Ángel Valdés "Jack" Aragón Reyes Jr. (November 20, 1915 – April 4, 1988) was a

Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...

professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

. His playing career spanned 13 season, including one game during the 1941 season in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

with the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. In that one game, he was used as a

pinch-runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

and had no

plate appearance In baseball, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runner. This ha ...

s. Aragón also played in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

with the Class-C Greenwood Giants, the Class-D Blytheville Giants, the Class-D Salisbury Giants, the Class-B

Clinton Giants Clinton is an English toponymic surname, indicating one's ancestors came from English places called Glympton or Glinton.Hanks, P. & Hodges, F. ''A Dictionary of Surnames''. Oxford University Press, 1988 Clinton has also been used as a given na ...

, the Class-B

Winston-Salem Twins Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

, the Class-A1

Knoxville Smokies The Knoxville Smokies are a Minor League Baseball team based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. The team was based in Kodak, Tennessee, a Knoxville suburb, fr ...

, the Class-C Fort Smith Giants, the Double-A, and later Triple-A

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

, the Double-A, and later Triple-A

Louisville Colonels The Louisville Colonels were a Major League Baseball team that played in the American Association (AA) throughout that league's ten-year existence from 1882 until 1891. They were known as the Louisville Eclipse from 1882 to 1884, and as th ...

and the Class-A

Jacksonville Tars Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

. Aragón's managerial career lasted five seasons, including four of those as a

player-manager A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...

. Aragón's baseball career was interrupted in 1942 as he in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

during the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

era. After being discharged in 1944 at the rank of Electrician's Mate, he returned to baseball. Over his minor league career, Aragón played 801 games. Aragón also served as a

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

for the Knoxville Smokies from 1952 to 1953, and the Maryville-Alcoa Twins from 1953 to 1954. He batted and threw right-handed.

Professional career

Playing career

Aragón began his

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Moder ...

career in 1937 with the Greenwood Giants of the Class-C

Cotton States League The Cotton States League''Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: The Official Record of Minor League Baseball'' – Lloyd Johnson, Steve McDonald, Miles Wolff (editors). Publisher: Baseball America, 1997. Format: Paperback, 672pp. Language: Engli ...

. Greenwood was

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team affiliated with the

franchise. That season, he batted .237 with nine

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 ...

, two doubles and two

triples TripleS (; ; stylized as tripleS) is a South Korean 24-member multinational girl group formed by Modhaus. They aim to be the world's first decentralized idol group, where the members will rotate between the full group, sub-units, and solo activi ...

in 18

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. Associat ...

. On the defensive side, Aragón played all of his 18 games at the

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

position, committing two

errors An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

in 62

total chances In baseball statistics, total chances (TC), also called ''chances offered'', represents the number of plays in which a defensive player has participated. It is the sum of putouts plus assists plus errors. ''Chances accepted'' refers to the total ...

. In 1939, Aragón joined the Blytheville Giants of the Class-D

Northeast Arkansas League The Northeast Arkansas League was the name used by a pair of American minor league baseball leagues. The first of these started operations in 1909 and continued through 1911. The second version began operations for the 1936 season. It continue ...

. With Blytheville, who were a minor league affiliate of the New York Giants, Aragón batted .301 with 104 hits, 12 doubles, five triples and five

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s in 98 games played. In the

field Field may refer to: Expanses of open ground * Field (agriculture), an area of land used for agricultural purposes * Airfield, an aerodrome that lacks the infrastructure of an airport * Battlefield * Lawn, an area of mowed grass * Meadow, a grass ...

, he played 96 games as a catcher, committing 22 errors in 742 total chances, translating into a .970

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

. During the 1939 season, Aragón played with four different teams in three different organizations. First with the New York Giants organization, he played with the Class-D Salisbury Giants and the Class-B

. With Salisbury, who were members of the

North Carolina State League The North Carolina State League was a Class D level league in Minor League Baseball. The original version of the league played from 1913 to 1917 as the successor to the Carolina Association. The second version of the league was established in ...

, Aragón batted .238 with 15 hits and five doubles in 20 games played. All of those 20 games were at the catcher position. It is unknown how many games Aragón played with the Clinton Giants that season. After he played in the Giants organization, he moved on to the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

organizations'. With the Class-B

, who were affiliated with the Indians, Aragón batted .236 with 22 hits, four doubles, two triples and two home runs in 32 games played. Aragón's fourth team that season were the Class-A1

, who were affiliated with the Pirates organization. In 16 games with the Smokies, he batted .192 with five hits. Each team he played with the season used him as a catcher. In 1940, Aragón made his return to the New York Giants organization, playing with the minor league Fort Smith Giants of the Class-C

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Wester ...

. He batted .189 with 17 hits and three doubles in 36 games played that season as a member of the Fort Smith club. During all of his 36 games, Aragón was used as a catcher, committing five errors in 186 total chances. Aragón began working for the New York Giants as a batting practice catcher in 1941. He did not play with the Giants until August 13, 1941, a game that would mark his only appearance in Major League Baseball. In that game, which was against the

Boston Braves The Boston Braves were a Major League Baseball club that originated in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, and played from 1871 to 1952. Afterwards they moved to History of the Atlanta Braves#Milwaukee, Milwaukee (and became the Milwaukee Braves). ...

, Aragón was used as a

pinch runner In baseball or softball, a pinch runner is a player substituted into a game for the purpose of base running. Description A pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been s ...

and did not have a

. In 1942, during the midst of World War II, Aragón left professional baseball and entered the

. He was stationed at

Ellis Island Ellis Island is an island in New York Harbor, within the U.S. states of New Jersey and New York (state), New York. Owned by the U.S. government, Ellis Island was once the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United State ...

during the war and was discharged on January 15, 1944, as an Electrician's Mate. After his discharge from the Coast Guard, Aragón returned to professional baseball, signing with the

of the Double-A American Association in 1944. He batted .199 with 35 runs, 74 hits, 16 doubles, two triples, seven home runs, 43

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) 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 th ...

