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

[4][5][6] A right-handed batter, Fregosi is one of many notable alumni of Junípero Serra High School in San Mateo, California, where he excelled in football, basketball, and baseball, and also ran track.

[9] The Red Sox assigned him to the Alpine (Texas) Cowboys of the Sophomore League, where he played shortstop and second base, with a .267 batting average in 1960.

[10] In December of the same year, after the Red Sox chose not to protect him, he was selected by the Angels in the 1960 MLB Expansion Draft.

[9][1] The Angels assigned him to the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers of the Triple-A American Association in 1961, where he hit .254, playing solely at shortstop.

[12] After hitting .291 in 175 at-bats as a reserve in 1962 and starting 49 games at shortstop,[11] he batted .287 – ninth in the AL – in his first full season in 1963.

[9][1] Fregosi took jibes over the trade with good humor, saying the blame belonged with Angels' general manager Harry Dalton, not him.

[32][33]) Sidelined by several injuries, including a broken thumb, in 1972, Fregosi struggled with the Mets, where he played mainly at third base (85 games to only six at shortstop).

"[40] In becoming the Angels' manager at age 36, Fregosi was presented with a solid team nucleus of Ryan, Baylor, Downing, Bobby Grich, Carney Lansford, Frank Tanana,[32] and longtime owner Gene Autry, compiling a record of 62–54 in 117 games,[37] and tying for second with Texas behind the Kansas City Royals.

[41] In 1979, with the addition of Rod Carew,[42] he led the Angels to an 88–74 record, surprising the Royals and winning the first title in the club's 19-year existence.

Fregosi managed the team for three seasons, in each of which the White Sox finished in fifth place in the American League West.

[37] Fregosi returned in 1991 with the Phillies, hired again by former Angels teammate and General Manager Lee Thomas.

After finishing 26 games out of first place in 1992, in last place,[52] the 1993 Phillies (featuring a cast of colorful characters, including Darren Daulton, Lenny Dykstra, Dave Hollins, John Kruk, Danny Jackson, Curt Schilling, and Mitch Williams) charged to 97 wins.

The Phillies then further shocked the baseball world by pulling off a major upset against the two-time defending NL Champion Atlanta Braves in six games in the League Championship Series.

Despite putting up a good fight against the defending World Champion Toronto Blue Jays in the World Series, Fregosi's Phillies wound up losing to Toronto in six games, with Joe Carter's Series-winning home run in Game 6 being the final blow.

[55] After leaving the Phillies, Fregosi was a scout and became a special assistant to San Francisco Giants' general manager Brian Sabean for two years.

He replaced Tim Johnson, who was fired after one year due to lying about his military service in Viet Nam and play in college football.

[55] At the end of 2004, when the Phillies were looking for a manager to replace Larry Bowa, Fregosi surfaced as a candidate for the job.

Fregosi delivered a eulogy at the March 2007 funeral of longtime friend and former Phillies coach John Vukovich.

[64] The cruise docked in the Cayman Islands where he was rushed to a local hospital, and his condition was stabilized by doctors before he was relocated to Miami.

[64] Shortly after his death, on March 5, 2014, the Braves and Phillies held a 12-minute ceremony honoring Fregosi before their preseason game.