Skeeter Jarquín

José César Jarquín Mendoza
(La Maravilla, El Potrillo)

• Born January 10, 1946 in San Isidro, Matagalpa Nicaragua

Biographical Information

Skeeter Jarquín was a long-time star in Nicaragua.

Jarquín first appeared for the Nicaraguan national team in the 1969 Amateur World Series. He appeared in the 1970 Amateur World Series . He hit .263/.365/.319 for Flor de Caña in Nicaragua in 1970. He was Nicaragua's starting shortstop and primary leadoff hitter in the 1971 Pan American Games, batting .209 and making four errors in eight games. He won Bronze with Nicaragua in the 1971 Amateur World Series. He batted .260/.361/.359 for Flor de Caña in 1971, scoring 47 runs in 70 games. He stole 17 bases in 20 tries. At this time, he was being scouted by scouts from MLB teams, but was not offered a contract due to his age and small size.

In the 1972 Amateur World Series, he again won Bronze with Nicaragua. In Nicaragua that year, he hit .287/.344/.368 and swiped 28 bases in 36 attempts, scoring 44 runs in 64 games. He was four steals behind leader Gersán Jarquín (it is unclear if they are related). He led the 1974 Amateur World Series with ten RBI, hit .407 and played error-free ball at short. He was named the All-Star shortstop. He hit .250/.309/.317 for an off-season in Nicaragua, though he was not caught in 14 steal attempts.

He led the 1975 Intercontinental Cup with two triples, while Nicaragua won Bronze. He moved to Estelí that season and batted .300/.373/.387, stealing 31 bases while only being caught three times. He scored 54 runs and led the league in steals. His batting line was .283/.342/.347 in 1976, stealing 23 bases in 29 tries and 57 runs in 89 games. He was three swipes behind leader Wayne Taylor. He played for Nicaragua when they won Gold in the 1977 Central American Games. In 1977, he hit .280/.352/.362 in Nicaragua, though his steals fell to nine and he would not reach double-digits again.

The San Isidro native won a Silver Medal in the 1978 Central American and Caribbean Games. In the 1978 Amateur World Series, he hit .188/.235/.219 as Nicaragua's starting shortstop, fielding .952. He batted .295/.321/.409 with 20 doubles and 62 runs in 83 games that year in Nicaragua. He was with Nicaragua for the 1979 Intercontinental Cup. In '79, he hit .291/.350/.383 for Carazo and his five triples tied Taylor for the league lead.

During 1980, he was 8 for 33 with a double back with Estelí. Moving to Dantos for 1981, the 35-year-old posted a .244/.303/.286 batting line. He last played for Nicaragua in the 1982 Central American and Caribbean Games. Ending his playing career with Dantos in '82, he hit .293/.341/.345. He had hit .279/.342/.358 with 149 steals (in 185 tries) and 432 runs in 711 games in Nicaragua.

He then coached for Nicaragua in the 1983 Intercontinental Cup, 1985 Intercontinental Cup, 1988 Baseball World Cup, 1995 Intercontinental Cup and 1998 Baseball World Cup. In 2003, he was inducted into the Nicaraguan Sports Hall of Fame.