Happy Birthday - 4/1

No future Astros with birthdays today, but one former Astro celebrates ~

1B/RF Daniel Joseph "Rusty" Staub aka La Grand Orange (70)
A native of New Orleans, Staub was signed by the Colt 45's as an amateur free agent in December of 1961 at the age of 17 and made his major league debut a mere 8 days following his 19th birthday. Staub would go on to play in 2951 games over 23 seasons for five teams, hitting a career .279/.362/.431 with 499 doubles, 47 triples and 292 home runs. Staub played for the Colt 45's and the Astros from 1963 to 1968, earning two of his six All-Star nods, before being traded to the Expos in January of 1969. He only played for the Expos for four seasons but left an indelible impression as the Louisiana native became an honorary Canadian (he was inducted into the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2012). Staub also played for Detroit, Texas and the New York Mets, for whom he batted .341/.413/.683 in the post-season in 1973.