John Felix Tamargo (born November 7, 1951) is a former Major League Baseballcatcher and coach and long-time minor leaguemanager. He played all or part of five seasons in the majors from 1976 until 1980. He currently serves as the Latin America Field Coordinator for the Seattle Mariners organization.[1]
In July, 1978, San Francisco Giants catcher Mike Sadek was injured, and they acquired Tamargo from the Cardinals as a replacement. He spent the rest of the season with the Giants, splitting time with starting catcher Marc Hill. He started the 1979 season with the Giants, but was traded to the Montreal Expos on June 13. He was initially assigned to the minor league Denver Bears, but returned to the majors in August, but appeared in just 12 games over the remainder of the season.
Tamargo spent the entire 1980 season with the Expos, the only full season he spent in the major leagues. Serving as backup to future Hall of Famer Gary Carter, he appeared in 37 games, batting .275. The following season he spent the entire season back with the Bears, his last season as a player.
Managerial and coaching career
Following his playing career, Tamargo has had a lengthy career as a minor league manager, starting in 1982 with the independent Miami Marlins. He then joined the New York Mets organization, for which he worked from 1983 until 1996 in various capacities. In 1994, he managed the Binghamton Mets to the championship of the Eastern League.
On January 13, 2009, Tamargo was named the manager of the Everett AquaSox in the Seattle Mariners organization.[2] He was named manager of the Class-A Clinton LumberKings of the Midwest League after the '09 season.[3] During the 2010 season, his son John Jr. served as hitting coach of the Lansing Lugnuts, which played in the same league. The two managed against each other in one game when John Jr. served as the Lugnuts acting manager.[4] His son was promoted to manager of the Lugnuts before the 2012 season, and was named hitting coach of the Dunedin Blue Jays prior to the 2015 season.[5]
Tamargo was named to his current position as Latin America Field Coordinator after the 2010 season.