Product Code Database
Charles Leonard Estrada (born February 15, 1938) is an Americans former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from to , playing for the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. Estrada was a member of the 1960's Baltimore Orioles Kiddie Korps. After his retirement from the major leagues, Estrada served as pitching coach in the majors.
"He was one of those guys you'd clock at ninety miles plus. He was a young guy, and he had a fine year.... Another time he was pitching a one-hitter, and he'd pitched his allotted seventy-five pitches. I was going to take him out. He talked me out of it. I didn't want to tell him I had orders up above. I said, 'This is your last inning. You'd better get him out. You need three pitches to get him out.' I had to do a little fudging on saying how many pitches he made. He made seventy-eight." (2026). 9780803282810, University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 9780803282810
Estrada's rookie season was perhaps the best season of his career. He pitched in a total of thirty-six games, and started twenty-five of them. He tied with Jim Perry for the American League lead with 18 wins that season. Only four other pitchers since had led their respective league without winning more than twenty games in the season. Estrada also was on top of the American League in hits allowed per nine innings, and finished with a twelve , 144 and a 3.58 earned run average. The All-Star Estrada finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting, falling distantly behind Orioles teammate Ron Hansen. He placed 12th in the American League Most Valuable Player Award voting, but he did win the year's TSN Pitcher of the Year Award. Estrada also was on the Topps All-Star Rookie Roster under the category of right-handed pitcher.
Estrada had another successful season in , pitching in thirty three games for the Orioles. He had a 15–9 record, a 3.69 earned run average and 160 in 212 innings of work. He again led the league in hits allowed per nine innings. However, Estrada again showed signs of wild pitching, as he issued a league-high 132 walks, thirty-one higher than that of his rookie season. He again placed second in the league by hitting ten batters in the season, finishing only one lower than the leader, Jim Kaat, of the Minnesota Twins.
The next season was disastrous for Estrada, as he led the league with seventeen losses. He only collected nine wins on the season, and his ERA ballooned to 3.83. He had 121 walks in 223.1 , finishing a close second behind Los Angeles Angels rookie Left-handed Bo Belinsky.
Estrada's woes did not end, though. The following season, Estrada pitched in only eight games during the season. On June 8, 1963, Estrada suffered an elbow injury with bone chips and a spur in his right elbow, and was done for the season. The following season, Estrada came in as a relief/starting pitcher for the Orioles. It seemed the elbow injury had affected Estrada's pitching. He pitched only 54.2 innings that season, but he posted a 3–2 record with a 5.27 ERA.
After retiring from the majors, Estrada found employment in the majors again, but this time as a pitching coach. He served as pitching coach for the Texas Rangers (), San Diego Padres (–), and Cleveland Indians ().
|
|
