MONTREAL - Montreal's first-ever Major League baseball star, Rusty Staub, and the Acadian lefty Rheal Cormier will be entering the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame Saturday.
Staub, 68, played 518 with the Expos over 23 of his major league seasons. He was a six-time All Star, three times with the Expos.
"Le Grand Orange," as he was dubbed in honour of his flaming-red hair, was an Expo from 1969 to 1971 and once again in 1979. He ranks 12th overall in MLB games played, having suited up 2,951 times.
Staub's number 10 was the first to be retired by the Expos. And he was celebrated for excellent play in the field and at the plate as well as his appreciation of the local French language and culture.
Cormier, 45, played 16 season in the majors between 1991 and 2007, spending two season with the Expos in 1996 and 1997.
The lefty from Cap-Pele New Brunswick had a record of 71-64 and a career ERA of 4.03.
Cormer was a graduate of Louis-J.-Robichaud High School in Shediac and was a sixth-round pick of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1988.
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame is in St. Mary's, Ontario. Also entering the hall are Doug Melvin, GM of the Milwaukee Brewers, as well as members of the senior national team of 2011.
