New York Mets icon Rusty Staub passed away at the age of 73 on Thursday morning according to Bill Madden of the New York Post.
Staub, known as Le Grand Orange to Mets fans, died at 12:30 a.m. Thursday at the Good Samaritan Medical Center in Palm Beach, Florida, due to multiple organ failure. He was hospitalized last month due to kidney failure and has been in the hospital since.
Staub was a six-time All-Star including once with the Mets in 1972 when he also finished 19th in MVP voting. He played in parts of nine seasons with the Mets.
In his 23 year career as a major leaguer, Staub collected some gaudy offensive numbers including 2,796 hits, 1,225 walks, 499 doubles, 296 home runs and 1,449 RBI. He retired with a career slash of .279/.362/.439 and a 129 OPS+.
Rusty’s only postseason came in 1973 with the Mets, where he led the team with a .341 average, .413 on-base and a whopping 1.096 OPS in 11 games with four home runs and 11 RBI.
One of the most beloved personalities in Mets history, our thoughts and prayers go out to the family and friends of Rusty Staub.
Thoughts from Joe D.
I was so saddened to wake up to this awful news this morning. Rusty was one of my favorite Mets of all time and his loss to me is like the loss of a friend. I’ll always remember what a force he was for the Mets on offense and how he helped carry us all the way to the World Series in 1973.
He was a leader on the field and well known for his clutch bat, but Rusty was also one of the most colorful personalities ever to don a Mets uniform and was universally loved by all.
A true humanitarian whose charitable endeavors extended to the poor and to hard luck children, and most famously to the families of first responders who died in the line of duty. A true giant of a man with a big heart and gracious spirit. I will truly miss him.
