Former major league slugger Rusty Staub, who began his pro career with the Durham Bulls, died on Thursday, March 29,2018.
Former Major League Baseball standout Rusty Staub, who began his professional career with the Durham Bulls, passed away on Thursday. He was 73.
Staub was drafted by the Houston Colt .45’s as a 17-year-old in 1961, and he played the 1962 season with the Bulls. He hit.293 with 23 home runs and 93 RBIs in 140 games in Durham and was named the Carolina League’s most valuable player.
Staub began his major league career the next season and would play 23 seasons for the Houston Astros, Montreal Expos, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers. Staub hit.423 with a home run and six RBIs for the Mets in the 1973 World Series.
Staub died in a hospital in West Palm Beach, Fla., after a long illness.
