Martín Dihigo

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Martín Magdaleno Dihigo Llanos (May 25, 1906 - May 20, 1971) was a Cuban player in baseball's Negro Leagues and Latin American leagues who excelled at several positions, primarily as a pitcher and second baseman. He was born in the sugarmill Jesús María (town of Cidra) in Matanzas Province, Cuba.

Dihigo began his professional career in the winter of 1922–23 at the age of 16 as a substitute infielder for Habana in the Cuban League. His first summer in U.S. baseball came in 1923 as a first baseman for the Negro Leagues' Cuban Stars (East). He played in the Negro Leagues from 1923 through 1936 and again briefly in 1945. Over the course of his career he made seamless transitions between all nine positions, making him one of the most versatile baseball player ever. As a hitter, he led the Negro Leagues in home runs in 1926 and 1935. As a pitcher he once defeated Satchel Paige when the latter was touring Cuba.

Dihigo's career record in 12 seasons in the Negro Leagues was a .307 average and .511 slugging percentage, with 431 hits, 64 home runs, 61 doubles, 17 triples, 227 RBIs, and 292 runs scored in 1404 at bats. He drew 143 walks and stole 41 bases. As a pitcher, he went 26–19 with a 2.92 ERA, with 176 strikeouts and 80 walks in 354 innings.^[1]

Although a two-time All-Star in the American Negro Leagues, Dihigo's greatest season came in the Mexican League in 1938 , where he went 18-2 with a 0.90 ERA as a pitcher while winning the batting title with a .387 average. This season is one of the greatest examples of pitching and hitting superstardom. In another season in the Mexican League, he had a .15 ERA, almost perfect. In his Mexican career he was 119-57 with a .317 batting average. In the Cuban League he was 107-56 with a .298 average. He is the only player to be inducted to the American, Cuban and Mexican Baseball Halls of Fame, and is also in the Dominican Republic and Venezuela Halls of Fame. He continued his playing career in Mexico into the early 1950s. He was Cuba's Minister of Sport from 1959 until his death, and was a greatly revered figure in his home country Cuba, where he was called "The Immortal". In other Latin American countries he was called "El Maestro" translated to "The Master". He died at age 65 in Cienfuegos, Cuba. Known as a humorous, good-natured man as well as the most versatile player in baseball history, Dihigo was elected to the American Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.

Combining his Dominican, American, Cuban and Mexican statistics results in a lifetime .302 career batting average with 130 home runs (11 seasons worth of home run totals are missing) and a 218-106 pitching record.

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

^ Hogan, Lawrence D., (2006), Shades of Glory: The Negro Leagues and the Story of African-American Baseball, National Geographic Society.

[edit] References

González Echevarría, Roberto, (1999), The Pride of Havana: A History of Cuban Baseball, Oxford University Press.

v • d • e Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 1977

BBWAA Vote	Ernie Banks (83.81%)

Veterans Committee	Al Lopez • Amos Rusie • Joe Sewell

Negro League Committee	Martín Dihigo • Pop Lloyd

J. G. Taylor Spink Award	Harold Kaese • Red Smith