Terrific Tandems On Terrible Teams

Move over, Batman and Robin!  The Mets have their own Dynamic Duo in R.A. Dickey and Jonathon Niese.

R.A. Dickey picked up his 19th win of the season on Saturday, holding the Marlins scoreless into the ninth inning in the Mets' 4-3 victory.  Dickey's win came less than 24 hours after Jonathon Niese picked up his 12th win.  Combined, Dickey and Niese have an outstanding 31-15 record.  Unfortunately, their magic on the hill has not found its way to their fellow moundsmen, as the rest of the team is a combined 37-68.

With 31 of the team's 68 wins, Dickey and Niese can lay claim to 45.6% of the team's wins.  As amazing as that might seem, it's not the highest percentage in team history.  If the season ended today, the twosome's 45.6% total would rank fifth all-time in team history.  The top five are:

• 1968: Jerry Koosman (19-12) and Tom Seaver (16-12) earn 47.9% of the Mets' 73 wins.
• 1994: Bret Saberhagen (14-4) and Bobby Jones (12-7) earn 47.3% of the Mets' 55 wins.
• 2003: Steve Trachsel (16-10) and Al Leiter (15-9) earn 47.0% of the Mets' 66 wins.
• 1975: Tom Seaver (22-9) and Jon Matlack (16-12) earn 46.3% of the Mets' 82 wins.
• 2012: R.A. Dickey (19-6) and Jonathon Niese (12-9), earn 45.6% of the Mets' 68 wins.

But Dickey and Niese do have one thing over the other four pitching duos.  At 31-15, Dickey and Niese have combined to post a .674 winning percentage.  The rest of the team's 37-68 record translates to a .352 winning percentage.  That's the largest difference in winning percentage between any two Mets pitchers in a single season compared to the rest of the team.  Here are the top five in this category (min. 12 wins per pitcher):

• 2012: R.A. Dickey and Jonathon Niese (31-15, .674), others (37-68, .352), .322 diff.
• 1994: Bret Saberhagen and Bobby Jones (26-11, .703), others (29-47, .382), .321 diff.
• 2003: Steve Trachsel and Al Leiter (31-19, .620), others (35-76, .315), .305 diff.
• 1973: Tom Seaver and George Stone (31-13, .705), others (51-66, .436), .269 diff.
• 1968: Jerry Koosman and Tom Seaver (35-24, .593), others (38-65, .369), .224 diff.

R.A. Dickey and Jonathon Niese have been two of the bright spots on an otherwise lousy team.  But at least they're not alone.  The Mets have had a number of terrific tandems on terrible teams before.  And some of the pitchers in those tandems went on to become among the best in franchise history.

The 2012 season might not be one of the best in club annals.  However, with the tag team duo of R.A. Dickey and Jonathon Niese leading the way, they might someday become a terrific tandem on a not-so-terrible team.  Ya gotta believe.

One Season Wonders: George Stone

The 1972 Mets began the season with the tragic loss of manager Gil Hodges to a fatal heart attack.  New manager Yogi Berra took over the team in April and led them to the best start in franchise history.  By late May, the Mets had a 6½-game lead in the NL East.  On June 3, the Mets defeated the Atlanta Braves by the final score of 5-2 to improve their record to 31-12.  But within that victory, the Mets suffered a significant loss, as Rusty Staub was hit by an errant pitch thrown by Braves' reliever George Stone.

Coming into that fateful game, Stone had been one of the worst pitchers in the National League.  He had faced 62 batters in 1972 and allowed more than half of them (32) to reach base.  Opposing batters were hitting a whopping .491 against him over the first two months of the season causing his ERA to balloon to 11.70.  Ironically, his control wasn't that much of a problem, as he had walked only five batters and had yet to hit anyone with a pitch.  Then Rusty Staub's hand got in the way and everything changed for the 1972 Mets.

Prior to the series against Atlanta, Staub was putting up MVP-caliber numbers for the Mets.  In the team's first 41 games, Staub was hitting .323 with seven home runs and 27 RBI.  He also had an excellent eye at the plate, walking 20 times while striking out on ten occasions.  As a result, his on-base percentage was among the league leaders at .403.  His power stroke also placed him near the top of the league in slugging percentage, as Staub was slugging .506 at the time.

