OT: RIP Rusty Staub
Too young. He was my favorite Tiger when I was just a tadpole...
March 29th, 2018 at 10:05 AM ^
for the Tigers during those rebuilding years in the late 70's/early 80's. Class act and great with teammates and fans. Think he was a fan favorite for all 5 teams he played for.
Very underrated when you think of great past hitters. Rusty had over 2,700 hits in a 23 year major league career.
But overall, he seemed to be a good guy who loved what he did, and the fans recognized this. RIP Rusty.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:03 AM ^
seeing that old footage from games in Montreal brought back some good old memories. Some great players went through that city playing in that old park. RIP Rusty....
March 29th, 2018 at 10:53 AM ^
and look for some Rusty footage from his Expos days. He played with some great talent back then.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:04 AM ^
He was the only major league player to have 500 hits with four different teams.
He, Ty Cobb, Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield share the distinction of being the only players to hit home runs before turning 20 years old, and after turning 40 years old.
Trusty Rusty as Ernie Harwell called him will be missed.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:24 AM ^
Lefty with lethal bat. One of my first Tiger heroes.
Saw him, Mark Fidrych, Ron LeFlore and the gang play in 1976 at my first visit to Tiger Stadium. Great memories as a very young Tigers fan.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:34 AM ^
in 1976. Mark the Bird was the talk of baseball. And more than that, it was a fun year for other sports. That November, Michigan shut out Ohio State in Columbus 22-0. And the Michigan Basketball team was riding high too. In March, they got to the NCAA finals before losing to undefeated IU, and in November started a season where they were ranked #1 much of the season.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:46 AM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 10:56 AM ^
"According to Staub, who was there the day it happened, Fidrych was in the outfield shagging flies in spring training when he hurtled himself through the air to get at a hard hit ball. He landed on his left leg and twisted it in an odd manner. The Bird bounced on it and limped a little, but he still continued to stand out there for a few minutes. Staub knew immediately that Fidrych had injured himself.
“He had this big grin on his face, like he always did. He was goofing around out there and he [landed] wrong.”
https://www.detroitathletic.com/blog/2012/05/10/injury-to-rivera-of-yan…
My first visit was the following year, in 1977. I still have the yearbook with the team's three All Stars (from the previous season, 1976) on the cover: Leflore, Fidrych and Staub. Like you, I have fond memories of that visit and of Staub.
March 29th, 2018 at 10:21 AM ^
Sad... He was a fan favorite at Tigers Stadium, always reliable at the plate. And he had to hit well, because he couldn't run any faster than I can right now! He was no threat to steal, that's for sure. In the off-season, he moonlighted as a grave digger. Salaries weren't what they are now...
March 29th, 2018 at 10:41 AM ^
Rusty was a master chef
March 29th, 2018 at 12:27 PM ^
that's for damn sure! One of our favorite lines from when Al Kaline was doing color commentary on TV (when Rusty would hit a dribbler that some players might be able to turn into an infield single) was: "Well... Rusty.... can't run." He didn't mince words, Al.
But I loved watching Rusty. I also saw him at the Corner in Fidrych's year, 1976. RIP Rusty
March 29th, 2018 at 10:26 AM ^
Great teammate, great guy, rip.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:20 AM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 11:22 AM ^
And Jason fondly recalls the '76 season with Mark, Rusty, and the team. Great vet, pure hitter...... Great individual.....
Always remember my youthful days mimicing his short sweet swing in the backyard....
March 29th, 2018 at 12:57 PM ^
Have you told your son Jason Thompson's nickname back in those Tiger Stadium days?
He was "Rooftop" Thompson, for prodigious blasts that hit, and even cleared, the right-field roof.
In today's HR friendly game, where uppercutting is in and strikeouts are less frowned upon, JT may have been very in demand!
A super nice guy and really good with the kids.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:23 AM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
Kell & Kaline used to joke about the time he hit an inside the park home run, said the outfielders must have lost the ball in the grass.
And he used to choke up about a full hands length -
rip
and John Wockenfuss might have been the slowest baseball players when it came to running in the game.
Could Rusty swing that bat.
John Wockenfuss polluted many young baseball players' batting stances. Loved to emulate him as a youngster.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:31 AM ^
and I was crushed at the time. Rusty turned out to be a very good player for the Tigers.
RIP
Nolan Ryan, Amos Otis, Tom Seaver, Rusty Staub, Tug McGraw... The list is a long and painful one for Mets fans.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:31 AM ^
Nolan Ryan cruising on a 1-hitter into the 9th. Nobody got past first the whole game. HBP, then a walk, then Rusty stepped up and first pitch smoked one into the upper deck in right. Tigers won 3-2.
March 29th, 2018 at 12:41 PM ^
love that avatar
March 29th, 2018 at 11:35 AM ^
Lot of memories of Rusty Staub when I was a kid listening to the Tigers on the radio.
March 29th, 2018 at 11:56 AM ^
Wow, this is awful AND strange.
He popped into my head last night after decades of not remembering he existed. Now he's gone.
I understand coincidence happens, but eerie. He was a great hitter.
March 29th, 2018 at 12:21 PM ^
March 29th, 2018 at 12:36 PM ^
were not very good, the players like Rusty, Ron, Mark, Milt and Aurelio were fun to watch as a kid playing baseball in little league through much of those summers.
March 29th, 2018 at 12:37 PM ^
He was a rare athlete who went to Montreal and made the effort to learn French, instead of just hiding in the anglophone bubble.
Adieu au Grand Orange.
Some of my best childhood memories were watching the Tigers play and going to the beach in the summer with a game on the radio.
Choked way up on the bat and seemed to get a double every at bat. Was truly a Tiger hero in his day. RIP Rusty Staub!
name using george kell's voice in our head, 'its a bright sun-shiney day here at tiger stadium folks, and rusty staub is the first batter in the inning. you have got to know he would like to continue the hot streak he has been on...."
memories of our youth. bless you rusty, you just hit your way into heaven.
Was a tragic day for Mets fans when he was traded to the Tigers. Glad that he was able to come back and finish his career in NY while serving as a premier pinch hitter.
thanks rob