James Louis Fregosi (April 4, 1942 – February 14, 2014) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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 ...

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists wh ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

, 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 (A ...

(MLB) from to , primarily for the Los Angeles / California Angels. He also played 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 lea ...

, Texas Rangers, and

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. Having been the Angels’ most productive and popular player for that franchise's first eleven years of play, Fregosi quickly became its first star. He led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

(AL) in defensive

double plays In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Leag ...

twice, winning the

Gold Glove Award The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...

, and, upon leaving the team, ranked ninth in AL history, with 818 double plays. Fregosi holds the franchise record with 70 career triples; several of his other team records, including career games (1,429),

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014 - a British compilation album s ...

(1,408),

doubles Men's doubles, Women's doubles or Mixed doubles are sports having two players per side, including; * Beach volleyball * Doubles badminton * Doubles curling * Footvolley * Doubles pickleball * Doubles squash * Doubles table tennis * Doubles te ...

(219), runs (691), and

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the b ...

(546), were broken by

Brian Downing Brian Jay Downing (born October 9, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from to , originally as a catcher before converting to an outfielder and designated hitter later in his career. Downin ...

over the course of the through seasons. Fregosi returned to the team as manager, guiding it to its first-ever postseason appearance in , and later managed 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) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

to the 1993 National League pennant. In February, 2014, Fregosi suffered a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

while on an MLB alumni

cruise A cruise is any travel on a cruise ship. Cruise or Cruises may also refer to: Tourism * Booze cruise * Music cruise * River cruise Aeronautics and aircraft * Cruise (aeronautics), a distinct stage of an aircraft's flight * Aviasouz Cruise, a R ...

. He was taken to a hospital in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

for treatment, where he was put on

life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...

. Subsequently, after having suffered multiple additional strokes in the hospital, Fregosi was removed from life support and died a few hours later. At the time of his death, he was the top advance

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

for the

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 ...

Playing career

A right-handed batter, Fregosi is one of many

notable alumni Notability is the property of being worthy of notice, having fame, or being considered to be of a high degree of interest, significance, or distinction. It also refers to the capacity to be such. Persons who are notable due to public responsibi ...

of Junípero Serra High School of

San Mateo, California San Mateo ( ; ) is a city in San Mateo County, California, on the San Francisco Peninsula. About 20 miles (32 km) south of San Francisco, the city borders Burlingame to the north, Hillsborough to the west, San Francisco Bay and Foster ...

, and was signed by the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

in . The same year he was selected by the Angels in the

1960 MLB Expansion Draft The 1960 MLB expansion draft was held by Major League Baseball on December 14, 1960, to fill the rosters of the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators. The Angels and Senators (who later became the Texas Rangers) were new franchises that ...

, and made his debut in September . Jim Fregosi Mets

After hitting .291 as a reserve in 1962, he batted .287 – ninth in the AL – in his first full season in 1963, and was second in the league in triples and fifth in hits. He made his first All-Star squad in 1964, batting .277. From 1964 to mid-1969, he teamed with second baseman Bobby Knoop to form one of the game's top double play combinations; with Knoop winning Gold Gloves from 1966 to 1968, the two became only the third middle infield combination to win the honor in the same season (1967). On July 28, , he became the first Angel to

hit for the cycle In baseball, hitting for the cycle is the accomplishment of one batter who hits a single, a double, a triple, and a home run in the same game. Collecting the hits in that order is known as a "natural cycle". Cycles are rare in Major League B ...

(and the only man to do so at Dodger Stadium until

Orlando Hudson Orlando Thill Hudson (born December 12, 1977) is an American former professional baseball second baseman. He played in Major League Baseball from 2002–2012 with the Toronto Blue Jays, Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, ...

accomplished the feat in 2009), and he did so again on May 20, but this one was an unnatural cycle. Fregosi continued to turn out solid years, particularly in 1967 when he batted .290 (seventh in the AL) and won his only Gold Glove, finishing seventh in the

MVP In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

voting. He became regarded as the league's top-hitting shortstop, leading the AL in triples (13) in 1968, and was named an All-Star every season from 1966 to 1970. But he was sidelined in when a

tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

was discovered in his foot. The Angels became uncertain of Fregosi's future, and on December 10 traded him to the

in the same deal that brought

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

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 ...

