4,050 Reasons to Appreciate Rusty Staub

Rusty Staub, a fan favorite in both Montreal and with the Mets, was a terrific left-handed batter for 23 seasons. He reached base 4,050 times and hit 292 home runs.Rusty Staub reached base 34 more times than Rogers Hornsby. He also reached base more times than — among many others — Tony Gwynn, Nap Lajoie, Ichiro Suzuki and Honus Wagner. He reached base 1,000 more times than Joe DiMaggio.

When the man they called Le Grande Orange died on Thursday, baseball lost one of its finest practitioners of the sport’s most important skill. And owing to the unique way in which he approached batting, he died as one of the game’s most underappreciated stars.

In 23 seasons, Staub reached base 4,050 times,…