Johnny Pulado Estrada III (born June 27, 1976) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

, who played in

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) ...

(MLB) for the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has been Citize ...

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in B ...

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. ...

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

, and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadi ...

. Estrada was selected in the 17th round of the 1997 Major League Baseball draft by the

. His major league career started in with the Phillies after an injury to the regular starting catcher, Mike Lieberthal. In , he became a part-time player. Estrada was acquired by the

from the Phillies on December 20, 2002, for

Kevin Millwood Kevin Austin Millwood (born December 24, 1974) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies, Cleveland Indians, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles, Co ...

in a move that was said to be financially motivated, since the Braves could not pay Millwood's salary. During the season, Estrada spent most of the year on Atlanta's Triple-A team, the Richmond Braves. After Javy López left due to free agency, Estrada became Atlanta's starting catcher in . He hit .314 with 9

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

s and 76

RBI RBI most often refers to: *Reserve Bank of India *Run batted in RBI may also refer to: Organisations *Radio Berlin International *Raiffeisen Bank International *Reed Business Information *Restaurant Brands International *Ruđer Bošković In ...

. Estrada also made the All-Star team and helped Atlanta win their 13th division title in a row. After a slightly disappointing season, Estrada was traded by the Braves to the

for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

s Lance Cormier and Óscar Villarreal on December 7, 2005. The season saw Estrada return to his All-Star form. He hit .302 with 11 home runs and 71 RBI in 115 games. After the 2006 season, Estrada was traded to the

along with pitchers Claudio Vargas and Greg Aquino for pitchers Doug Davis and Dana Eveland and

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

Dave Krynzel David Benjamin Krynzel (born November 7, 1981) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He made his major league debut on September 1, . Krynzel was drafted in the 1st round (11th overall) of the 2000 Major League Baseball Draft and spent se ...

. On November 20, , Estrada was traded from the Brewers to 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 leagu ...

for pitcher Guillermo Mota. Estrada was not offered a new contract by the Mets and became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

on December 12, 2007. On January 31, , Estrada signed a one-year contract with the

worth approximately $1.25 million. On July 24, Estrada was designated for assignment, and released on July 31. Estrada holds the major league record for most career hits without a

triple Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a "treble": Sports * Triple (baseball), a three-base hit * A basketball three-point field goal * A figure skating jump with three rotations * In bowling terms, three strikes in a row * In ...

(576).

References

External links

Johnny Estrada
at Baseball Almanac {{DEFAULTSORT:Estrada, Johnny 1976 births Living people Baseball players from California Major League Baseball catchers Philadelphia Phillies players Atlanta Braves players Arizona Diamondbacks players Milwaukee Brewers players Washington Nationals players Batavia Clippers players Richmond Braves players College of the Sequoias Giants baseball players American baseball players of Mexican descent Gulf Coast Nationals players Harrisburg Senators players Columbus Clippers players Sportspeople from Hayward, California Silver Slugger Award winners