José Magriñat

José María Magriñat
(Kiko)
also listed as Maginet

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 5' 8"

• Born 1878 in Matanzas Cuba

BR Register page

Biographical Information

José Magriñat was a Deadball Era outfielder in Cuba and the Negro Leagues. He later was an umpire in Cuba.

Magriñat debuted in 1897-1898 with Almendarista, the first Cuban Winter League season following the Spanish-American War. He played for Cuba in 1899, Cubano in 1900 and Club Fé in 1901. After two years off, he hit .190 and slugged .241 as a 2B-OF for San Francisco in 1904. After two more years away, he was 0 for 3 for Habana in 1907. As Habana's fourth outfielder in 1908, the veteran hit .186/.186/.229 and fielded .950. He mainly played right field when Pete Hill was over in center. In 1908-1909, he was 0 for 2 for a walk for Habana. He made his US debut that year, hitting just .143 for the Cuban Stars; despite having been a backup in Cuba, he started in the USA. He had more outfield errors (3, .769 FLD) in 1910 than he had hits at the plate (2 for 31) in a depressing season.

Kiko batted .157 for the Cuban Stars in the US in 1910. In 1910-1911, he was 6 for 41 (all singles, no walks) for Habana; his 10 games in center edged out two others by one for the team lead at the position. In the winter of 1912, he hit .231/.298/.288 for Fé, backing up Jimmie Lyons in left and Spot Poles in right. Magriñat had his one big season offensively in the summer of 1912, hitting .446, best among midwestern black teams.

José was the fourth outfielder for Fé in 1913, hitting .282/.364/.333. The veteran backed up Luis Padrón in right and Judy Gans in left (Poles manned center every game). He hit .273 as a utility man for the Cuban Stars in the summer of 1913; the Stars used a starting outfield of Cristobal Torriente, Heliodoro Hidalgo and Luis Bustamante. He ended his Cuban career in 1914, going 10 for 44 with a triple, again serving as the 4th outfielder for Fé. He hit .170 for the 1914 Cuban Stars. He finished his US career in 1916, going 9 for 80 for the Stars.

Magriñat later served as an umpire in Cuba. In 1997, he was inducted into the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame for his umpiring work.

Sources

• Cuban Baseball: A Statistical History by Jorge Figueredo
• Seamheads.com bio
• The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues by John Holway
• The Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues by James Riley