Cuno Barragan

Cuno Barragan
Catcher
Born: (1932-06-20)June 20, 1932
Sacramento, California, U.S.
Died: May 12, 2024(2024-05-12) (aged 91)
Placer County, California, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 1, 1961, for the Chicago Cubs
Last MLB appearance
April 21, 1963, for the Chicago Cubs
MLB statistics
Batting average.202
Hits33
Home runs1
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams

Facundo Anthony "Cuno" Barragan (June 20, 1932 – May 12, 2024) was an American professional baseball player. He was a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Cubs from 1961 to 1963. Barragan, born in Sacramento, California, threw and batted right-handed, stood 5 feet 11 inches (1.80 m) tall and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg). He attended Sacramento City College and California State University, Sacramento.[1]

Cuno Barragan's only MLB home run came on his very first big-league at bat, on September 1, 1961,[2] off left-hander Dick LeMay;[3] 5,427 people witnessed this event, which came early in a 14-inning loss by the Cubs to the Giants at Wrigley Field on a Friday afternoon.

All told, he collected 33 career hits in the majors, with six doubles and a triple, with 14 runs batted in in 69 games played. He batted .202.

His Hispanic given name and its unique nickname, combined with his cup-of-coffee career, led the authors of The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book to make the following sarcastic comment next to the illustration of his Topps baseball card: "Who the hell is Cuno Barragan? And why are they saying those terrible things about him?"[4]

In 1973, Barragan was inducted into the Mexican American Hall of Fame, an organization which honors individuals from the Sacramento area. In 2002, he was elected to the Sacramento City College Hall of Fame for baseball and football.[5][6]

Barragan died from heart failure in Placer County, California, on May 12, 2024, at the age of 91.[7]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Crisp, Tom. "Cuno Barragan". sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  2. ^ "Box Score of Game played on Friday, September 1, 1961 at Wrigley Field". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  3. ^ "San Francisco Giants 4, Chicago Cubs 3". www.retrosheet.org. September 1, 1961. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
  4. ^ The Great American Baseball Card Flipping, Trading and Bubble Gum Book, Brendan C. Boyd & Fred C. Harris, Little Brown & Co, 1973, page 68
  5. ^ "Mexican American". Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved April 21, 2010.
  6. ^ "Baseball Sacramento - Spotlight-CBarragan". www.baseballsacramento.com.
  7. ^ Davidson, Joe (May 18, 2024). "Remembering Cuno Barragan: Former Sacramento Solons star hit HR in first at-bat with Cubs". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved May 21, 2024.
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