2/20/14

A Brief Look at the post-Met careers of Don Rose, Frank Estrada and Leroy Stanton




 











We all know about Ryan, but what happened to the other three players traded for Fregosi?



                                       Don Rose

Right-handed starter Don Rose was an 11th round draft pick out of Stanford in 1968. After going 13-6 at A ball in 1969, Rose was fast-tracked and by 1971 was part of a Tidewater rotation featuring future big leaguers Jon Matlack, Buzz Capra, and Jim Bibby.  After making a token September 1971 appearance in Flushing, he was shipped out as a minor piece in the Fregosi-Ryan deal. Rose pitched briefly for the Angels in ’72, but after a trade to San Francisco for Ed Figueroa (another ex-Met pitching prospect) he slid out of sight.





Frank Estrada

Catcher Estrada was acquired from the Mexican League by AAA Tidewater in November of 1970. After stops in Memphis and Tidewater the 23 year-old Estrada was a September call-up to Shea, becoming the first Mexican-born catcher in MLB history. That would be his only appearance in the bigs. The Angels flipped him to Baltimore in May and by October he was property of the Cubs (swapped for Elrod Hendricks). After his release from the Cubs in 1973 Estrada went on the become a Mexican League legend, retiring in 1994.






Leroy Stanton      

Aside from Ryan, only Outfielder Stanton enjoyed even a moderately successful MLB career. Signed as amateur Free Agent in 1965 he slowly worked his way up the minor league ladder, earning a reputation as a speedy outfielder with some pop in his bat. In 1970 he tore it up at AAA Tidewater, hitting .303 putting 19 over the fences, driving in 94, while swiping 15 bags. After a cup of coffee and his first MLB hit Stanton returned for a AAA encore in 1971 besting his ’70 campaign with 23 HR’s, 101 RBI’s while hitting .324 for the Tides.

After another September call-up in ‘71 Stanton was traded with Ryan on December 10th.  After a promising 1972 for the Angels, and a 3 HR performance vs. Baltimore in 1973 he lost his power, struck out frequently and never became near the .300 hitter he was in the minors. A bounce-back 1975 saw him steal 18 and post a .261 average for the Halos before being drafted away by the expansion Mariners. In their inaugural season Stanton had a career year smacking 27 out of the Kingdome and driving in 90. After hitting .275 in '77 Stanton nosedived to .198 in ’78, effectively ending his MLB career.

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