Staub continued to play after getting hit in the hand by Stone, but his performance suffered.  On June 18, after playing six innings against the Cincinnati Reds, Staub was taken out of the game and missed a month of action.  At the time, the Mets were still in first place in the NL East, albeit by a slim half-game margin.  Staub came back one month later, played the entire game in an extra-inning affair against the Los Angeles Dodgers, then was promptly placed on the disabled list, where he missed another two months of action.  By the time he came back, the Mets had fallen to third place in the NL East and were 16½ games behind the eventual division champion Pittsburgh Pirates.  Although the Mets weren't mathematically eliminated until the day after Staub returned to the lineup, their season was lost back in June at the hands of George Stone.

The strong start by the 1972 Mets gave fans reason to believe that their team was going back to the World Series for the second time in four seasons.  They would have to wait another year for that to happen and they would have an unexpected figure play a role in that march to the pennant, a figure who they felt cost them that opportunity in 1972. 

It's Amazin' how one wonderful season can turn boos into cheers.

Soon after the completion of the 1972 season, the Mets felt they needed an upgrade at second base.  Ken Boswell had been with the Mets since 1967 and became their primary second baseman in their championship season of 1969.  But after hitting .273 for the team in 1971, Boswell became an automatic out in 1972, batting .211 in 100 games and reaching base at a .274 clip.  A change was needed at second base and the Braves were making their second sacker available.  On November 2, 1972, the Mets got their man, acquiring three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner Felix Millan from Atlanta for pitchers Danny Frisella and Gary Gentry.  Millan wasn't the only former Brave to come to New York in the deal, as George Stone made the trek up north to complete the deal.

George Heard Stone had had some success with the Braves early in his career.  From 1968 to 1970, Stone was used as both a starter and reliever for Atlanta, going 31-25 with three saves and a respectable 3.60 ERA.  After falling to 6-8 in 1971, Stone hit rock-bottom in 1972, going 6-11 with a 5.51 ERA.  He also didn't make many friends in New York with his season-changing hit by pitch of Rusty Staub.  But Stone was going to be a Met in 1973, and the team decided to put him in the bullpen to start the season.  That role didn't last for very long.

When the 1973 season began, Jim McAndrew was slated to be the team's fourth starter, behind Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack and Jerry Koosman.  But after his best year in the majors in 1972 (11-8, 2.80 ERA), McAndrew struggled mightily to start the 1973 campaign.  Although he was 3-3 in his first six starts, McAndrew was carrying a 4.73 ERA.  He was also not pitching deeply into games, averaging barely more than five innings per start (32⅓ IP in six starts).  McAndrew earned a save pitching in relief in a 19-inning marathon victory over the Dodgers in late May, but then pitched horribly against the same Dodgers just two days later, allowing five runs on nine hits and three walks in only four innings of work.  A change was needed in the rotation and manager Yogi Berra gave George Stone a chance to redeem himself after a poor 1972 campaign in Atlanta.  It ended up being one of the best decisions made by the team in 1973.

On June 2, 1973, George Stone made his first start for the Mets after making seven relief appearances over the first two months of the season.  Stone was pitching brilliantly out of the pen, allowing only one run in 15 innings of work.  His best performance in relief came in the 19-inning game against the Dodgers in which Jim McAndrew collected his first and only save of the season.  Stone was the winning pitcher in that game, pitching six scoreless innings against Los Angeles.  The extended relief appearance prepared Stone for his first start a week later, this time against the San Diego Padres.  Stone pitched well against the Friars, giving up three runs in six innings.  He allowed only five hits and walked no one.  Unfortunately, the Mets were shut out by the Padres, 3-0, pinning Stone with his first loss of the season.

Stone would make five more starts over the next month, going 3-2 with a 3.32 ERA, which was respectable, but not great.  However, by then Jim McAndrew had completely lost any opportunity to return to the starting rotation, losing four consecutive decisions and watching his ERA spin out of control to 5.83.  Except for one start in August (another loss), McAndrew was in the bullpen for good, leaving the fourth spot in the rotation to George Stone.  It was an opportunity Stone would take full advantage of.