to California. (Fregosi would later manage Ryan in 1978 and 1979, Ryan's last two years as an Angel.) Sidelined by several injuries including a broken thumb in , Fregosi struggled with the Mets, where he played mainly at

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, and was sold to the Texas Rangers in the mid-season. After five years as a backup for the Rangers (1973–77), during which he played primarily as a

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

, he was sent to the

in June 1977. When the Angels expressed interest in naming him as their manager in , the Pirates released him to pursue the opportunity. In his 18-year career, Fregosi batted .265 with 1726 hits, 151

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 i ...

s, 844 runs, 706 RBI, 264 doubles, 78 triples, and 76

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe o ...

s in 1902

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. Brian Downing broke his club marks for career

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 batt ...

s (5244),

total bases In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, whil ...

(2112) and

extra base hit In baseball, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire ano ...

s (404).

Don Baylor Don Edward Baylor (June 28, 1949 – August 7, 2017) was an American professional baseball player and manager. During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), Baylor was a power hitter known for standing very close to home plate (" crowdin ...

broke his team record of 115 home runs in . Fregosi was the last player to retire who was a member of the "original" Los Angeles Angels.

Managerial career

California Angels

In becoming the Angels' manager at age 36, Fregosi was presented with a solid team nucleus of Ryan, Baylor, Downing,

Bobby Grich Robert Anthony Grich (born January 15, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles (–) and the California Angels (–). In 1981, Grich led the ...

Carney Lansford Carney Ray Lansford (born February 7, 1957) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a third baseman from 1978 to 1992, most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics team that wo ...

Frank Tanana Frank Daryl Tanana (born July 3, 1953) is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher. In a Major League Baseball career that stretched from 1973 to 1993, he pitched for the California Angels, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, De ...

and longtime owner

Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...

, compiling a record of 62–55 in 117 games, and tying for second with Texas behind the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

. In 1979, with the addition of

Rod Carew Rodney Cline Carew (born October 1, 1945) is a Panamanian former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman, second baseman and designated hitter from 1967 to 1985 for the Minnesota Twins ...

, he led the Angels to an 88–74 record, surprising the Royals and winning the first title in the club's 19-year existence. But they didn't have enough to get by the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

in the 1979 American League Championship Series, losing Game 1 in 10 innings and dropping a 9–8 slugfest in Game 2; the Angels captured a 4–3 win in Game 3, scoring twice in the bottom of the ninth on an

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

and a Larry Harlow double, but were knocked out in an 8–0 Game 4 loss. After Ryan's departure to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after s ...

at the end of the season, the team's pitching faltered in , and the club dropped back into sixth place in their division; Fregosi was replaced in the first half of the season. Fregosi's record was 237 wins and 248 losses in the regular season and one win and three losses in the postseason.

Louisville Redbirds

From the Angels, Fregosi was brought back into the game by Cardinals Farm Director Lee Thomas to manage the

Louisville Redbirds Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...

of the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

for three seasons. Louisville won the league championship in Fregosi's first season in 1983, and lost the league championship in the playoffs. In Fregosi's second season, Louisville tied for fourth place in the regular season but won the 1984 league championship. In 1985 Fregosi's Louisville team finished the season in first place and won the league championship in the playoffs also.

Chicago White Sox

With his success in Louisville, Fregosi was hired to manage the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

in . Fregosi managed the team for three seasons, in each of which the White Sox finished in fifth place in the American League West. Fregosi was released at the end of the season. Fregosi finished with a record of 193 wins and 226 losses in the regular season. He didn't manage any post-season games for the White Sox.

Philadelphia Phillies

Fregosi returned in with the Phillies, hired again by former Angels teammate and General Manager Lee Thomas. His greatest triumph as a manager came in , when he managed the club to the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

. After finishing 26 games out of first place in , the 1993 Phillies (featuring a cast of colorful characters including

Darren Daulton Darren Arthur Daulton (January 3, 1962 – August 6, 2017), nicknamed "Dutch", was an American professional baseball catcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (, –) and Florida Marlins (1997). While with ...

Lenny Dykstra Leonard Kyle Dykstra (; born February 10, 1963), is an American former professional baseball center fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets (1985–1989) and Philadelphia Phillies (1989–1996). Dykstra was a thre ...

