Rusty Staub
Born: 4/1/1944 in New Orleans, LA, USA
Died: 3/29/2018 in West Palm Beach, FL, USA
MLB Debut: 1963-04-09 | Final Game: 1985-10-06
Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 6'2" | Weight: 190 lbs
Full name: Daniel Joseph Staub
Biography
Rusty Staub, born in 1944, was a prominent position player whose career spanned from 1963 to 1985. Known for his exceptional hitting ability and versatility in the outfield and at first base, Staub played a total of 2,951 games, accumulating 2,716 hits over his lengthy career. He finished with a batting average of .279, complemented by 292 home runs and 1,466 RBIs, marking him as one of the era's more formidable hitters. His ability to consistently produce at the plate earned him six All-Star selections, highlighting his status as one of the game's elite players during his time.
Staub's career unfolded during a transformative period in baseball, encompassing both the rise of power hitters and the increasing importance of on-base percentage in the game. He was known for his keen batting eye and strong offensive contributions, which made him a fan favorite in cities like New York and Montreal, where he played significant parts of his career. His legacy extends beyond just statistics; Staub was also celebrated for his charitable work and contributions to the community, solidifying his place not only in baseball history but also in the hearts of fans.
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2951 | 9720 | 1189 | 2716 | 499 | 47 | 292 | 1466 | 47 | 1255 | 888 | 0.279 | 0.362 | 0.431 | 0.793 | 29998.7 |
Season-by-Season Batting
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | HOU | NL | 150 | 513 | 43 | 115 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 45 | 0 | 59 | 58 | 0.224 | -752.2 |
| 1964 | HOU | NL | 89 | 292 | 26 | 63 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 35 | 1 | 21 | 31 | 0.216 | -605.9 |
| 1965 | HOU | NL | 131 | 410 | 43 | 105 | 20 | 1 | 14 | 63 | 3 | 52 | 57 | 0.256 | 837.9 |
| 1966 | HOU | NL | 153 | 554 | 60 | 155 | 28 | 3 | 13 | 81 | 2 | 58 | 61 | 0.280 | 1145.4 |
| 1967 | HOU | NL | 149 | 546 | 71 | 182 | 44 | 1 | 10 | 74 | 0 | 60 | 47 | 0.333 | 3320.4 |
| 1968 | HOU | NL | 161 | 591 | 54 | 172 | 37 | 1 | 6 | 72 | 2 | 73 | 57 | 0.291 | 2398.4 |
| 1969 | WSN | NL | 158 | 549 | 89 | 166 | 26 | 5 | 29 | 79 | 3 | 110 | 61 | 0.302 | 4666.9 |
| 1970 | WSN | NL | 160 | 569 | 98 | 156 | 23 | 7 | 30 | 94 | 12 | 112 | 93 | 0.274 | 3267.9 |
| 1971 | WSN | NL | 162 | 599 | 94 | 186 | 34 | 6 | 19 | 97 | 9 | 74 | 42 | 0.311 | 3471.3 |
| 1972 | NYN | NL | 66 | 239 | 32 | 70 | 11 | 0 | 9 | 38 | 0 | 31 | 13 | 0.293 | 995.0 |
| 1973 | NYN | NL | 152 | 585 | 77 | 163 | 36 | 1 | 15 | 76 | 1 | 74 | 52 | 0.279 | 1416.0 |
| 1974 | NYN | NL | 151 | 561 | 65 | 145 | 22 | 2 | 19 | 78 | 2 | 77 | 39 | 0.258 | 1064.0 |
| 1975 | NYN | NL | 155 | 574 | 93 | 162 | 30 | 4 | 19 | 105 | 2 | 77 | 55 | 0.282 | 2027.5 |
| 1976 | DET | AL | 161 | 589 | 73 | 176 | 28 | 3 | 15 | 96 | 3 | 83 | 49 | 0.299 | 2586.0 |
| 1977 | DET | AL | 158 | 623 | 84 | 173 | 34 | 3 | 22 | 101 | 1 | 59 | 47 | 0.278 | 841.6 |
| 1978 | DET | AL | 162 | 642 | 75 | 175 | 30 | 1 | 24 | 121 | 3 | 76 | 35 | 0.273 | 1492.3 |
| 1979 | DET | AL | 68 | 246 | 32 | 58 | 12 | 1 | 9 | 40 | 1 | 32 | 18 | 0.236 | 65.2 |
| 1979 | WSN | NL | 38 | 86 | 9 | 23 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 0.267 | 65.2 |
| 1980 | TEX | AL | 109 | 340 | 42 | 102 | 23 | 2 | 9 | 55 | 1 | 39 | 18 | 0.300 | 1046.8 |
| 1981 | NYN | NL | 70 | 161 | 9 | 51 | 9 | 0 | 5 | 21 | 1 | 22 | 12 | 0.317 | 768.2 |
| 1982 | NYN | NL | 112 | 219 | 11 | 53 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 0 | 24 | 10 | 0.242 | -467.9 |
| 1983 | NYN | NL | 104 | 115 | 5 | 34 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 28 | 0 | 14 | 10 | 0.296 | 282.5 |