On a staff that featured Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman and Jon Matlack, it was George Stone who proved to be the most unbeatable pitcher during the second half of the 1973 season.

From July 14 to August 6, Stone started four games for the Mets, pitching nearly eight innings per start and allowing exactly two earned runs in each of the four starts.  The Mets won all four games, with Stone receiving credit for three of the wins.  Stone suffered a rare poor outing on August 11, a game in which he received a no-decision after he allowed six runs (four earned) in only one-third of an inning to San Francisco.  However, that would be the sole blip in the George Stone machine.  He followed up his outing against the Giants with 8⅔ innings of one-run ball against the Big Red Machine, with the only run scoring on a ninth-inning RBI single by future Hall of Famer Johnny Bench.  Again, Stone was credited with a no-decision as the Mets went on to lose the game, 2-1, in ten innings.  That no-decision streak would stretch to four in his next start (Stone got a no-decision in the Mets' victory on August 6 to start the streak), but the Mets did manage to win that game against the Dodgers, 4-3.

By late August, the Mets were in last place, a dozen games below .500.  However, despite their ugly 58-70 record, the Mets found themselves only 6½ games behind the first place Cardinals, who at 65-64 were leading the mediocre National League East.  Even after Tug McGraw told everyone on the team that "Ya Gotta Believe", it was difficult for anyone to believe that the Mets were going to play anything but the spoiler role in the National League East.  But George Stone, despite spoiling the Mets' season in 1972, was not going to be happy with just spoiling other teams' chances in the NL East.  He was absolutely a believer in the 1973 Mets and through his performances over the final month of the regular season, he was going to make everyone a believer, too.

At 58-70, no one was taking the Mets seriously in the lackluster NL East.  But George Stone still had something to prove to Mets fans.  On the night of August 27, 1973, Stone took the Shea Stadium mound against the San Diego Padres, the team that beat him in his first start of the season.  This time, Stone would not be denied.  He pitched seven strong innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while walking no one.  Stone also helped the Mets at the plate in that game.  With the Mets trailing 2-1 in the bottom of the fifth inning, Stone reached first on a catcher's interference call to lead off the inning.  As fate would have it, it would be Rusty Staub who drove him in on the strength of a grand slam home run later in the inning.  Stone's victory on that late August night at Shea would prove to be the game that turned the Mets' season around.

From August 27 to the end of the season, the Mets won 24 of their last 33 games, passing every team in the National League East on their way to an unlikely division title.  George Stone's victory against the Padres began a streak in which he won five consecutive starts.  After defeating San Diego in August, Stone's next four starts were among his stingiest of the season, as he allowed five runs in 27⅓ innings for a 1.65 ERA.  Those starts were only part of an historic second half of the 1973 season for Stone.  Beginning on July 14, Stone won eight consecutive decisions and gave up three runs or less in 12 of his final 13 starts.  By season's end, Stone was 12-3 with a 2.80 ERA and the Mets were National League East champions for the second time in five years.

It was on to the playoffs for the Mets, where they would face the powerhouse Cincinnati Reds in the NLCS.  After taking a two games to one lead over the Reds in the best-of-five series, George Stone was tabbed to help the Mets win the pennant in Game 4.  Stone was brilliant early on, allowing only two hits and one walk in six shutout innings.  But the Mets were also struggling at the plate, managing only one hit off Reds' starter Fred Norman and reliever Don Gullett through the first six innings.  But that one hit had produced the only run of the game, as the Mets took a 1-0 lead into the seventh inning.  However, one swing off the bat of Tony Perez changed all that, as his homer off Stone tied the game at 1.  Stone was taken out of the game and the Mets eventually lost in 12 innings.  Despite the no-decision, it was Stone's 13th game in 14 starts in which he allowed three runs or less.  The Mets did win the pennant the following night at Shea Stadium and they went on to play the defending World Series champion Oakland Athletics for the 1973 title, a series that may have been decided when Yogi Berra decided NOT to use George Stone.

