Francisco Estrada

Who is Francisco Estrada?

Francisco "Paquín" Estrada Soto is a former Major League Baseball player for the New York Mets. Estrada, a catcher, appeared in one game for the Mets in 1971. Estrada is the current manager of the Chihuahua Dorados in the Mexican League, and catcher's coach with Culiacán Tomateros in the Mexican Pacific League. In addition, he is the manager of the Mexico national baseball team for the World Baseball Classic.

In the United States, he is probably best known for being part of the trade that sent Nolan Ryan and three others, including Estrada, from the New York Mets to the California Angels for Jim Fregosi. However, he is 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, and played for 26 seasons in the Mexican League, beginning his career there in 1966 and ending it in 1994. In his sole major league appearance, Estrada had one hit in two at-bats, giving him a .500 batting average for his career.

Estrada has also been a manager in Mexico since 1983. His teams have won three Mexican League championships.