Thomas Ragland (born June 16, 1946) is an American former 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 who appeared in 102 games 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 ...

, mostly as a

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

, for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers from to , and 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 ...

in 1973. He also played for seven different minor league clubs in parts of nine seasons spanning 1965–1974. Born in

Talladega, Alabama Talladega (, also ) is the county seat of Talladega County, Alabama, United States. It was incorporated in 1835. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 15,861. Talladega is approximately east of one of the state's la ...

, and raised in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, where he graduated from Northern High School, Ragland threw and batted right-handed, stood and weighed . His professional baseball career began when he was selected by Washington in the 15th round of the first-ever amateur draft. He would not reach the

MLB 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 ...

Senators until 1971, when he had early and late season auditions for the team, which was playing its final season in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. In 1972, the club's first year as the Texas Rangers, Ragland spent the first four months of the campaign at Triple-A

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

before his recall in late July. He appeared in 25 games through the end of the year, struggling at bat, collecting only ten

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 ...

. On November 30, 1972, he was traded to the Cleveland Indians for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Vince Colbert. He spent the full 1973 season with Cleveland, appearing in 67 games and starting 50 as the club's second baseman. He batted a respectable .257 with 47 hits. But during the off-season, his contract was sold to 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. With the veteran Tommy Helms entrenched at second base, Ragland played the entire year back at Triple-A Denver before retiring from the field. In his 102 MLB games, Ragland collected 61 total hits, with nine doubles and one triple. He was credited with 14

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 ...

and batted .231 lifetime. He returned to the Detroit area, where he worked for a local milk-processing plant and scouted for the Texas Rangers. He's a member of the Detroit High School Hall of Fame.LeMoine, Bob, ''Tom Ragland,''

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...

Biography Project

References

External links

*
1946 births Living people African-American baseball players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Burlington Senators players Cleveland Indians players Denver Bears players Geneva Senators players High Point-Thomasville Hi-Toms players Major League Baseball second basemen Sportspeople from Talladega, Alabama Baseball players from Talladega County, Alabama Baseball players from Detroit Texas Rangers players Texas Rangers scouts Washington Senators (1961–1971) players 20th-century American sportsmen Wytheville Senators players 21st-century African-American sportsmen 20th-century African-American sportsmen {{US-baseball-second-baseman-stub