centerfield maz

Rusty Staub-Part Two: In December of 1980 Staub returned to New York signing with the New York Mets as a free agent. Things had changed drastically in the five years he was gone. He found himself on a last place team & an organization at the lowest point of their history. The team had just been bought by a new ownership of Nelson Doubleday & Fred Wilpon. Joe Torre was in his last year as Mets manager. It would take a few years, but things were going to get better.  L e Grand Orange once again became a popular player at Shea Stadium, adding to his Mets legacy in a new era at the twilight of his career. 1981 Strike Shortened Season: On Opening Day 1981 he was the Mets first baseman batting in the fifth position, at Wrigley Field hitting a HR in his Mets return.  From April 19th-Arile 25th, he drove in runs in four straight games, including both ends of a double header. Staub drove in runs in four straight games that April, finishing the month batting .320. On May 1st he hit a

The Mets Perusing Rusty Staub: The New York Mets needed a bat badly after the 1971 season & the Montreal Expos needed to fill some position players with young solid talent. In the 1971 -1972 off season even as late as Spring Training, Mets manager Gil Hodges was after Rusty Staub. He wanted him bad & even told Staub about it during a March exhibition game. The two teams got together and began talking about a blockbuster trade, just before the start of the 1972 season. Shockingly toward the end of Spring Training & during a brief Players strike, Mets manager Gil Hodges suffered a fatal heart attack in Florida. The team was devastated, upper management named Yogi Berra the popular choice as the team's manager.  On April 6, 1972, four days after Gil Hodges fatal heart attack, Staub was Traded to the Mets in exchange for Ken Singleton, Tim Foli, & Mike Jorgensen. This turned out to be a good trade for both teams. Rusty was a true hitter with power, who would