PALM BEACH, Fla. (WFAN) -- Rusty Staub, the beloved, redheaded right fielder who helped the Mets win the National League pennant in 1973, has died, the team confirmed. He was 73.
He was given the nickname "Le Grand Orange," for his red hair, during three seasons in Montreal.
Staub was a .279 career hitters with 292 homers and 1,466 RBIs.
"Across his accomplished 23-year Major League career, Rusty Staub earned the respect of fans in Houston, Montreal, New York, Detroit and beyond," commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. " ... Rusty was a superb ambassador for our sport and a generous individual known for community efforts, particularly for the New York City Police and Fire Departments. On behalf of Major League Baseball, I extend my deepest condolences to Rusty's family and friends, Mets fans and his many other admirers in the United States and Canada."
The New Orleans native had two stints with the Mets, from 1972-75 and again from 1981-85.
He was a key member of the Amazin's 1973 team that lost to the Oakland A's in the World Series. He hit .279 with 15 homers and 76 RBIs that season. In the NLCS against the Cincinnati Reds, he had three homers and five RBIs. He added another home run and six RBIs, as well as a .423 average, in the seven-game Fall Classic.
In 1975, Staub became the first Met ever to amass 100 RBIs in a season (105). In 1983, he tied an MLB record that still stands today when he had 25 pinch-hit RBIs.
"He has his place in Met lore and also the city. It's a tough day," Keith Hernandez, a former teammate and friend of Staub's, told reporters before the Mets' season opener at Citi Field.
Fighting back tears, Hernandez said he visited Staub in the hospital Saturday.
"He was in a lot of pain," he said. "So it's better."
After baseball, Staub earned a reputation as a humanitarian. His Rusty Staub Foundation donated more than $100 million to the widows and children of New York policeman and firefigherts killed in the line of duty, including on 9/11. The charity also served millions of meals to the hungry at food pantries in New York.
Staub also opened two restaurants in Manhattan.
"I'm going to miss Rusty, just from the humanity that he has shown, especially to the people of New York City with the money he's raised for the widows and orphans of the police and firefighters," Joe Torre, who teamed with Staub on the 1975 Mets. "It's a sad, sad day because Rusty was such an upbeat, positive person, and when I visited him a few weeks ago, he gave me the thumbs-up and did some animation with the nurse -- it's just sad."