| 1984 | NYN | NL | 78 | 72 | 2 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0.264 | -137.4 |
| 1985 | NYN | NL | 54 | 45 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 10 | 4 | 0.267 | 138.6 |
Postseason Statistics
Playoff Career Batting
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | 41 | 5 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 11 | 5 | 4 | 0.341 |
Playoff Batting by Year
| Year | Round | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1973 | NLCS | NYN | 4 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0.200 |
| 1973 | WS | NYN | 7 | 26 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0.423 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 426 | 400 | 3554 | 237 | 37 | 271 |
| OF | 1675 | 1634 | 3018 | 165 | 103 | 35 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | HOU | 1B | 109 | 94 | 881 | 58 | 10 | 52 |
| 1963 | HOU | OF | 49 | 46 | 82 | 5 | 1 | 0 |
| 1964 | HOU | 1B | 49 | 47 | 442 | 27 | 4 | 34 |
| 1964 | HOU | OF | 38 | 32 | 70 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 1965 | HOU | 1B | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1965 | HOU | OF | 112 | 105 | 202 | 12 | 11 | 1 |
| 1966 | HOU | 1B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1966 | HOU | OF | 148 | 147 | 289 | 13 | 12 | 2 |
| 1967 | HOU | OF | 144 | 144 | 269 | 10 | 11 | 2 |
| 1968 | HOU | 1B | 147 | 146 | 1313 | 93 | 11 | 100 |
| 1968 | HOU | OF | 15 | 14 | 23 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 1969 | MON | OF | 156 | 154 | 265 | 16 | 10 | 2 |
| 1970 | MON | OF | 160 | 156 | 308 | 14 | 5 | 4 |
| 1971 | MON | OF | 162 | 155 | 290 | 20 | 18 | 5 |
| 1972 | NYN | OF | 65 | 65 | 108 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
| 1973 | NYN | OF | 152 | 150 | 297 | 17 | 7 | 5 |
| 1974 | NYN | OF | 147 | 146 | 262 | 19 | 5 | 5 |
| 1975 | NYN | OF | 153 | 153 | 267 | 15 | 4 | 3 |
| 1976 | DET | OF | 126 | 125 | 218 | 8 | 7 | 3 |
| 1979 | MON | 1B | 22 | 22 | 155 | 7 | 1 | 11 |
| 1979 | MON | OF | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1980 | TEX | 1B | 30 | 27 | 243 | 10 | 6 | 27 |
| 1980 | TEX | OF | 14 | 9 | 19 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 1981 | NYN | 1B | 41 | 40 | 339 | 20 | 4 | 26 |
| 1982 | NYN | 1B | 18 | 18 | 129 | 15 | 0 | 12 |
| 1982 | NYN | OF | 27 | 27 | 43 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 1983 | NYN | 1B | 5 | 5 | 36 | 5 | 1 | 6 |
| 1983 | NYN | OF | 5 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1984 | NYN | 1B | 3 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1985 | NYN | OF | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| First Base | 425 |
| Left Field | 77 |
| Center Field | 10 |
| Right Field | 1605 |
| Designated Hitter | 478 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Player of the Week | Week of 1983-06-17 |
| 1978 | Outstanding DH Award | |
| 1978 | TSN All-Star | DH |
Salary History
| Year | Team | League | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | NYN | NL | $300,000 |
| Total Career Earnings | $300,000 | ||
Award Voting History
| Year | Award | League | Finish | Points Won | Points Max | Votes First |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Most Valuable Player | AL | 5th | 88.0 | 392 | 0 |
| 1975 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 14th | 20.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1972 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 25th | 2.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1971 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 19th | 11.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1969 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 36th | 1.0 | 336 | 0 |
| 1967 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 16th | 12.0 | 280 | 0 |
| 1966 | Most Valuable Player | NL | 22th | 4.0 | 280 | 0 |