Ultimate Mets Database - Memories of Chuck Estrada

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Mets
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Chuck Estrada
vs. Other Teams

Memories of
Chuck Estrada

Chuck Estrada
Ultimate Mets Database popularity ranking: 618 of 1252 players

Charles Leonard Estrada
Born: February 15, 1938 at San Luis Obispo, Cal.
Throws: Right Bats: Right
Height: 6.01 Weight: 185

First Mets game: April 13, 1967
Last Mets game: June 11, 1967

Share your memories of Chuck Estrada

HERE IS WHAT OTHER METS FANS HAVE TO SAY:

Alan
January 12, 2002
Along with Jack Fisher, he was one of the "Baby Birds" pitching prospects of the 1959-60-61 period. He had nothing left by the time the Mets got him. I remember him being hit hard against the Giants on night at Shea, and then he was gone.

rich edwards
March 13, 2002
The only thing he ever did for the Mets was get a vulture relief win in Tom Seaver's first start. He was well past his prime when Mets got him.

Larry Burns
October 17, 2002
This guy had no prime to be past when the Mets got him. He was an awful pitcher on some awful teams---he was a early version of being the worst pitcher on the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.

Rick
January 5, 2003
I grew up in Baltimore and he was not an awful pitcher on awful teams. He was a great player for the Birds along with Pappas and Barber. They gave the mighty Yanks a run for the money in his days. Do your research and get the true facts on him. Not many teams could compete with the Yanks during his time with the O's but his teams did. He was one of the main reasons!

Dave Ziegler
February 21, 2003
Early in his career Chuck was a GREAT pitcher if he could get past the first inning. You could tell very early in a game if he was on or not!

KMT
March 5, 2005
The facts speak out! He had 2 good seasons with the O's winning 18 and 15 games. Read he missed most of the next 2 years with arm troubles. He never did recapture what he had in the early '60's. I wonder if it could have been a rotator cuff or labrum injury? They didn't have the know-how back then to fix it. Bad luck, the guy was done at an early age!

Bob P
March 6, 2005
KMT, according to baseballlibrary.com, Estrada was shut down on June 8, 1963 with bone chips and a bone spur in his right elbow. He never recovered from the injury and pitched in just 35 major league games over the next four years. Chuck made his last major league appearance at age 29 on June 11, 1967 in an 18-10 loss to the Cubs at Wrigley Field.
As a 22-year-old rookie with the Orioles he tied Jim Perry for the AL lead in wins in 1960 with 18. But he also walked 101 batters and hit 15 more that year. On September 4, 1960 Chuck had a no-hitter going with two outs in the seventh inning against the Yankees but Moose Skowron singled to break it up.
In 1961 Chuck won 15 games but led the AL in walks allowed and was second in hit batsmen.
In that 1961 season, Baltimore's Jim Gentile hit five grand slams, tying a major league record for most slams in one season. This made Chuck Estrada a very happy man, because all of Gentile's grand slams came with Chuck Estrada pitching for the Orioles!

Jamey Bumbalo
January 11, 2007
Estrada certainly did have two good years with the Orioles, although I didn't realize he was so wild until reading other postings. He was a member of the Orioles' Kiddie Korps/Baby Birds, and I have read the debate about whether Baltimore manager Paul Richards overpitched the guys. Estrada, Jerry Walker, and Jack Fisher never did much, although the fourth guy, Milt Pappas, did well.

Andy
February 11, 2007
Chuck Estrada and Jerry Walker had short careers due to arm injuries, as did another of the Baltimore "Kiddie Corps"-Steve Barber. Although Barber had a longer career than the others, he had a number of seasons where arm miseries plagued him and curtailed his pitiching performance, particulaly after the first half of the 1966 season. I remember the Chuck Estrada of 1960 and 1961 as being an excellent pitcher, who had the potential to be a great one.

Kirk
December 22, 2009
I just met Chuck Estrada. Nice man. Showed me his 1987 World Series ring.

Fred Cusimano
January 23, 2012
In 1960 I was 11 years old and was lucky enough to be a part of the Baltimore Orioles grounds crew that season. I was a protege' of one of the regulars and spent that entire season at Memorial Stadium doing odd jobs like shagging fly balls during pre-game batting practice and being a "gopher" to the older guys. This was Chuck's rookie season and I would bring him bubble gum before each game. He was a most gracious and fun-loving man. I saw him years later at an Orioles game when he was a visiting-team coach and when I yelled to him he came over. We talked and he said he remembered that season and the "bubble gum boy" (ME!) I was at that game with my father and it was so cool that Chuck remembered me from years earlier. Hope he's doing well and would love to talk to him again. What a guy!

Ginger Estrada
January 4, 2013
Hi All,
I am Chuck Estrada's only child. I just wanted to say what a treat it is to hear your memories of dad. He is doing very well, is very active, loves golf. These last few years he has started telling me old stories about baseball. I have some amazing stuff to tell the grandkids. Its so special that he experienced baseball during the era that he did. The good ol days. Anyway, thank you again for the thoughts!

Bob P
January 23, 2013
Ginger, great to hear from you. Even though his career here was brief, your dad is part of the huge Mets jigsaw puzzle! And we know that his first Mets appearance was in relief of Tom Seaver, who was also making his first Mets appearance(4/13/67)!

Mr. Roboto
January 23, 2013
Ginger, did your dad ever tell you that his last major league win (and only one with the Mets) came in relief of Tom Seaver in Tom's big league debut? It happened on April 13, 1967 at Shea Stadium.

Craig Cacek
November 15, 2021
I hope Chuck is still doing well and playing some golf! I have a great Chuck Estrada memory: I was the 9th round pick of the Mets in 1972, a 17 year old kid playing with bonus babies, high school superstars, and 22 year old college grads in the Appalachian League, Rookie A. We were getting our butts kicked every night, badly, and we're all sitting around the Marion Hotel waiting for the bus to go on a road trip, all feeling pretty defeated, not very confident. And Chuck says, "All right, boys, let's go out there and kick the s**t out of 'em! And.....if not, we'll play again tomorrow." I loved Chuck for that, he was a great guy! Stay well, Chuck!

Barry McMahon
February 15, 2023
I got to see Chuck pitch often during the 1959 season when he spent that year in the Pacific Coast League with the Vancouver Mounties. Chuck pitched well and had a good year with the Mounties.