as a young player but still not yet as "portly" as he was in his last years and in retirement. But he was just big in every direction: taller than the 6'1" he was often billed at, very wide back, deep chest, the whole works. Dressed in a suit he looked like a gray flannel section of the Berlin wall and at least as immovable. My lasting impression is that those whose only memories of him were of the final PH-ing years of his career missed a pretty darn good all around player. Most know about his nearly 300 HRs & 500 2Bs, but he was also a very good fielder with a terrific arm (which never really recovered from that '73 NLCS injury), and while he was certainly never fast, he wasn't nearly the Clydesdale that many remember from the tail-end of his career.

Willets Point Feb 08 2006 01:17 PM

"Dressed in a suit he looked like a gray flannel section of the Berlin wall and at least as immovable." That's a great line!

TheOldMole Feb 08 2006 02:18 PM

Willets -- looking forward to the continuation of this series. Great memories of Rusty here. I remember my friends and I -- yes, I had friends before CP -- always used to hold our preseason prediction lunch at Rusty's restaurant. (Come to think of it, some of my pals back then were CP, but a different CP).

Willets Point Feb 08 2006 02:25 PM

Whatever happened to Rusty's restaurant? I never went there myself.

Bret Sabermetric Feb 08 2006 03:53 PM

Neither did I. Passed it a zillion times, always meant to stop in, figured it would be there forever. You know who I always associate with Staub? Our eponym. He and Staub came up absurdly young at the same time on expansion twins, played the same positions, 1B and corner outfield, were comparable ballplayers for a while, and Rusty just got better and better while Mr. Ed plateaued and declilned, so though they both had long careers, Rusty had pulled out to a considerable lead, making people forget that they had once briefly seemed quite comparable. We should do another one of those association threads. You know, where you name a player and the first association you have with his name and your reasons. Those are fun.

Zvon Feb 08 2006 04:08 PM

This is a great idea WP. I remember lots of things about Rusty. Especially his penchant for making foot first sliding catches. It would look like he was sliding into a base, but he'd slide into a hard hit liner and snag it right before it hit the grass. A memory that comes to mind is from the '73 playoffs. In game 3, the Harrelson/Rose fight overshadowed Rusty's huge bat. But what I remember most was from game 4. I had mezzinine seats, but because of the anticipated possiblility that the Mets could clinch (you only had to win 3 of 5 those days) me and my buddy snuck down to the box seats. All I could think of was trying to get on the field and jump around when they won. During game 4, the closest I could get was on the 1st base side out in right ( game 5 I was alot luckier). I was about right across from where Rusty was positioned, not down by the rail but more up towards the main walkway in a knot of people. The Reds had tied it and it was 1-1in late innings. This was the game where Rose hit the homer in the 12th to beat the Mets, but that was still to come. Now, Im a little hazy with the details here. Not sure which inning, not sure who hit it. It had to be late innings because I was out there in the right field box seats. A Reds batter hit a booming drive to right that looked like it could go. In the very least it was gonna be off the wall for extra bases. Rusty took off and went after this shot like a knight on his horse. He charged after it. He never once took his eyes off the ball. Just kept tracking it and picked up speed as he went. He was flying after this fly ball. There was a brief moment of awe as I realized he was going to catch it. Running full speed, Rusty threw up his glove in a backhanded stab, snagged the ball, and smacked into the wall. It really happened, to my naked eye, all at once. Rusty was went flat against the outfield wall, and slowly, almost in slow motion, collapsed. He held the ball. Im sure the play ended the inning because the players all went to aid Rusty, and not to retrieve the ball. Staub hurt his shoulder real bad there, but still managed to continue to play throught the post season. I know he had to really mess up his shoulder because what I clearly remember most about the play was that Rusty hit the wall so hard, the wall rippled. You may not believe this possible, but I saw it. From the moment of impact the outfield wall shook, and there was a visable ripple effect as the vibrations spread out in either direction. I can only compare it to a wave, because thats how it looked. The wall wavered ~~~~~ from where he hit it well towards centerfield and back towards the bullpen section. I have never seen anyone before or since track a ball with such total abandonment and hit a outfield wall so hard in my life. Thats what I remember about Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub. (If anyone can tell me who hit that drive and what inning, that would be kool)

