A few days before the start of the 1972 season, the New York Mets made a big trade with one of their division rivals, the Montreal Expos. In exchange for Tim Foli, Mike Jorgensen, and Ken Singleton, the Mets acquired outfielder Rusty Staub. Le Grand Orange was about to join the Big Apple.
Already a five-time All-Star, Staub joined a squad hoping to make plenty of noise in the National League. Coming off a year where he hit .311 in all 162 games the Expos played, the deal looked like a promising one for New York.