The story gives some red flags regarding Fregosi. It says that he had the flu, a few injuries and an operation on his right foot that led to an infection during the 1971 season. Mets' GM Bob Scheffing took the opinions of the Angels' doctors on an examination they did on him. Perhaps he should have insisted that Jim, at 30 years old, be given a physical by the Mets' medical staff before the deal was finalized.

It's also indicated that Fregosi's health had slowed him down and reduced the range he needed to play shortstop. He then spent some time at first base and the outfield, but not as a third baseman. The Mets wanted Jim to play the 'hot corner' position regularly, even though he had no experience there in his eleven major league seasons.

In the inset at the right side of the page, Jim boasts about going to New York that the city isn't big enough for Joe Namath and himself. Was he just cracking a joke, or did he really have this kind of ego? That doesn't matter, but just beneath this comment is something about the Yankees' having been interested in Fregosi previously. A year later, the Yanks sent four players of their own to Cleveland for a third baseman named Graig Nettles. That deal worked out very well for them.

One little flaw in this article is that the column on the left side shows Tim Foli's first name misspelled as "Tom."