April 1st Belongs to a Mets Trio


The Mets have done pretty well over the years with players born on the 1st of April. Current 2nd baseman Daniel Murphy (above), a .290 hitter over six seasons, and a player who has made himself into a decent fielder, is the current example.
Rusty Staub (right) is another. Traded by the Expos to the Mets in 1972, he sparkled before his first season ended with a hand injury. The following year, he was the offensive heart of the Mets' second pennant winning club. There's also a lasting defensive image of him slamming into the right field wall at Shea Stadium, making a game-saving catch in game four of the 1973 NLCS against the Reds (thanks to WFAN colleague Bob Heussler for the clarification). Traded to the Tigers two years later for a used-up Mickey Lolich, Staub returned to New York in 1981 and spent his final five seasons as feared pinch hitter and popular owner of an Upper East Side restaurant renowned for its spare ribs. Broadcasting and extensive charity work since cemented the resemblance between Rusty and his adopted home town.
Finally, we remember Rod Kanehl, a career minor leaguer who impressed Casey Stengel with his hustle during his years as a Yankee farmhand. Never quite good enough to join Mickey, Whitey and Yogi in the Bronx, Kanehl got his one final chance in 1962 when he tried out for Casey's expansion Mets. And this time, he made it out of camp all the way to the majors. He lasted three years as a reserve, always giving 110% and winning not just his manager's affections, but that of the fans at the Polo Grounds. Legend has it that he inspired the first bedsheet banner ever displayed at a Mets home game (it read "Hot Rod"). Kanehl never forgot the opportunity that Casey gave him. When Stengel passed away in 1975, Rod was the only former Mets player to attend his funeral. Think about that. And think about the class Kanehl showed, in remembering someone who gave him the opportunity to play in New York and be remembered by fans and writers years later.
Below, a story on Kanehl from a 1963 series in the New York World-Telegram and Sun.



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