Frayed Knot Feb 08 2006 07:04 PM

Willets Point wrote: Whatever happened to Rusty's restaurant? I never went there myself. There were two actually. The original was up on 73rd & 3rd IIRC. I used to hang around with a girl who lived up in that neck of the woods so we went there a bunch of times (she admitted to having a crush on RS as a young girl). It was the more sports-themed of his two places. On one wall was a sequence of snap-shots of him making that '73 NLCS catch and subsequent crash. Another displayed all 20+ years of his baseball cards. He was still doing some game announcing when he announced one day that he was closing it up due to ridiculous rent increases. A second shorter-lived one was a more corporate looking one in mid-town (47th & 5th). I was there once or twice but one day I looked up and it was just gone.

Bret Sabermetric Feb 08 2006 07:45 PM

Zvon wrote: (If anyone can tell me who hit that drive and what inning, that would be kool) Dan Dreisen, 11th inning, Zvon. If you PM me with an e-mail address I'll send you the NY Times article about that game. It even has a grainy photo of Staub writhing on the ground following the catch One of my prized possessions is a ticket stub from the Rose-Harrelson fight game. I was sitting in the RF nosebleed seats (some asshole had sold me tickets with the assurance that they were box seats)--I was pissed off because the outrageous, unheard-of price was seven bucks.

Zvon Feb 08 2006 09:15 PM

Bret Sabermetric wrote: ="Zvon"](If anyone can tell me who hit that drive and what inning, that would be kool) Dan Dreisen, 11th inning, Zvon. If you PM me with an e-mail address I'll send you the NY Times article about that game. It even has a grainy photo of Staub writhing on the ground following the catch One of my prized possessions is a ticket stub from the Rose-Harrelson fight game. I was sitting in the RF nosebleed seats (some asshole had sold me tickets with the assurance that they were box seats)--I was pissed off because the outrageous, unheard-of price was seven bucks. I was there. Left field mezz box (had to sleep over outside Shea, was 2nd in line at one window, and thats the best I could get- I think I paid $7 a piece myself for a block of 3), and that bottle was thrown from somewhere up behind me. Saw it fly right over my head down to Rose's feet.lol. Thanks for that info! Id love to see that article Bret!! I dont think my Email is any secret. Zvon58@hotmail.com .....well, it aint now anyways,lol. PS: When Rose smacked that homer in the 12th, remember how he ran around the bases with his fist raised, shakin his arm? That bastage >:X

Bret Sabermetric Feb 09 2006 05:57 AM

Done. I sent you two attachments in separate e-mails. LMK if there's any problem opening them.

Zvon Feb 09 2006 03:14 PM

Bret Sabermetric wrote: Done. I sent you two attachments in separate e-mails. LMK if there's any problem opening them. Got the tickets. Ill shrink/cutout them and post them, if you wish. Or just the playoff one? Mine looked just like that, with Mr Met, but the backround was light blue. The Times game article didnt open. Should be an accessable adobe file. Ill try afew more things to try and open it. Id probly have to take a screenshot to post that. Thanx for the stuff Bret. I really appreciate it. :)

Zvon Feb 09 2006 03:16 PM

I did find this in my oh so unorganized files:

Zvon Feb 09 2006 04:06 PM

^those were the days when tickets had personality.

cleonjones11 Feb 09 2006 09:43 PM Staub and Banner Day

Me and my friends had Staub dressed as Mr. Mets with the title "King of "Queens". The banner was confiscated. Well, arguably the Mets first gay ballplayer...

Bret Sabermetric Feb 09 2006 11:08 PM

="Zvon"] ^those were the days when tickets had personality. Zvon--Thanks for posting my stub. I'll resend the Times article to you. I think it will work this way, but again LMK.

