| José Pagán | |
|---|---|
 Pagán in 1963 | |
| Shortstop /Third baseman | |
| Born:(1935-05-05)May 5, 1935 Barceloneta, Puerto Rico | |
| Died: June 7, 2011(2011-06-07) (aged 76) Sebring, Florida, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 4, 1959, for the San Francisco Giants | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 15, 1973, for the Philadelphia Phillies | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .250 |
| Home runs | 52 |
| Runs batted in | 372 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
José Pagán (May 5, 1935 – June 7, 2011[1]) was aPuerto Rican professionalbaseball player andcoach. He played inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as aninfielder andoutfielder for fifteen seasons, with threeNational League (NL) teams from1959 to1973. Pagán was notable for driving in the winning run for the Pittsburgh Pirates in the seventh game of the1971 World Series.[1]
Pagán (birth name:José Antonio Pagán Rodríguez[note 1]) was born in the town ofBarceloneta, Puerto Rico. He made his major league debut at the age of 24 with theSan Francisco Giants on August 8,1959. Pagán's best full season statistically came with the Giants in1962, when he hit .259 and drove in a career high 57 runs. He had 73 runs scored that year, which also was a career high, while collecting 150 hits for the only time in his career as the Giants won theNational League Pennant. Pagán hit .368 with a home run in the1962 World Series as the Giants lost to theNew York Yankees in seven-games.
On May 22, 1965 the San Francisco Giants traded Pagán to the Pittsburgh Pirates forDick Schofield. As a member of the Pirates he won three consecutiveNational League Eastern Division titles between1970 and1972. Despite playing part-time for the Pirates from 1966–1970, Pagán batted in the .260s twice and the .280s twice out of those five years, only hitting under .264 in1968 when he only had 163 at bats. During that time instead of playing shortstop, he played mostlythird base andleft field, but also was used as a key "spare part" for the team, playing games at every position in the infield, even one at catcher in1967 for one inning.
With thePirates in1971, after losing theNLCS in1970, he won his only World Series and became a hero of the deciding game. In game seven of the1971 World Series between the Pirates and theBaltimore Orioles, Pagán hit adouble in the top of the eighth inning which scoredWillie Stargell which proved to be the game's (and series') winning run.
He was released by the Pittsburgh Pirates on October 24, 1972 and, signed as a free agent with thePhiladelphia Phillies on November 13, 1972. He played his final major league game on August 15,1973 at the age of 38 with the Phillies.
After his playing career ended, Pagán was a Pittsburgh Piratescoach for five seasons (1974–1978). He managed theTriple-AOgden A's in thePacific Coast League for two seasons (1979–1980) and teams in thePuerto Rican Winter League for several seasons, and lived inPuerto Rico before moving his family toFlorida in 1999.
Pagán died at age 76 in 2011 at his home inSebring,Florida, a victim ofAlzheimer's disease,[2] and was survived by his wife and two sons.[3] He was held in such esteem by the Pittsburgh organization that a moment of silence was observed before the Pirates game with theArizona Diamondbacks atPNC Park that night.[4] He was buried at Lakeview Memorial Gardens inAvon Park.
Pagan was coach with Philadelphia, not Pittsburgh, after retiring as player. ==Notes==
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