Jose Pagan
From SABR Encyclopedia
| Jose Pagan | |
| Jose Antonio Pagan Rodriguez | |
| Bat/Throw: | R/R |
|---|---|
| Height: | 5' 9" |
| Weight: | 160 |
| Born: | 1935-5-5 at Barceloneta (PR) |
| More info | |
| Statistics: | Retrosheet |
|---|---|
| SABR Searches: | Pictures of Jose Pagan | width:90% height:65% scrolling:auto | Pictures}} · Bibliography |
From 1957 through 1965, Springfield had Eastern League baseball, played by farm clubs of the San Francisco Giants. The franchise left town after the ’65 season, Pynchon Park burned to the ground a year later, and the city has been without pro ball ever since.
Jose Pagan, one of the early stars of that local baseball era, died June 7 at the age of 76.
He played 133 games at second base in 1957, and 126 at third in 1958 for the Springfield Giants. For those two seasons, he hit .264 and .298.
By 1960, he was in the big leagues, where he spent 15 seasons. He played for the losing Giants in the 1962 World Series, then earned a championship ring with the Pittsburgh Pirates of 1971.
In Game 7, Pagan’s double plated the run that gave Steve Blass a 2-1 victory over the favored Baltimore Orioles.
Pagan, a native of Barceloneta, Puerto Rico, appeared in 1,326 major league games, hitting .250 for his career as a versatile infielder who played everywhere except first base. He also got some playing time in the outfield.
From those first two Springfield Giants ball clubs of Pagan’s time, 20 players made it to the big leagues. [1]
Footnotes
- ↑ http://www.masslive.com/sports/index.ssf/2011/06/before_he_was_a_world_series_h.html, retrieved on 2011-09-07.
