RUSTY STAUB

Although he only played in Ouebec for three full seasons and part of a fourth, to this day, the big redhead is known affectionately throughout the baseball world as "Le Grand Orange" and he was a crowd pleaser wherever he played in his long and successful career. In the first decade or so of his 23 year career he played with start-up clubs. He was one of the early Houston stars, joining them as a rookie in the club's sophomore year and was a Texas favorite (he hails from New Orleans) for six years, making the NL All Star team in '67 (he had a career high .333 that year) and '68. So highly prized was he that when the Montreal club began in 1969 (the first year of division play), they dealt Jesus Alou, Jack Billingham, a throw-in and $100,000 in cash for the man who would be the first hero in a franchise that has gone on in the '80s and '90s to be one of the more respected in baseball. In his three years in Canada he averaged 160 games a year, hovered around the .300 mark and, released from the spacious Astrodome, smacked 78 homers, making the All Star team every year. In 1972, although he seemed to be past his prime, he was dealt to the Mets and finally got to play on a winner, going to the World Series in '73, still hitting a respectable .279 with 15 homers. He continued at that pace through 1975, when he was dealt, for the first time, to the American League.

Now 31 and having been traded for the popular Mickey Lolich, Staub joined the long march of Detroit sluggers that began with Cobb and Crawford and continues thrpugh to Fielder and Fryman. In three full years in Detroit, he averaged 106 ribbies, 20 homers and a .280 average. By 1979, the six-time All Star, having become too "grand" for everyday play, began a second career, one that would keep him in the Show for another half-decade. He became one of the game's premier pinch hitters.

He currently ranks 13th on the pinch-hit list with an even 100, 22nd in PH avg. at .279. Staub is a classic Star in His Time, as his six All Star appearances attest. Although he ranks remarkably high on the career list in many offensive categories, he should not be considered as a serious Cooperstown candidate. For example, he led the league in only one offensive category, with 44 doubles in 1967. Yet, when you look at his career stats, consider this: he had more extra base hits than such sluggers as Rice, Cepeda, Mize, Bench, Murphy, Allen, Santo and Berra.