Zvon Feb 10 2006 06:02 PM

sure thing. Hope it does. Thnx again Bret. Bye Rusty *sob* (its okay....we get him back again :) )

TheOldMole Feb 10 2006 07:44 PM

73rd and 3rd is the one I remember. Rusty was still playing then, and when you were in the restaurant and he came up to bat, everything stopped. Serving, bar conversation, everything.

Zvon Feb 11 2006 11:04 PM

This is excellent, excellent EXCELLENT Bret. Thanks for sending this, and Ill share it with youz all.

Zvon Feb 11 2006 11:05 PM

Zvon Feb 11 2006 11:06 PM

Zvon Feb 11 2006 11:11 PM

two sentences from the article: ]For Yogi Berra, a man on a trampoline all summer, the game became one of the most nerve-racking of the 165 played by his meandering Mets. ...meandering Mets? Mr Durso, you sir, are a fool! ;) ]He [Staub] was knocked flat, but trotted off the field rubbing his injured shoulder while the crowd roared for another bit of the Mets' strange talent for survival. .....strange talent? I wonder if this guy watched game 7 of the 73 World Series ? You cant survive any longer than that,lol.

Edgy DC Feb 12 2006 06:04 AM

]I have never seen anyone before or since track a ball with such total abandonment and hit a outfield wall so hard in my life. Well, there's Rodney McCray...

soupcan Feb 12 2006 07:48 AM

TheOldMole wrote: 73rd and 3rd is the one I remember. Rusty was still playing then, and when you were in the restaurant and he came up to bat, everything stopped. Serving, bar conversation, everything. Never went in but I was on the 3rd Avenue bus one time as it passed the place and Mex was sitting at a table in the window.

MFS62 Feb 12 2006 08:03 AM

Check the box score. What a really shit Mets lineup that was. And - Why didn't Pedro Borbon get a save? Were they discretionary on the part of the official scorer in those days? MAybe the scorer felt Borbon didn't gave to work too hard to protect a lead against that lineup. Later

Frayed Knot Feb 12 2006 09:08 AM

I think that maybe they just didn't list saves in box-scores at that point. There's not really any discretion involved in that stat (unfortunately). Other oddities from today's viewpoint: 1) 4-1/3 IPs for "closer" McGraw 2) An extra-inning playoff game played in just 3:07 !!!

Zvon Feb 12 2006 01:45 PM

Edgy DC wrote: ]I have never seen anyone before or since track a ball with such total abandonment and hit a outfield wall so hard in my life. Well, there's Rodney McCray... Is that the centerfielder in the movie "The Natural"?

seawolf17 Feb 12 2006 01:50 PM

Zvon wrote: ="Edgy DC"] ]I have never seen anyone before or since track a ball with such total abandonment and hit a outfield wall so hard in my life. Well, there's Rodney McCray... Is that the centerfielder in the movie "The Natural"? No... McCray was the centerfielder who famously ran through the outfield wall in the mid-80s in the Mets system. Can't find the clip, but I'm sure you've seen it. It's part of Len Berman's "Spanning The World" montage.

Zvon Feb 12 2006 05:02 PM

seawolf17 wrote: Can't find the clip, but I'm sure you've seen it. Im not sure. I remember a minor leaguer doing that but it seems more recent than the 80's. But I have a pretty wacky selective memory.

Edgy DC Feb 12 2006 05:14 PM

Rodney McCray: I couldn't find a clip, but he's now instructng with the Reds.

Bret Sabermetric Feb 26 2006 07:59 AM

Frayed Knot wrote: I think that maybe they just didn't list saves in box-scores at that point. There's not really any discretion involved in that stat (unfortunately). Other oddities from today's viewpoint: 1) 4-1/3 IPs for "closer" McGraw 2) An extra-inning playoff game played in just 3:07 !!! Not to pick on FK especially for his gross inattention here (because it's shared by MFS62 and, really, all of you who didn't point this out), but Borbon is credited with the save in box score. Second-to-last line.

MFS62 Feb 26 2006 09:22 AM

(Slapping forehead) Of course! Boxscore formats keep changing. We were looking for it next to Borbon's name, where a save would be noted today (As well as the save number for the season) Good catch. I guess that's an example of thinking "inside the box". Later