Keith Hernandez had a game to call for SNY from the Mets booth on Opening Day. But first, there were tears.

The former Mets first baseman paid tribute to his ex-teammate Rusty Staub, who passed away Thursday morning at the age of 73.

“Obviously this is a sad day for Met land. Rusty’s a very dear friend and he has his place in Met lore, and also the city,” Hernandez said as he started to choke up. “It’s a tough day.”

Hernandez and Staub were teammates on the Mets from 1983 to 1985 — the final two-and-a-half seasons of Staub’s 23-year career. The man known as “Le Grand Orange” helped Hernandez adjust to a new city after he got traded from the Cardinals.

“He was the one that got me to live in the city when I started the season in ’84 and I was single,” Hernandez said. “He said, ‘Well, you gotta live in the city.’ So he’s the one that introduced me to the city, all it had to offer. And he’s just been a great friend, but he was in a lot of pain, so it’s better. He’s in a better place.”

Hernandez said he had just seen Staub on Saturday in Florida. The six-time All-Star had been ill and in the ICU for two months.

While Staub put up big numbers on the field — the only player with at least 500 hits for four different teams — Hernandez remembered him more for his impact off it.

“I think Rusty was a tough guy,” he said. “He would not mince words. If he had something to say to you that you didn’t like, well, you had to take it. It was always coming from his heart. He was so giving. Obviously all of his charitable work is above and beyond the line of duty, what he did. He’s a very contrasting person, a paradox. He can be tough as hell and soft as a mushroom.”