Perhaps Yogi Berra wouldn't have been so stone-faced in this photo if he had let Stone face the A's.

Against the Oakland A's, manager Yogi Berra decided to go with a three-man rotation, sending Jon Matlack, Jerry Koosman and Tom Seaver to the mound in Games 1, 2 and 3, while using George Stone out of the bullpen.  The move paid off in Game 2 of the World Series, even though it looked as if Berra was never going to use Stone in the game.

The Mets dropped Game 1 of the World Series by the final score of 2-1, so they weren't going to take any chances in Game 2.  After scoring four runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 6-3 lead, Berra brought in closer Tug McGraw to pitch in the bottom of the sixth.  McGraw got through the sixth unscathed, but gave up a run to Oakland in the seventh.  With a well-rested Stone in the bullpen, Berra left McGraw in the game to pitch the eighth inning.  After retiring the A's in order in the eighth, McGraw was allowed to pitch the ninth inning.  Unfortunately, Oakland tied the game with two runs in the ninth to send the game into extra innings.  Stone was ready to pitch in extra innings, but Berra wasn't ready to give up on his closer.

Tug McGraw had pitched two scoreless innings in Game 1 of the World Series.  One day later, he was not as fortunate, allowing three runs in four innings of work.  Despite the extra work, McGraw was summoned to start the tenth inning against the A's.  His next two innings were spectacular, as the Tugger retired all six batters to face him, with four coming via the strikeout.  The Mets finally responded in the 12th inning, scoring four times to take a 10-6 lead.  Incredibly, McGraw was allowed to start his seventh inning of work, but this time he didn't make it through the inning.  After allowing the first two batters in the 12th to reach base, George Stone was finally summoned to replace McGraw.

Pitching for the first time since Game 4 of the NLCS, Stone gave up an RBI single to his first batter, Jesus Alou, then issued a one-out walk to Mike Andrews to load the bases.  The A's had the bases loaded, veteran pinch-hitter Vic Davalillo representing the winning run at the plate and All-Star Bert Campaneris on deck.  Stone had worked his way into a jam, but reared back and retired Davalillo on a pop-up to second baseman Felix Millan.  With the bases still loaded, he then retired Campaneris on a groundout to shortstop Buddy Harrelson, earning the save and allowing the Mets to tie the series at one game apiece.

The Mets returned to Shea Stadium and won two of the three games at home, taking a 3-2 series lead back to Oakland.  Needing one win to capture their second title, the Mets decided to go with Tom Seaver on three days rest in Game 6, bypassing the opportunity to use George Stone, who had only pitched one inning over the first five games of the series.  It was a move that would forever be questioned by Mets fans everywhere, as Seaver allowed single runs in the first and third innings and the Mets lost, 3-1.

By using Seaver instead of Stone in Game 6, the Mets were left without their ace in Game 7 and were forced to use second-year starter Jon Matlack to pitch the first seventh game in Mets history.  Matlack was knocked out early, allowing four runs in 2⅔ innings.  By the time the Mets came to bat in the seventh inning, the score was 5-1 and the season was slipping away.  George Stone was finally brought into the game in the bottom of the seventh to stop the bleeding, which he did, pitching two scoreless innings.  However, he would be the last Met to take the mound in 1973, as the Mets were only able to push across one run in the ninth inning, losing the game and the World Series.

If George Stone had started Game 6, this might not have been the only ring won by the Mets in '73.

Although he had a surprisingly good regular season, Stone was barely used in the postseason.  He started one of the five games in the NLCS and was used in relief twice in the World Series, allowing a combined one run on seven hits in 9⅔ innings.  Despite the unfortunate ending to the 1973 season, the Mets expected to contend for the division title in 1974 with George Stone joining Seaver, Koosman and Matlack as part of a formidable rotation.  Instead, they formed the nucleus of one of the most disappointing teams in Mets history.