(RBIs) and seven

stolen base In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base unaided by other actions 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 or out ...

s in 127 games played that season. In the field, he played all of his recorded defensive appearances (117 games) at catcher, committing 20 errors in 526 total chances. During the 1945 season, Aragón played with two teams, the Minneapolis Millers and the

. While the Millers were not affiliated with any major league organization, the Colonels were a minor league affiliate of 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

. In 88 combined games that season, Aragón batted .247 with 32 runs, 60 hits, 15 doubles, one home run and 32 RBIs. On defense, he played 79 games at catcher, committing 16 errors in 370 total chances. In 1946, Aragón spent the entire season with the Louisville Colonels, batting .217 with five hits and three RBIs in 11 games played. In the field, he played 10 games at the catcher position, committing one error in 55 total chances. Aragón split the 1947 season between the Minneapolis Millers and the Louisville Colonels. With the Colonels, who were still affiliated with the Boston Red Sox, Aragón played 67 games. On August 9, 1947, the Red Sox traded him along with Frank Genovese and

Lum Harris Chalmer Luman Harris (January 17, 1915 – November 11, 1996) was an American right-handed pitcher, coach, manager, and scout in Major League Baseball. Born in New Castle, Alabama, Harris began his playing career with the Atlanta Crackers of ...

to the New York Giants in exchange for Russ Rolandson,

Augie Bergamo August Samuel Bergamo (February 14, 1917 – August 19, 1974) was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1944 and 1945. A native of Detroit, Michigan, he stood 5'9" and weighed 165 lbs. Bergamo is one ...

and Ken Jungels. The Giants then assigned Aragón to the Millers where he played 11 games. Between the two teams that season, Aragón batted .218 with 20 runs, 42 hits, 14 hits, one double and 16 RBIs.

Managerial career

Aragón began his

managerial Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

career in 1948 with the Class-C Fort Smith Giants in the New York Giants organization. Aragón was a

, meaning that while he managed the team, he also played for them. On the season, he batted .264 with 29 hits, four doubles and one home run in 44 games played. Fort Smith that season went 82–58 finishing second in the Western Association, losing in first round the league playoffs. On January 9, 1949, it was announced that Aragón would become the manager of the

, who were members of the Class-A

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its h ...

. During the season, Aragón broke every bone in his hand after punching the wall of the

dugout Dugout may refer to: * Dugout (shelter), an underground shelter * Dugout (boat), a logboat * Dugout (smoking), a marijuana container Sports * In bat-and-ball sports, a dugout is one of two areas where players of the home or opposing teams sit whe ...

when the

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French , , and , : (as evidenced in cricke ...

did not make a call in his favor. Aragón was also used as a player that season, batting .246 with 45 hits, nine doubles, two triples and one home run in 80 games played. The Tars finished the season with a record of 73–81. During the 1952 season, Aragón joined the Knoxville Smokies of the Class-B

Tri-State League The Tri-State League was the name of six different circuits in American minor league baseball. History The first league of that name played for four years (1887–1890) and consisted of teams in Ohio, Michigan and West Virginia. The second league ...

as their player-manager. He also served at their

. As a player, Aragón batted .193 with 28 hits, five doubles and four home runs in 71 games played. The Smokies as a team finished the season with a record of 89–58.They were first in the league in record, but lost in the first round of the league playoffs. In 1951, Aragón continued playing and managing the Smokies. On the season, Aragón batted .288 with 49 hits, 11 doubles, one triple and five home runs in 82 games played. Aragón also led the Smokies to a 60–79 record. In 1953, Aragón was only used as a manager, making the first time in his career that he did not play while managing. He was replaced mid-season that year as manager of the Smokies by

Leon Culberson Delbert Leon Culberson (August 6, 1919 – September 17, 1989) was an American professional baseball player. He played as an outfielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1943 to 1948 for the Boston Red Sox and the Washington Senators. Listed ...

. Later that season, Aragón became the general manager of the Maryville-Alcoa Twins, who were members of the Mountain States League. During the 1954 season, Aragón quit that position due to a financial disagreement.

Personal

Aragón was born in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

on November 20, 1915. Although he was born in Havana, Aragón was raised in New York City. His father,

Ángel Aragón Ángel Aragón (August 2, 1890 — January 24, 1952) was a Cuban professional baseball player and father of Jack Aragon. Aragón spent his entire Major League Baseball career with the New York Yankees. He played in the Cuban League The Cuban ...

, was also a professional baseball player who played 32 career games in

with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. Jack Aragón died on April 4, 1988, in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city and the county seat of Pinellas County, Florida, United States, west of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and north of St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies T ...

and was buried at Serenity Gardens Memorial Park in

Largo, Florida Largo is the third largest city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, as well as the fourth largest in the Tampa Bay area. As of the 2020 Census, the city had a population of 82,485, up from 77,648 in 2010 United States Census, 2010. Larg ...

References

;General references # # ;Inline citations

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aragon, Jack 1915 births 1988 deaths Baseball players from Havana Major League Baseball players from Cuba 20th-century Cuban sportsmen Children of baseball players Cuban expatriate baseball players in the United States Major League Baseball catchers Minor league baseball managers Minor league baseball executives New York Giants (baseball) players Clinton Giants players Winston-Salem Twins players Knoxville Smokies players Fort Smith Giants players Minneapolis Millers (baseball) players Louisville Colonels (minor league) players Jacksonville Tars players United States Coast Guard enlisted United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II