Francisco "Paquín" Estrada Soto (February 12, 1948 – December 9, 2019) was a Mexican

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player for the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...

. Estrada, a catcher, appeared in one game for the Mets in 1971. Estrada was at the time of his death the manager of the Chihuahua Dorados in the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

(Summer), and catcher's coach with Culiacán Tomateros in the

Mexican Pacific League The Mexican Pacific League (), known as Liga ARCO Mexicana del Pacífico for sponsorship reasons or simply LMP for its acronym in Spanish, is a professional baseball winter league based in Northern Mexico. The ten-team regular season schedule run ...

(Winter). In 2006, he served as the manager of the

Mexico national baseball team The Mexico national baseball team (Spanish: ''Selección de béisbol de México'') is the baseball team that represents Mexico in international tournaments. It is currently the 4th-ranked baseball team in the world. Roster Results and fixtures ...

for the

World Baseball Classic The World Baseball Classic (WBC) is an international baseball tournament sanctioned from 2006 to 2013 by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) and after 2013 by World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) in partnership with Major Leagu ...

. He was acquired by the

Tidewater Tides The Norfolk Tides are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. They are located in Norfolk, Virginia, and are named in nautical reference to the city's location on the Chesapea ...

, then the Mets' Triple-A affiliate, from the

Diablos Rojos del México The Diablos Rojos del Mexico (English: Mexico Red Devils) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in Mexico City, Mexico. The team was founded in 1940 by Salvador Lutteroth and Ernesto Carmona. The Diablos Rojos play their hom ...

for

Orlando McFarlane Orlando de Jesús McFarlane Quesada (28 June 1938 – 18 July 2007) was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers and California Angels in parts of five s ...

on November 30, 1970. In the United States, he is probably best known for being part of the trade that sent

Nolan Ryan Lynn Nolan Ryan Jr. (born January 31, 1947), nicknamed "the Ryan Express", is an American former professional baseball pitcher and sports executive. Over a record 27-year playing career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanning four decades, Ryan ...

and three others, including Estrada, from the

to the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

for

Jim Fregosi James Louis Fregosi (April 4, 1942 – February 14, 2014) was an American professional baseball shortstop and manager, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , primarily for the Los Angeles / California Angels. He also played for the ...

. However, he was one of the biggest stars in the history of Mexican baseball. While he played in just one game in the major leagues, Estrada holds the minor league record for games caught (2,847), and played for 26 seasons in the

, beginning his career there in 1966 and ending it in 1994. In his sole major league appearance, Estrada had one hit in two

at-bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a bat ...

s, giving him a .500

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

for his career. Estrada was also a manager in Mexico from 1983 onward. His teams won three Mexican League championships (the

Piratas de Campeche The Piratas de Campeche (English: Campeche Pirates) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League (LMB) based in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico. History In 1980, the Alacranes de Durango moved to Campeche, and played their home games at Ven ...

in 1983, the

Bravos de León The Bravos de León (English: León Braves) are a professional baseball team in the Mexican League based in León, Guanajuato, Mexico. History Cachorros de León (1979–80) Mexican League baseball in León began in 1979 when the Alijador ...

in 1990, and the Piratas again in 2004). In 1989

retired Estrada's number, 25. This was the franchise's first retired number. Estrada was elected to the

Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Profesional de México The Salón de la Fama del Beisbol Profesional de México (in English, Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame), commonly called the Salón de la Fama (Hall of Fame) is a baseball hall of fame and museum located in Monterrey, Nuevo León. I ...

in 2000. in 2013, he was enshrined in the

Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame The Pabellón de la Fama del Caribe (In English, the ''Caribbean Baseball Hall of Fame'') was established in 1996 by Juan Francisco Puello Herrera, commissioner of the Confederación de Béisbol del Caribe (''Caribbean Confederation of Profession ...

for his notable contribution as player and manager in 13

Caribbean Series The Caribbean Series (''Spanish'': ''Serie del Caribe''), also called Caribbean World Series, is the highest tournament for professional baseball teams in Latin America. The tournament location is rotated annually among the countries and is norma ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estrada, Francisco 1948 births 2019 deaths Águilas de Mexicali players Alacranes de Campeche players Angeles de Puebla players Baseball players from Sonora Bravos de León players Caribbean Series managers Diablos Rojos del México players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from Mexico Mayos de Navojoa players Memphis Blues players Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame inductees Mexican expatriate baseball players in the United States Mexican League baseball catchers Mexican League baseball managers Midland Cubs players Minor league baseball managers New York Mets players People from Navojoa Petroleros de Minatitlán players Piratas de Campeche players Rochester Red Wings players Rojos de San Luis Potosí players Salt Lake City Angels players Tidewater Tides players Tomateros de Culiacán players Truchas de Toluca players Venados de Mazatlán players Yaquis de Obregón players Wichita Aeros players