Stone started 13 games for the Mets in 1974, fighting through injuries and finishing the year with a 2-7 record and a 5.03 ERA.  After finishing one win short of a championship in 1973, the Mets finished 20 games under .500 in 1974.  They did recover to win 82 games in 1975, but Stone did not recapture his 1973 magic, going 3-3 with a 5.05 ERA in 11 starts.  Although he was only 28 years old, Stone's career as a Met was over.

Four years after breaking the hand of Rusty Staub, George Stone was traded to the Texas Rangers for (ironically) a pitcher named Hands.  Neither player involved in the trade ever pitched in the major leagues again.

George Stone was disliked by Mets fans when the team acquired him five months after effectively ending their 1972 season.  But the boos directed at Stone quickly turned to cheers as the 1973 season progressed.  Stone was one of the most unexpected success stories in 1973, helping the Mets advance to the World Series after they had been left for dead in the National League East.  His .800 winning percentage led all Mets pitchers and his 2.80 ERA was second only to Tom Seaver.

Although Stone only won five more games as a Met following the 1973 season, he left an indelible mark in the minds of Mets fans who were rooting for another miracle to occur.  When George Stone was traded to the Mets prior to the 1973 season, he was basically a throw-in in a deal meant to strengthen the middle of the infield.  But he became a key cog in helping his teammates and the fans believe that miracles can happen where you least expect them to.  He may have had only one good season in New York, but what a wonderful season it was for both George Stone and the Mets.


Note: One Season Wonders is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting those Mets who had one and only one memorable season in New York.  For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:
 
January 2, 2012: Bernard Gilkey
January 9, 2012: Terry Leach

M.U.M.'s The Word (Most Underrated Mets): Rusty Staub

In 1971, the Mets boasted one of the best pitching staffs in baseball. Tom Seaver won 20 games and led the league with a 1.76 ERA (his only season with an ERA under 2.00). Danny Frisella and Tug McGraw combined to win 19 games and save 20, with both pitchers finishing with ERAs under 2.00. As a team, the Mets led the National League with a 2.99 ERA. Yet despite being able to keep their opponents off the scoreboard, the Mets found it difficult to put runs on the board themselves.

Collectively, the Mets hit .249 in 1971 and scored 588 runs (an average of 3.6 runs per game). They had no firepower in their lineup, as evidenced by their 320 extra-base hits (203 doubles, 29 triples, 98 home runs), which averages out to slightly under two extra-base hits per game. No Met hitter hit 15 HR, scored 70 runs or drove in 70. As a result, the excellent pitching was wasted more often than not, and the Mets suffered in the standings. With an 83-79 record, the Mets finished in third place in the NL East, 14 games behind the eventual World Champion Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Mets' front office realized that the team needed a serious upgrade in their offense if they wanted to compete in 1972 and beyond. Manager Gil Hodges was not in favor of trading the team's best prospects to acquire an established hitter, but the Mets were in desperate need. Unfortunately, Hodges would not live to see the Mets acquire their stud hitter, as he suffered a heart attack and passed away on April 2, 1972. Three days later, the Mets announced that they had traded former #1 overall draft pick Tim Foli, Queens native Mike Jorgensen and top prospect Ken Singleton to the Montreal Expos to acquire the big bat they had coveted for the better part of a year. That hitter would become one of the most popular players in Mets history.

That ain't no Danny Boy; that's Rusty Staub!

Daniel Joseph Staub, better known as Rusty, had been selected to the National League All-Star team in each of the previous five seasons prior to his trade to the Mets. By age 28, Staub had already put together an impressive baseball résumé, collecting 1,300 hits, 239 doubles, 135 HR and 640 RBI. He also showed a keen eye at the plate, with 619 walks and only 507 strikeouts over the first nine years of his career. With Staub batting cleanup between Tommie Agee and Cleon Jones, the Mets had a formidable middle of the lineup that was expected to give their pitchers much-needed run support.

Staub began the season on a tear, going into the month of June with a .325 batting average, .403 on-base percentage and a slugging percentage near .500. Not coincidentally, the Mets were also off to the finest start in their 11-year history. On May 20, the team held a 6½ game lead in the NL East, and as late as June 6, the Mets were 19 games above .500 (32-13). However, June 3 might have been the day that the season took a turn for the worse, for it was on that day that Rusty Staub's hand got in the way of a George Stone pitch.

