John Felix Tamargo (born November 7, 1951) is an American former professional baseball

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 ...

, coach, and long-time

minor league 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 ...

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 ...

. He played all or part of five seasons in the majors from until . He currently serves as the Latin America Field Coordinator for the

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

organization.

Playing career

Tamargo was drafted out of

Tampa Catholic High School Tampa Catholic High School is a diocesan, Catholic, coeducational high school located in Tampa, Florida, United States, founded in 1962. It is in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint Petersburg. Its motto is "Veritas et Caritas," which means "T ...

by 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 ...

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

, but did not sign, choosing instead to attend

Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (informally known as Southern or Georgia Southern) is a public university, public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The largest campus is in Statesboro, Georgia, Statesboro, with ...

. He was drafted three more times in the next two years, but did not sign with a team until being drafted by the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

in the 6th round of the

1973 Major League Baseball draft The 1973 Major League Baseball draft took place during the 1973 MLB season. The draft saw the Texas Rangers select David Clyde first overall. First round selections The following are the first round picks in the 1973 Major League Baseball dra ...

. He made his major league debut with the Cardinals on September 3, 1976. He played in just 20 games with St. Louis from 1976 to 1978. In July, 1978,

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

catcher Mike Sadek was injured, and they acquired Tamargo from the Cardinals as a replacement. He spent the rest of the season with the Giants, splitting time with starting catcher

Marc Hill Marc Kevin Hill (born February 18, 1952), nicknamed "the Booter", is an American former Major League Baseball catcher. St. Louis Cardinals Hill was drafted straight out of high school by the St. Louis Cardinals in the tenth round of the 1970 M ...

. He started the 1979 season with the Giants, but was traded to the

Montreal Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

on June 13. He was initially assigned to the minor league

Denver Bears Denver ( ) is a consolidated city and county, the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in the Western United States, in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains east of th ...

, but returned to the majors in August, but appeared in just 12 games over the remainder of the season. Tamargo spent the entire 1980 season with the Expos, the only full season he spent in the major leagues. Serving as backup to future Hall of Famer

Gary Carter Gary Edmund Carter (April 8, 1954 – February 16, 2012) was an American professional baseball catcher whose 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career was spent primarily with the Montreal Expos and New York Mets. Nicknamed "Kid" for his youth ...

, he appeared in 37 games, batting .275. The following season he spent the entire season back with the Bears, his last season as a player.

Managerial and coaching career

Following his playing career, Tamargo has had a lengthy career as a minor league manager, starting in with the independent

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

. He then joined the

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

organization, for which he worked from until in various capacities. In , he managed the

Binghamton Mets The Binghamton Rumble Ponies are an American Minor League Baseball team based in Binghamton, New York. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets major-league club. The Rumble Ponies play in Mi ...

to the championship of the Eastern League. In , Tamargo moved the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

organization, managing the Kissimmee Cobras. The next season, , he won his second championship as a manager with the

New Orleans Zephyrs New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz (South Korean band), The Boyz * New (album), ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** New (Paul McCartney song), "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * New (EP), ''New'' (EP), ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. From until , he was a coach for the MLB

. In and , he managed the

Brevard County Manatees The Brevard County Manatees were a minor league baseball team of the Class A-Advanced Florida State League from 1994 to 2016. They were based in Viera, Florida, Viera, Florida, and played their home games at Space Coast Stadium. The team left Brev ...

in the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

organization, and in he managed the

Durham Bulls The Durham Bulls are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. They are located in Durham, North Carolina, and play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, which opened ...

, a farm team of the

Tampa Bay Devil Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in the Tampa Bay area. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. They are one of two major league clubs based i ...

. On January 13, , Tamargo was named the manager of the

Everett AquaSox The Everett AquaSox are a Minor League Baseball team in Everett, Washington. The team is a member of the Northwest League and is the High-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners. The AquaSox play their home games at Funko Field, which has a seatin ...

in the

organization. He was named manager of the Class-A

Clinton LumberKings The Clinton LumberKings are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Clinton, Iowa, and play their home games at NelsonCorp Field. From 1956 to 2020, they were members of Minor League Baseball's Midwest Leag ...

of the

Midwest League The Midwest League is a Minor League Baseball league established in 1947 and based in the Midwestern United States. A Class A league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganizat ...

after the '09 season. During the 2010 season, his son John Jr. served as hitting coach of the

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Athletics (baseball), Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field (Lansing), Jackson Fie ...

, which played in the same league. The two managed against each other in one game when John Jr. served as the Lugnuts acting manager. His son was promoted to manager of the Lugnuts before the 2012 season, and was named hitting coach of the

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpark, ...

prior to the 2015 season. Tamargo was named to his current position as Latin America Field Coordinator after the 2010 season.

References

External links

: {{DEFAULTSORT:Tamargo, John 1951 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Canada Arkansas Travelers players Baseball coaches from Florida Baseball players from Florida Binghamton Mets managers Denver Bears players Durham Bulls managers Georgia Southern Eagles baseball players Houston Astros coaches Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball catchers Miami Dade Sharks baseball players Modesto Reds players Montreal Expos players New Orleans Pelicans (baseball) players San Francisco Giants players Springfield Redbirds players St. Louis Cardinals players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Tulsa Oilers (baseball) players Tampa Catholic High School alumni 20th-century American sportsmen Leones del Caracas managers