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| Tetelo Vargas | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Outfielder /Shortstop /First baseman | |
| Born:(1906-04-11)April 11, 1906 Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic | |
| Died: December 30, 1971(1971-12-30) (aged 65) Guayama, Puerto Rico | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| Negro leagues debut | |
| 1927, for the Cuban Stars (East) | |
| Last Negro leagues appearance | |
| 1944, for the New York Cubans | |
| Negro leagues[a] statistics | |
| Batting average | .363 |
| Hits | 186 |
| Home runs | 3 |
| Runs batted in | 86 |
| Stolen bases | 9 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Juan Esteban Vargas Marcano (April 11, 1906 – December 30, 1971), better known asTetelo Vargas, and nicknamed "El Gamo Dominicano" or "the Dominican Deer", was aDominicanprofessional baseballoutfielder,shortstop andfirst baseman in theNegro leagues.[2]
An athletic teenager, Vargas spent his early years playing pick-up baseball games, which helped him develop ability and strength.
By 1927, when Vargas was 21, scouts from theUnited States and the Dominican Republic had noticed him. Vargas wasBlack, however, and he became a member of theNegro leagues' famedNew York Cubans. Meanwhile, at home, he was signed by theLeones del Escogido, one of the four original Dominican Republic winter baseball league teams that remain in competition.
Vargas gained recognition around theCaribbean and inNew York City, establishing a Negro league record by hittinghome runs in seven consecutive at bats. In1932, Vargas went to play inVenezuela, where he became a star and remained until1938, when the New York Cubans re-signed him.
In1940, Vargas played in thePuerto Rican Winter League. He eventually became an established resident ofPuerto Rico. Vargas was once again signed by the New York Cubans from1941 to1944, his last year as an active player in the Negro leagues. Meanwhile, inCaguas, Puerto Rico, Vargas established himself as an All-Star, playing in the Puerto Rican All-Star game multiple times during the 1940s. At the time, a series of different sports competitions preceded the All-Star game in Puerto Rico, all of them involving baseball players and for the All-Star game's public's enjoyment. Vargas, who won variousstolen base titles through his career, won a number of sprint races as an All-Star player in Puerto Rico. He went on to play with theGuayama Witches and theSanturce Crabbers before heading to theMexican Pacific Winter League in1952. Vargas, in the twilight of his career, returned to the Dominican Republic's winter league also in 1952, this time with theEstrellas Orientales team. At the age of 46, he led the Dominican Republic league with abatting average of .350.
Vargas managed theDominican Republic national baseball team at the1952 Amateur World Series.[3]
Vargas retired from baseball in1953, after having played 27 seasons in five countries.
Vargas hit .472 while playing for the New York Cubans in theNegro National League in 1943. WhileBaseball Reference recognizes this (listed as .471) as the highest single-season batting average in MLB history, MLB.com instead recognizesJosh Gibson's .466 average, hit during the same season.[4][5]
Apart from hitting .350 in 1952 in the Dominican Republic's winter league, Vargas also led the Puerto Rican winter league in batting average three times, hitting .410 in1943, and winning back to back titles in1946 and1947, when he hit .382 and .362, respectively. Vargas played a number of exhibition games againstMajor League Baseball'sNew York Yankees, averaging .500 against Yankees pitchers.
Vargas played a number of positions on the baseball field, includingright field,left field,center field,shortstop andsecond base.
Vargas was idolized both in the Dominican Republic and in Puerto Rico, but he decided to settle in the Puerto Rican city of Guayama, where he had previously starred for the local team. He remarried in 1954 in Puerto Rico and lived a rather quiet, humble life in Guayama with his wife, Violeta Enchautegui de Vargas and three daughters Carmen, Ana and Iris and son Juan Esteban Vargas Jr.
Vargas died on December 30, 1971, after battling lung cancer, and is buried next to his wife in Guayama's main cemetery (Cementerio Municipal de Guayama).
Vargas was elected to the Puerto Rican baseball Hall of Fame. Because of his involvement as a player with the New York Cubans, Vargas is also a member of theCuban Baseball Hall of Fame.
The stadium inSan Pedro de Macorís, home of the Estrellas Orientales team, is named in his honor.