In the seventh inning of a game eventually won by the Mets, Atlanta pitcher and future Met George Stone hit Rusty Staub with a pitch on his right hand. Staub continued to play for the next two weeks before the pain became unbearable and he was diagnosed with a broken right hand, necessitating a long stay in the disabled list. Over the next three months, Staub played in only one game. In his absence, the Mets' offense resembled the punchless 1971 version, not hitting for average and not hitting for power. The team was in first place with a 36-20 record after Staub's last game on June 18. When he returned for good on September 18, the Mets were already 16½ games behind the Pirates, having gone 36-47 during the three months. Naturally, once Staub returned, the team started to play well again, winning 11 of their final 17 games, but it was too late to save the season. The three-month stretch without their cleanup hitter took what could have been a memorable campaign and turned it into yet another 83-win season, the team's third consecutive year with that win total.

In 1973, the Mets actually regressed, finishing with their worst record since their pre-Amazin' days. However, the rest of the division also took two steps back, allowing the Mets and manager Yogi Berra to capture the mediocre National League East division title with an 82-79 record. This time, Rusty Staub was healthy for the entire season, and he helped carry the team to their unlikely division title.

After losing to the San Francisco Giants on August 26, the Mets found themselves with a 58-70 record, taking up residence in the NL East's basement. The San Diego Padres came to town to start a three-game series at Shea Stadium the following night. Through the first 4½ innings, the Padres held a 2-1 lead, which was par for the course for the 1973 Mets. But everything changed in the fifth inning with one mighty swing by Le Grande Orange, as Staub connected for a grand slam off Padres' starter Steve Arlin to give the Mets a 5-2 lead. The Mets went on to win the game for starter George Stone (remember him?) and then never stopped winning.

Beginning with Rusty's Grand Slam game on August 27, the Mets won 24 of their final 33 games, overtaking every division rival on their way to first place. During those 33 games, Staub carried the offense, hitting .321 and reaching base at a .411 clip. He scored 24 runs, drove in 20, and pounded out 11 extra-base hits (six doubles, five homers). He also made excellent contact, striking out only nine times in 151 plate appearances. Staub's production at the end of the regular season was excellent, but it was nothing compared to what he did in the postseason.

After losing Game 1 of the 1973 NLCS to the Cincinnati's Big Red Machine, the Mets' big orange machine took over the series. In the fourth inning of Game 2, Staub gave the Mets the lead with a solo homer off 18-game winner Don Gullett. It would be the only run the Mets would need as they tied up the series with a 5-0 victory. Staub repeated the feat in Game 3, giving the Mets an early 1-0 lead with a first inning blast. When Rusty came up for his next turn at bat in the second inning, the Reds decided to take out starting pitcher Ross Grimsley, replacing him with reliever Tom Hall. Did Rusty blink? Not a chance. This time, he unloaded a three-run homer off Hall, and the Mets cruised to a 9-2 victory in a game that also featured a brawl between Pete Rose and Buddy Harrelson at second base.

I'll bet Pete Rose knew what the Las Vegas odds were on this boxing match.

The Mets lost Game 4, 2-1 in 12 innings, but could have lost it an inning earlier had it not been for a brilliant catch by Rusty Staub off the bat of Dan Driessen. With two outs and two men on base in the top of the 11th inning, Driessen launched a shot near the right field fence. Running at full speed, Staub reached out and robbed Driessen of an extra-base hit, slamming into the right field wall in the process. Unfortunately, Staub separated his shoulder on the play and did not play in Game 5. However, the Mets were able to win that game without the services of their rightfielder, upsetting the Reds to win their second National League pennant.

Rusty Staub was banged up from his temporary game-saving catch in the NLCS, so had he performed poorly in the World Series against the defending champion Oakland Athletics, it would have been understood. Instead, Rusty turned in an MVP-caliber performance for the Mets that almost carried them to their second World Series title.

