The "Dominican Deer" is considered
the Domincan Republic's greatest ballplayer. An outstanding all-around
player, Vargas had great speed for base stealing and fielding, an
excellent throwing arm, and a consistent .300 hitter with great
bat control. Most of his professional career in the Dominican Republic
was with obscure teams that kept no statistics, but he was still
active when the more organized Dominican Summer League began in
1951 and captured the batting title in 1953 with a batting average
of .355 at the age of 47. Vargas also played baseball in Puerto
Rico, the Negro Leagues, and Mexico. His Negro League career spanned
18 years from 1927 to 1944 and he hit .479 for the New York Cubans
in 1943. He is a member of both the Sports Hall of Fame in the Dominican
Republic and the Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in Puerto Rico.
