Cuno Barragan Explained

Cuno Barragan
Position:Catcher
Birth Date:20 June 1932
Birth Place:Sacramento, California, U.S.
Death Place:Placer County, California, U.S.
Bats:Right
Throws:Right
Debutleague:MLB
Debutdate:September 1
Debutyear:1961
Debutteam:Chicago Cubs
Finalleague:MLB
Finaldate:April 21
Finalyear:1963
Finalteam:Chicago Cubs
Statleague:MLB
Stat1label:Batting average
Stat1value:.202
Stat2label:Hits
Stat2value:33
Stat3label:Home runs
Stat3value:1
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 5feet tall and weighed . 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

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Cuno Barragan . Tom . Crisp . sabr.org . . May 21, 2024.
  2. Web site: Box Score of Game played on Friday, September 1, 1961 at Wrigley Field. www.baseball-almanac.com. May 21, 2024.
  3. Web site: San Francisco Giants 4, Chicago Cubs 3. www.retrosheet.org. September 1, 1961. 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. Web site: Mexican American . 2010-04-21 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110727081614/http://www.mex-americanhalloffame.org/baseball.html . 2011-07-27 .
  6. Web site: Baseball Sacramento - Spotlight-CBarragan. www.baseballsacramento.com.
  7. News: Remembering Cuno Barragan: Former Sacramento Solons star hit HR in first at-bat with Cubs . Joe . Davidson . May 18, 2024 . . subscription . May 21, 2024.