After not starting Game 1, appearing only as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning, Staub hit .423 over the remaining six games, collecting 11 hits in 26 at-bats. His biggest performance came in Game 4. With the Mets already down two games to one, Staub put the team on his shoulders and carried them to victory with a Herculean effort, going 4-for-4 and driving in five runs. In the first inning, Staub's three-run homer off 21-game winner Ken Holtzman gave the Mets the early lead. It was the lefty-hitting Staub's fourth home run of the postseason, all off southpaws. Later, with the Mets holding on to a 4-1 lead, Staub's two-run single broke the game open and the Mets went on to tie the series.

The Mets won Game 5 to take a 3-2 series lead back to Oakland, but lost Games 6 and 7, failing to win their second championship. Rusty did all he could in Game 7, doubling home a run in the sixth inning to give the Mets their first tally after falling behind 5-0. But alas, not even the great Rusty Staub could carry the Mets on his separated shoulder forever. The Mets would probably not have made it to the seventh game of the World Series had it not been for Rusty. Even with his .423 batting average over the seven games, the Mets only hit .253 as a team in the World Series. Take away Rusty's heroics and the Mets collected only 55 hits in 235 at-bats (.234 batting average).

Still, the season had to be considered a great success for the Mets and for Rusty Staub, a season in which Rusty set the franchise record for doubles with 36, which surpassed the previous mark of 32 by Tommy Davis in 1967.

In 1974, the Mets underachieved in a major way, finishing the season with a 71-91 record, which was the team's worst record since Tom Seaver's rookie season in 1967. Again, Rusty Staub was among the team leaders in many offensive categories, but his .258 batting average was his lowest since 1965, when he was a 21-year-old playing in Houston (see photo below...umm...not sure which one though). Facing failure for the first time as a Met, Staub was determined to bounce back the following season, which he did in record-setting fashion.

Perhaps Rusty's poor 1974 season was due to the fans confusing him for Richie Cunningham.

The 1975 season saw the Mets return to contention after their post-pennant meltdown. As late as September 1st, the Mets were only four games out of first place, with dreams of their third division title in seven seasons becoming more realistic by the day. In addition to their usual excellent pitching, one of the main reasons for the Mets' success in 1975 was the resurgence of Rusty Staub. Le Grande Orange became the first Met in team history to surpass the 100 RBI mark in a single season, finishing with 105 (Donn Clendenon was the previous record holder with 97 RBI in 1970). Unlike some players who drive in their runs in bunches, Rusty was consistent throughout the year, driving in between 15 and 20 runs in every month of the season. Staub was at his best when he came to bat with a runner on third and less than two outs. In those situations, Rusty hit .436, driving in 42 runs and collecting a franchise record nine sacrifice flies.

Alas, the Mets fell short at the end of the season, finishing in third place with an 82-80 record. Despite their improvement in 1975, the Mets felt they needed more pitching, so they decided to trade their best hitter to Detroit for Mickey Lolich, who had won 207 games in 13 years with the Tigers. It was an ill-fated move for the Mets, who gave away their most productive RBI bat to acquire a pitcher who had lost 39 games over the previous two seasons. Over the next three seasons, Staub drove in 318 runs for the Tigers, while Lolich won a total of eight games in a Mets uniform. Until 1977, when the Mets held their Midnight Massacre, the trade of Staub to the Tigers would rank just below the Nolan Ryan/Jim Fregosi deal in 1971 as the worst in franchise history.

After his days with the Tigers, Staub played for the Montreal Expos and the Texas Rangers, before returning to the Mets as a free agent in 1981 to be their starting first baseman. The Mets had also traded for Dave Kingman, himself a victim of the Midnight Massacre in 1977, and moved him to first base from left field in May, relegating the 37-year-old Staub to the bench. It was as the team's primary pinch-hitter that Staub found a new life with the Mets.

After Kingman moved to first base, Staub was used as a pinch-hitter 32 times, excelling in the role. His .346 batting average and .438 on-base percentage off the bench made him one of the top pinch-hitters in the National League. Staub only struck out one time as a pinch-hitter during the strike-shortened 1981 season, making him one of the team's few offensive weapons in an otherwise forgettable year.

