PORT ST. LUCIE — Friends of Rusty Staub were requesting prayers for the Mets icon on Friday, as he battles kidney failure in a West Palm Beach hospital.
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Staub in 1984AP
The 73-year-old Staub, a popular player in two stints with the Mets, has not been responding to dialysis, according to a friend.
Staub usually attends the New York Baseball Writers’ dinner each January, but was absent from the event this year because of health.
Staub suffered a heart attack in October 2015 on a flight home from Ireland and was revived by two doctors on board. The plane returned to Ireland, where Staub was hospitalized before he was transported home.
Staub played 23 seasons in the major leagues and is most remembered by Mets fans for his role on the 1973 NL pennant-winning team.
(I always disliked Rusty Staub. I thought he was the perfect embodiment of the Mets. Big Mouth. Overrated. Gay.
I met him a couple of times at his rib joint in Midtown. It was in a hole in the wall off of Fifth Avenue in a very narrow space. It was right next to a record store as I recall. Some big deal like Tower or J&R or something. I forget which one it was. It seems like it was a long time ago.
I remember when I was in there one lunchtime with this Chinese friend of mine. Rusty comes over and starts to hit on him. I had to laugh My other buddy who was there was a big time Mets fan and I always busted his balls about the Mets. I got a lot of mileage out of that one.
After lunch we went to the record store. There was this manager who was a cute blond who the Chinese guy had a crush on. But he was afraid to up to talk to her. He was fresh out of college and naive as fuck. So I go up to her on the sly and go "You should go question that guy" as I pointed to my friend. "He has a CD in his pants." He turned purple. "She goes Do you really have a CD in your pants?" I go "Yeah. A Chinese dick. Slow play." She started laughing her ass off. You see she was a bar babe I had met the night before in the Quiet Man and she was in on the joke. I almost gave Hop Sing a heart attack. Good times.
Still I wish him well. I am astounded he lasted this long. I mean he navigated the AIDS crisis without missing a beat.
Anyhoo I wish him the best and I hope he beats this.