#378 Chuck Estrada - Baltimore Orioles

Charles Leonard Estrada
Baltimore Orioles
Pitcher

Bats:  Right  Throws:  Right  Height:  6'1"  Weight:  185
Born:  February 15, 1938, San Luis Obispo, CA
Signed:  Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent before 1957 season
Major League Teams:  Baltimore Orioles 1960-1964; Chicago Cubs 1966; New York Mets 1967

Chuck Estrada's first season in the majors was also by far his best, as the pitcher was named to both 1960 American League All-Star teams, won 18 games and finished as runner-up in the Rookie of the Year voting.  Estrada appeared in 36 games overall, making 25 starts, and going 18-11 with a 3.58 ERA for an Orioles team that finished in second place in the league.  He was named The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year for the American League for his efforts.  Estrada won 15 games in 1961, but never recaptured his freshman season success.  He lost 17 games in 1962 and elbow problems derailed the rest of his career after that.  Estrada would pitch in only 43 big league games between 1963 and 1967 as he constantly dealt with injuries and bounced back and forth between the majors and minors.  

In his seven-year big league career, Estrada was 50-44 with a 4.07 ERA and 535 strikeouts in 146 games pitched.  He'd coach at the big league level with the Rangers (1973), Padres (1978-1981) and Indians (1983).  Estrada would retire from the game in the mid-1990s after working as a pitching coach in the Athletics and Rockies organizations.

Building the Set
March 6, 2022 from The Philly Show (Uncle Dick's Cards - Babylon, NY) - Card #508

This is the 24th of 102 cards acquired for our set from the Baseball Card Sports Memorabilia Show, affectionately known as The Philly Show, held in the basement of the Valley Forge Casino Resort in King of Prussia in early March.  We went nuts and left the show needing only 12 more cards to complete our 1965 Topps set, and I wrote about the show in detail over at The Phillies Room.  Having wandered aimlessly among the dealer tables looking for binders with vintage commons, I decided to check to see if Uncle Dick's had refreshed their inventory following the December show, during which I had wiped out both their 1965 Topps binders.  Much to my pleasant surprise, they had.  This Estrada card was $4 and was one of 49 commons purchased in my triumphant return to Uncle Dick's and his replenished neon green binders.

Depending on my ability to compose five posts a week on the cards acquired at this show, I should be completely caught up on this blog by mid-October.  It's entirely feasible we complete our 1965 Topps set by the end of 2022, although nine of the remaining 12 cards needed are fairly expensive.

The Card / Orioles Team Set
By the time this card was released, Estrada, who had shot to fame in 1960 as a 22-year-old rookie, had already pitched his last game for the Orioles.  The first sentence on the back of the card sums up Estrada's status at this point in his career, "When he's healthy, Chuck is one of the top pitchers in the A.L."

1965 Season
Estrada was one of the team's final cuts in spring training and he spent the entire season with the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings.  As one of their more frequently used pitchers, he was 7-14 with a 4.45 ERA, appearing in 30 games and making 26 starts.  He pitched five complete games and struck out 108 in 166 innings pitched.  Estrada wouldn't pitch for the Orioles again, spending 1966 within the Angels and Cubs organizations.

1960 Topps #126

1961 Topps #395

1962 Topps #560

1964 Topps #263

1967 Topps #537

Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card:  1960 Topps #126
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (8):  1960-1965, 1967, 1973
Most Recent Mainstream Card:  1994 Fleer ProCards #3220

65 - Estrada non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/7/22.

Sources:  
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database

Wikipedia

Previous Card:  #377 Willie Stargell - Pittsburgh Pirates

Next Card:  #379 San Francisco Giants Team Card