Leroy Stanton, 1946-2019

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Whitey Herzog reportedly said he alone was too much to give up for Fregosi, much less Ryan

[MFS62]

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: Whitey Herzog reportedly said he alone was too much to give up for Fregosi, much less Ryan

So did I. I felt that so strongly that I still refuse to utter (or type) the name of that washed up POS infielder the Mets received in that deal.



RIP.

Later

[Edgy MD]

I think copying and pasting it in a pullquote is, effectively, typing it.



I'm not sure why Fregosi needs to be badmouthed. He didn't trade himself.

[MFS62]

You're right.

I should have XXXXX-ed out his name.

I have been duly chastised.

I won't let it happen again.

(sm-87)

I really did dislike him.

Later

[Met Hunter]

https://www.wbtw.com/news/pee-dee/troopers-one-dead-in-crash-in-florence-county-driver-not-wearing-seat-belt/1847198630https://www.wbtw.com/news/pee-dee/troopers-one-dead-in-crash-in-florence-county-driver-not-wearing-seat-belt/1847198630

[Benjamin Grimm]

I remember there was a time that Jim Fregosi was rumored to be in the running for the Mets manager job. (Maybe when they hired Terry Collins for 2011?) I liked the idea; I thought it would be great if Jim Fregosi had a chance for redemption, and could be known as a World Series winning Mets manager instead of the guy in the Nolan Ryan trade.



While he was certainly disappointing as a Met, I never saw any reason to dislike him.







http://www.wmbfnews.com/2019/03/14/troopers-driver-hit-tree-thrown-vehicle-deadly-crash/Coroner identifies 72-year-old man killed in Florence crash





I was eight years old when the Mets traded Leroy Stanton. He was the one I was sorriest to see go, because he was black and to my eight-year-old brain, black players were better than white players. What I didn't understand, of course, was that a mediocre black player had less of a chance than a mediocre white player, and that's why a higher percentage of black players were stars.



https://www.tradingcarddb.com/Images/Cards/Baseball/8665/8665-495871Fr.jpg>



https://www.tradingcarddb.com/Images/Cards/Baseball/72/72-755Fr.jpg> https://www.tradingcarddb.com/Images/Cards/Baseball/72/72-755Bk.jpg> https://www.tradingcarddb.com/Images/Cards/Baseball/72/72-595Fr.jpg>

[MFS62]

Met Hunter wrote: https://www.wbtw.com/news/pee-dee/troopers-one-dead-in-crash-in-florence-county-driver-not-wearing-seat-belt/1847198630https://www.wbtw.com/news/pee-dee/troopers-one-dead-in-crash-in-florence-county-driver-not-wearing-seat-belt/1847198630

Not wearing a seat belt.

What a shame.



Later

[batmagadanleadoff]

https://static01.nyt.com/packages/images/sports/year_in_sports/sports_header.jpg>



Mets Give Up Ryan for Fregosi

By Joseph Durso

December 11, 1971

NEW YORK-The Mets finally gave up on Nolan Ryan's wandering fastball today. They traded the 24-year-old pitcher and three prospects to the California Angels for Jim Fregosi, six times the American League's all-star shortstop. Manager Gil Hodges immediately said he would move Fregosi to third base, where 45 men have come and gone during the Mets' 10 seasons in business. "You always hate to give up on an arm like Ryan's," Hodges said today. "He could put things together overnight, but he hasn't done it for us and the Angels wanted him. I would not hesitate making a trade for somebody who might help us right now, and Fregosi is such a guy." In order to get the 29-year-old infielder, the Mets sent California the outfielder Leroy Stanton, pitcher Don Rose and catcher Francisco Estrada in addition to Ryan. Harry Dalton, who left the Baltimore Orioles in October to become general manager of the California team, praised Fregosi for his 11 seasons with the Angels but said: "We picked up one of baseball's best arms in Ryan. We know of his control problems, but he had the best arm in the National League and, at 24, he is just coming into his own. Stanton figures to give us some of the right-handed power we need, and Rose and Estrada both have a chance to make our club." "Only one of the four would have been with the Mets next season, and that was Ryan," said Bob Scheffing, the general manager of the Mets. "I don't think Stanton could have beaten out our other outfielders, and we have run out of options on him. As for Ryan, I really can't say I quit on him. But we've had him three full years and, although he's a hell of a prospect, he hasn't done it for us. How long can you wait? I can't rate him in the same category with Tom Seaver, Jerry Koosman or Gary Gentry." Ryan has been striking out one batter every inning since he signed with the Mets out of Alvin, Tex., in 1965. In three more or less full seasons with the varsity, he struck out 493 batters in 510 innings. Last season, he fanned 137 in 152, including 16 San Diego Padres on May 29, the most all year for any National League pitcher. Going into July, in fact, he had eight victories and four defeats and appeared to have found himself as well as home plate. But then he became as wild as a March hare, lost 10 of the next 12, walked nine St. Louis Cardinals in one game and 116 batters in all 30 games-both club records for wildness. Fregosi, the last of the original Angels of 1961, was having his own problems meanwhile. He suffered from the flu, a sore arm, a strained muscle in his side and a tumor on his foot. He hit only .233 with five home runs, a marked comedown from 1970, when he hit .278 with 22 home runs. "He bats right handed but he'll play third base for us against all kinds of pitching," Hodges said. "Wayne Garrett, who played third for us, can fill in at second and so can Ted Martinez and Tim Foli. Our big concern there is Ken Boswell's sore arm -- he can't throw or swing a bat, and he's due in New York next week to see our doctors." Of the minor leaguers the Mets surrendered, Stanton was the strongest. He hit .324 at Tidewater with 101 runs batted in. Rose won 11 games, lost 10 and his 3.33 earned run average was fifth best in the International League. Estrada hit .260 at Tidewater and .252 at Memphis. All three were promoted to the Mets on Sept. 14.

http://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/12.10.html?scp=3&sq=Bareback&st=csehttp://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/packages/html/sports/year_in_sports/12.10.html?scp=3&sq=Bareback&st=cse

[Edgy MD]

He drove in 100 runs in the International League. Wow.

[Edgy MD]

Also was one of the top players on the original Seattle Mariners team in 1977, but fellow outfielder Rupert Jones got the team's only All-Star Game nod. It was Stanton's best season.

[G-Fafif]

Five Mets notched one double and one triple, but no homer during their team tenure. Leroy Stanton was one of them.



The others?



One was a teammate of Ryan's and Stanton's.



One was traded for a future Hall of Famer.



One grouped his Met extra-base hits a dozen years apart.



One didn't steal a base as a Met but wasn't likely to be mistaken for a tortoise.