Hal Naragon

Hal Naragon
Catcher
Born: (1928-10-01)October 1, 1928
Zanesville, Ohio, U.S.
Died: August 31, 2019(2019-08-31) (aged 90)
Barberton, Ohio, U.S.
Batted: Left
Threw: Right
MLB debut
September 23, 1951, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
August 5, 1962, for the Minnesota Twins
MLB statistics
Batting average.266
Home runs6
Runs batted in87
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
As player

As coach

Career highlights and awards

Harold Richard Naragon (October 1, 1928 – August 31, 2019) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians (1951; 1954–59) and Washington Senators/Minnesota Twins (1959–62). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed, and was listed as 6 feet (1.83 m) tall and 160 pounds (73 kg). Naragon was born in Zanesville, Ohio, and graduated from Barberton (Ohio) High School.

Career

In his 10-season MLB career, Naragon was a .266 hitter, with 262 hits, 27 doubles, 11 triples, six home runs and 87 RBI in 424 games played. He recorded a .991 fielding percentage. His most productive season came in 1959, when he posted career-highs in games (85) and hits (57) while dividing his playing time with Cleveland and Washington. He also caught one inning for the Indians in Game 3 of the 1954 World Series against the New York Giants. He spent much of his career backing up starting catchers Jim Hegan and Earl Battey.

Following his playing career, Naragon was the bullpen coach for the Minnesota Twins and Detroit Tigers from 1963 to 1969. He was closely associated with pitching coach Johnny Sain, and was a member of the 1965 American League champion Twins and the 1968 world champion Tigers.[1]

He participated in the 50th anniversary commemoration of the 1968 Detroit Tigers World Series championship in 2018 at Comerica Park.

Death

Naragon died August 31, 2019, at the age of 90.[2]

References

  1. ^ Hal Naragon at the SABR Baseball Biography Project , by Tracy J. R. Collins, Retrieved August 31, 2019.
  2. ^ "Former Cleveland Indians catcher Hal Naragon dies at 90". News 5 Cleveland. Retrieved August 31, 2019.
Preceded by Detroit Tigers bullpen coach
1967–1969 		Succeeded by


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