Beloved Met Rusty Staub has passed away at age 73.
The New York Daily News reported that Staub died at 12:30 a.m. Thursday at the Good Samaritan Medical Center in Palm Beach, Fla., due to multiple organ failure. He was initially admitted to the hospital with pneumonia, dehydration and an infection after collapsing on a golf course in February and had spent the last eight weeks in the hospital. He would have turned 74 on Sunday.
Staub’s baseball accolades are numerous.
He’s the only player ever to record 500 hits for 4 separate teams. He retired with 2,716 hits. He led the Mets to a World Series appearance in 1973, where despite a separated shoulder he hit .423 against the Oakland Athletics. In 23 seasons, Staub reached base 4,050 times, the 41st highest total in baseball history. He was inducted into the Mets hall of fame in 1986.
I think it’s important to remember him for what he did off the field as well. Through the Rusty Staub Foundation he raised millions of dollars for the families of first responders who lost their lives in the line of duty.
It was hard to find a cause that Rusty Staub wasn’t a champion for. He became known as much for his philanthropy as his play on the field.
The sports world mourns the loss of “Le Grand Orange” today. The families he helped out during their darkest times mourn as well.