Dave Hollins David Michael Hollins (born May 25, 1966) is an American former third baseman in Major League Baseball. Early life Hollins played baseball at Orchard Park High School, where he graduated in 1984. He attended the University of South Carolina an ...

John Kruk John Martin Kruk (born February 9, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. Kruk played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago White Sox from through . Du ...

Danny Jackson Danny Lynn Jackson (born January 5, 1962) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1983 to 1997. He played for the Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirate ...

Curt Schilling Curtis Montague Schilling (born November 14, 1966) is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher who is a commentator for conservative media outlet BlazeTV. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a World Series appearance ...

, and

Mitch Williams Mitchell Steven Williams (born November 17, 1964), nicknamed "Wild Thing", is an American former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for six teams from 1986 to 1997. He was also a studio analyst for the MLB Network from 2009 to ...

) charged to 97 wins and then further shocked the baseball world by pulling off a major upset against the two-time defending NL Champion

in six games in the

League Championship Series The League Championship Series (LCS) is the semifinal round of postseason play in Major League Baseball which has been conducted since 1969. In 1981, and since 1995, the two annual series have matched up the winners of the Division Series, an ...

. Despite putting up a good fight against the defending World Champion

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

in the World Series, Fregosi's Phillies wound up losing to Toronto in six games, with

Joe Carter Joseph Chris Carter (born March 7, 1960) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and first baseman for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres, Toronto Blue ...

's Series-winning home run in Game 6 being the final blow. Despite the World Series run, Fregosi was often the target of criticism by the Philadelphia sports media. One general criticism of Fregosi was that he was a manager who relied on veteran players and was unable to develop younger players. He was ultimately fired by the Phillies in after posting a series of dismal post-1993 seasons. Fregosi finished with a record of 431 wins and 463 losses in the regular season and six wins and six losses in the postseason.

Toronto Blue Jays

Fregosi was hired away from the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

, where he had been serving as a special assistant, to become the new manager for the Blue Jays in one month before the season began. He replaced Tim Johnson, who was fired after one year due to lying about his military service. The team finished in third place and above .500 in each of Fregosi's two seasons in Toronto. On July 27, 2000, he won his 1,000th game as manager, doing so against the

Seattle Mariners The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

7-2. Despite fair results, he was let go after the season. Fregosi finished with a record of 167 wins and 157 losses in the regular season. This ended up being his final managerial position in Major League Baseball. This was the only team where he finished with an overall winning record.

Post-managerial career

As a manager, he had a record of 1028 wins and 1094 losses in 15 seasons. He also managed 16 post-season games. His post-season record was seven wins and nine losses. At the end of , when the Phillies were looking for a manager to replace

Larry Bowa Lawrence Robert Bowa (born December 6, 1945) is an American former professional baseball shortstop, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB), who played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and New York Mets. Bowa went on to mana ...

, Fregosi surfaced as a candidate for the job. The job ended up going to

Charlie Manuel Charles Fuqua Manuel Jr. (born January 4, 1944), is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. During his playing career, he appeared over parts of six Major League Baseball seasons for the Minnesota Twins and Los Angele ...

. Fregosi's number 11 was retired by the Angels in . Fregosi delivered a eulogy at the March 2007 funeral of longtime friend and former Phillies coach John Vukovich. In February 2014, Fregosi was a part of an MLB Alumni cruise when he suffered multiple strokes. The cruise docked in the

Cayman Islands The Cayman Islands () is a self-governing British Overseas Territory—the largest by population in the western Caribbean Sea. The territory comprises the three islands of Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Little Cayman, which are located to the ...

where he was rushed to a local hospital, where his condition was stabilized by doctors before he was relocated to

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

. However, on February 13, Fregosi's condition declined and he died the following day. Phillies owner David Montgomery called Fregosi a "dear friend" after his death.

Managerial record

Personal life

Fregosi was the son of Archie and Margaret Fregosi and grew up in

South San Francisco, California South San Francisco is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, located on the San Francisco Peninsula in the San Francisco Bay Area. The city is colloquially known as "South City". The population was 66,105 at the 2020 cens ...

. His paternal grandparents were Italian while his maternal grandparents were English and Irish.

References

* ''Baseball: The Biographical Encyclopedia'' (2000). Kingston, New York: Total/Sports Illustrated. .