Chuck Estrada

After completing high school, Estrada was signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent on September 27, 1956. Estrada's manager with the 1959 Vancouver Mounties, Charlie Metro, had this to say of his ace: "Chuck Estrada was another fine young talent who went up and won 18 games for the Orioles in 1960. He got a sore arm a couple of years later, and they accused me of ruining his arm. It was rumbled around, and I had to straighten everybody out. I said, 'Chuck had two great years after I had him at Vancouver. How could I have ruined his arm?' With Estrada, I had orders that he wasn't supposed to make more than seventy-five pitches in a seven-inning ball game. "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." ==With the Orioles==

Chuck made his major league debut with the Orioles two seasons later, on April 21, 1960, in front of a crowd of 9,377 at Memorial Stadium. Estrada came in relief for starting pitcher Steve Barber in the 5th inning, and pitched two innings of one-hit ball with five strikeouts. Estrada also was on top of the American League in hits allowed per nine innings, and finished with a twelve complete games, 144 strikeouts 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, 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 strikeouts 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 innings, finishing a close second behind Los Angeles Angels rookie southpaw 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. ==Across the league==

Estrada did not pitch the following season, and he was sent to the California Angels by the Orioles as part of a conditional deal two months prior to the start of the season. The Cubs gave Estrada a shot as a starting pitcher on June 14, 1966, but he pitched less than an inning, giving up three hits and four earned runs and also hitting a batter. The Cubs then sent him to the bullpen and used him in relief for the remainder of the 1966 season. His stats only worsened, as he pitched a career-worst 7.30 ERA in only 12.1 innings of work. The 28-year-old Estrada was released by the Cubs on November 30, 1966. However, the rest of the season did not fare as nicely. In 22 innings of work, Estrada gave up 28 hits, walked 17 batters, and had a 9.41 ERA. So ended Estrada's major league baseball career as a player. After retiring from the majors, Estrada found employment in the majors again, but this time as a pitching coach. San Diego Padres (–), ==See also==