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Jose Antonio Pagan
Pittsburgh Pirates
Infield
Born: May 5, 1935, Barceloneta, Puerto Rico
Signed: Signed by the New York Giants as an amateur free agent before 1955 season
Major League Teams: San Francisco Giants 1959-65; Pittsburgh Pirates 1965-72; Philadelphia Phillies 1973
World Series Appearances: San Francisco Giants 1962; Pittsburgh Pirates 1971
Died: June 7, 2011, Sebring, FL (age 76)
As of one the better fielding shortstops in the National League, Jose Pagan's best seasons of his 15-year major league career came as a member of the Giants in the early 1960s. Pagan's career year in 1962 coincided with the Giants winning the National League pennant. In 164 games, he batted .259 with seven home runs and career highs with 73 runs scored and 57 RBIs. Pagan also led all National League shortstops in fielding percentage with a .973 mark. In the World Series, while the Yankees downed the Giants in seven games, Pagan batted .368 (7 for 19) with a home run. He was traded to the Pirates in May 1965, and he'd serve in a back-up role for the club for seven and half seasons.
The Pirates won the National League pennant in 1970 and 1971, defeating the Orioles in the 1971 World Series in seven games. Pagan, a valuable utility player for the Pirates, drove in the eventual winning run in the decisive Game 7, doubling home Willie Stargell (#545) to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead. The team would win the game, 2-1, giving Pittsburgh its first World Series victory since 1960. Pagan played a final season with the Phillies in 1973 before retiring. He'd return to the Pirates as a coach for five seasons between 1974 and 1978. In 1,326 games, Pagan batted .250 with 922 hits and 387 runs scored.
Died: June 7, 2011, Sebring, FL (age 76)
As of one the better fielding shortstops in the National League, Jose Pagan's best seasons of his 15-year major league career came as a member of the Giants in the early 1960s. Pagan's career year in 1962 coincided with the Giants winning the National League pennant. In 164 games, he batted .259 with seven home runs and career highs with 73 runs scored and 57 RBIs. Pagan also led all National League shortstops in fielding percentage with a .973 mark. In the World Series, while the Yankees downed the Giants in seven games, Pagan batted .368 (7 for 19) with a home run. He was traded to the Pirates in May 1965, and he'd serve in a back-up role for the club for seven and half seasons.
The Pirates won the National League pennant in 1970 and 1971, defeating the Orioles in the 1971 World Series in seven games. Pagan, a valuable utility player for the Pirates, drove in the eventual winning run in the decisive Game 7, doubling home Willie Stargell (#545) to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead. The team would win the game, 2-1, giving Pittsburgh its first World Series victory since 1960. Pagan played a final season with the Phillies in 1973 before retiring. He'd return to the Pirates as a coach for five seasons between 1974 and 1978. In 1,326 games, Pagan batted .250 with 922 hits and 387 runs scored.
Some text for this post originally appeared on my 1965 Topps blog.
Building the Set / Card #565
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
The Card / Pirates Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
1969 Season
Pagan had a great season as a super utility player with the Pirates, appearing in 108 games and batting .285 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs. He led all pinch-hitters with an impressive .442 (19 for 43) average. Pagan started in 55 of his 108 games played - making starts at third base (36), left field (18) and right field (1).
Phillies Career
Released by the Pirates following the 1972 season, Pagan signed with the Phillies on November 13, 1972. He appeared in 46 games overall, with 30 of those appearances as a pinch-hitter. Pagan made ten starts for the club, with eight starts coming at third base to give the young Mike Schmidt a rest. He batted .205 overall and in his final at-bat on August 15, 1973, he pinch-hit for reliever Ron Diorio and struck out against former teammate Juan Marichal (#370). Pagan was released by the Phillies the following day, on August 16th.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #67
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14): 1960-73
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #102
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 74 in the Beckett online database as of 10/1/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
September 21, 2025 from The Philly Show (America's Pastime)
On Sunday morning, September 21st, I made the hour-long drive to the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Pennsylvania for the latest installment of the Philadelphia Sports Card & Memorabilia Show, known to its friends as The Philly Show. The show has a legitimate official sponsor (eBay) and the advertisement for the event notes the show is in its 50th year. I hadn't attended a baseball card show since the last Philly Show in December, and I was flying solo to this one as our oldest son is in his first month of college at Villanova. I posted a full summary of the show over at The Phillies Room.
I made stops at six tables at the show, all yielding needed cards for our 1969 Topps set, and I left the show with just 16 more cards to go for my version of a complete set. The first place I stopped was a table with well-organized and well-marked binders of commons and semi-stars with 20% Off notes across the front of each binder.
I took my time and found 32 commons and semi-stars needed before asking to see the dealer's star cards from the set. It turned out this first purchase was also my biggest, as I spent over half my allotted budget here, America's Pastime from Fair Lawn, New Jersey, before moving on to my second stop. This was the sixth of 36 total cards bought from America's Pastime, and the sixth of 91 cards for set added overall on the day, and it cost a little less than a dollar after the dealer discount.
The Card / Pirates Team Set / Accuracy Index +5
Pagan wore #11 with the Pirates during his eight years with the club, as shown on this card. He's shown wearing the same black batting glove, on his right hand, on his 1968 Topps card, meaning the photos used for his 1968 and 1969 cards were likely taken at the same time. The cartoon highlights his 1962 World Series heroics, similar to his 1965 Topps card. I love the last sentence of the write-up on the back, "Jose can really spark a team."
Accuracy Index: Pagan's card earns a solid +5.
1969 Season
Pagan had a great season as a super utility player with the Pirates, appearing in 108 games and batting .285 with nine home runs and 42 RBIs. He led all pinch-hitters with an impressive .442 (19 for 43) average. Pagan started in 55 of his 108 games played - making starts at third base (36), left field (18) and right field (1).
Released by the Pirates following the 1972 season, Pagan signed with the Phillies on November 13, 1972. He appeared in 46 games overall, with 30 of those appearances as a pinch-hitter. Pagan made ten starts for the club, with eight starts coming at third base to give the young Mike Schmidt a rest. He batted .205 overall and in his final at-bat on August 15, 1973, he pinch-hit for reliever Ron Diorio and struck out against former teammate Juan Marichal (#370). Pagan was released by the Phillies the following day, on August 16th.
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First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #67
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (14): 1960-73
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 1978 TCMA The 1960s I #102
Total Non-Parallel Baseball Cards: 74 in the Beckett online database as of 10/1/25.
Sources:
Baseball Reference / SABR / Wikipedia
Beckett Database / The Trading Card Database
1965 Topps Blog / The Phillies Room
1965 Topps Blog / The Phillies Room
#191 Lindy McDaniel - New York Yankees / #193 Don Cardwell - New York Mets
Once Paul Owens took over as GM from John Quinn in mid-1972, the Phillies' front office started to get smart. Before the '73 season, they signed veterans Jose Pagan and Tom Haller as mentors/insurance policies for Mike Schmidt and Bob Boone respectively, during their rookie seasons (although Haller refused to report).
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