By 1982, the Mets were in the midst of their sixth consecutive losing season. Attendance was down and the magic (promised to the fans in a 1980 marketing campaign) wasn't back. There wasn't much to cheer about at Shea Stadium. But one player who always got the fans up on their feet was Rusty Staub. Although Staub's batting average as a pinch-hitter wasn't as good in 1982 (.211) as it was the previous year (perhaps he was concentrating on his new player-coach job), he still managed to drive in 13 runs in the role. In 1983, Staub had given up his player-coach role and gone back to full-time pinch-hitting. That was when Staub delivered his best performance for the up-and-coming Mets.

The Mets had started out poorly in 1983, going 16-30 over their first 46 games, which led to the resignation of manager George Bamberger. Soon after Frank Howard took over the sinking ship, Rusty Staub took his pinch-hitting to another level. From June 11 to June 26, opposing pitchers found it impossible to retire Staub, as Rusty tied the major league record by collecting eight consecutive pinch hits. He also started at first base on June 15, 1983 (the same day Keith Hernandez was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals and the first time yours truly attended a game at Shea Stadium) and went 3-for-4 as he kept the position warm for Keith's debut in the following game. For his efforts, Staub received the National League Player of the Week Award for the week of June 19.

Staub was not only hot in June; he was on fire all season. In addition to tying the consecutive pinch hit record (previously held by Dave Philley, who played for...you guessed it...the Phillies), Staub also tied the major league record with 25 pinch-hit RBI and broke the all-time record with 81 pinch-hit at-bats (94 plate appearances). Even with all the extra times at bat, Staub remained an outstanding contact hitter, striking out only six times in those 94 plate appearances.

By 1984, the Mets were back to being contenders and Staub's career was winding down. Still, at age 40, Rusty continued to be an RBI machine as a pinch-hitter, driving in 18 runs in 1984 before calling it a career in 1985 after collecting eight more pinch-hit RBI in only 42 at-bats. For the five years he was a Met in his second tour of duty with the team, Staub's pinch-hitting numbers were as follows: .271 batting average (75-for-277), 15 doubles, 6 HR, 70 RBI, .347 on-base percentage, 36 walks, 23 strikeouts.

So beloved was Rusty Staub at Shea Stadium that the Mets held a "Thanks, Rusty" day on July 13, 1986. (For two great videos of the ceremony, click here for Part One and here for Part Two.)

Some players have excelled for the Mets, left the team via trade or free agency, only to return a during the latter stages of their career as a shadow of their former selves (see Tom Seaver, Kevin McReynolds, David Cone). Although Rusty Staub did not become an everyday player during his second tour of duty with the Mets, he became the best pinch-hitter in franchise history and is remembered fondly for what he gave to the Mets during both of his stints in New York.

Tom Seaver and Rusty Staub - teammates on the 1973 National League Champion Mets and teammates on the 1983 cellar-dwelling Mets. In between, both players spent considerable time away from the Mets.

Since retiring from baseball, Rusty has remained active in the community as a restaurateur and through his humanitarian efforts. His Rusty Staub Foundation and the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund have raised millions of dollars for their respective causes.

Rusty Staub is a legend both on and off the field. He was a clutch hitter during his two stays in New York and ranks among the team leaders in various offensive categories. Still, when one thinks of the best players in franchise history, Rusty's name hardly gets a whisper, making Le Grande Orange also Le Grande Underrated Met. But if you're a Met fan who remembers the '70s and '80s well, I'm sure there are many warm memories that Rusty Staub helped create.

Note: M.U.M.'s The Word is a thirteen-part weekly series spotlighting some of the best Mets players of all-time who never got the recognition they deserved because they weren't the biggest names on the teams they played for. For previous installments, please click on the players' names below:

January 3, 2011: John Olerud
January 10, 2011: Sid Fernandez
January 17, 2011: Jon Matlack
January 24, 2011: Kevin McReynolds
January 31, 2011: Bobby Jones
February 7, 2011: John Stearns
February 14, 2011: David Cone