View Full Version : Martin DiHigo
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torez7711-30-2006, 10:06 PM
The more I read about him, the more I like him. Talk about the complete ballplayer! Johnny Mize played with him in the Dominican Republic one winter, and said, "DiHigo was the only guy I ever saw who could play all 9 positions, manage, run, and switch-hit. I thought I was having a pretty good year myself down there, and they were walking him to pitch to me."
Not only did DiHigo play all 9 positions, but he played them all well, and sometimes would play all 9 in one game! The only ML player I can think of who comes close to that level of versatility is Honus Wagner, but he never played catcher, and he wasn't anywhere near the pitcher DiHigo was. DiHigo was also solid in all of the 5 tools of a player.
Just call him "The Answer," cuz he's got the answer for whatever a team needs.
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Mischa12-01-2006, 07:01 AM
The more I read about him, the more I like him. Talk about the complete ballplayer! Johnny Mize played with him in the Dominican Republic one winter, and said, "DiHigo was the only guy I ever saw who could play all 9 positions, manage, run, and switch-hit. I thought I was having a pretty good year myself down there, and they were walking him to pitch to me."
Not only did DiHigo play all 9 positions, but he played them all well, and sometimes would play all 9 in one game!
What's your source for this? I've never seen any record of him catching. The "played nine positions" bit is hardly Dihigo's greatest claim. He was an excellent pitcher and hitter who played the outfield, second and first and in a stretch could man the left side of the infield but didn't do so regularly, especially later in his career. I think he was certainly an appropriate Hall of Fame pick and one of the best two-way threats ever, but he did not routinely jump from spot to spot.
Additionally, I've never seen that Mize quote before. There are a couple others attributed to Mize re: Dihigo but there is no record of them actually occurring when the quote claims. See http://www.thediamondangle.com/archive/feb03/mizedihigo.html for a breakdown of this. For further information, note that Jorge Figueredo's Cuban Baseball came out since then and lists Mize on ZERO Cuban Winter League rosters. He played in Cuba three times on exhibitions but I can't find that Dihigo was the pitcher of record in any of those games and they were certainly not teammates, as it was Cardinals vs. Cubans.
Again, this is not to knock one of the all-time greats of baseball. Just don't use unverifiable quotes or incorrect statements to make the point.
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torez7712-01-2006, 05:55 PM
What's your source for this? I've never seen any record of him catching. The "played nine positions" bit is hardly Dihigo's greatest claim. He was an excellent pitcher and hitter who played the outfield, second and first and in a stretch could man the left side of the infield but didn't do so regularly, especially later in his career. I think he was certainly an appropriate Hall of Fame pick and one of the best two-way threats ever, but he did not routinely jump from spot to spot.
I'm surprised to be challenged about this. I thought this was kinda common knowledge about DiHigo. I got the information from Bill James Historical Abstract, as well as the Baseball Library webpage about DiHigo, to name a couple. What sources do you have that claim he didn't play all 9 positions?
http://www.baseballlibrary.com/baseballlibrary/ballplayers/D/DiHigo_Martin.stm
Additionally, I've never seen that Mize quote before. There are a couple others attributed to Mize re: Dihigo but there is no record of them actually occurring when the quote claims. See http://www.thediamondangle.com/archive/feb03/mizedihigo.html for a breakdown of this. For further information, note that Jorge Figueredo's Cuban Baseball came out since then and lists Mize on ZERO Cuban Winter League rosters. He played in Cuba three times on exhibitions but I can't find that Dihigo was the pitcher of record in any of those games and they were certainly not teammates, as it was Cardinals vs. Cubans.
Again, this is not to knock one of the all-time greats of baseball. Just don't use unverifiable quotes or incorrect statements to make the point.
The source you give suggests that Mize and DiHigo may have played together in Santa Clara rather than Dominican Republic, and that Mize's recollection when he made the quote may have been a little fuzzy. I got the quote from Bill James Historical Abstract and Who's Better Who's Best in Baseball by Elliot Kalb.
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Mischa12-03-2006, 08:07 AM
I'm surprised to be challenged about this. I thought this was kinda common knowledge about DiHigo. I got the information from Bill James Historical Abstract, as well as the Baseball Library webpage about DiHigo, to name a couple. What sources do you have that claim he didn't play all 9 positions?
Eek, my memory is going. You're right. I checked Riley's biographical encyclopedia and he clearly lists catcher as the position Dihigo played least, right after shortstop. My apologies - I guess he did show up there a few times.
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Erik Bedard12-03-2006, 06:49 PM
Personally, I rank him as the fourth best Negro Leaguer, after Paige, Charleston, and Gibson, but much closer than most have him. A truly outstanding ballplayer.
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Bill Burgess12-22-2007, 08:44 AM
wikipedia article (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Dihigo)
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.
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. 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. 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, where he was called El Maestro or "The Master". He died at age 65 in Cienfuegos. 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.
Martin Dihigo Baseball Think Factory (http://baseball-fever.com/showpost.php?p=579809&postcount=18)---Martin Dihigo BB Library bio (http://www.baseballlibrary.com/ballplayers/player.php?name=Martin_Dihigo_1905)---Martin Dihigo article (http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.efqreview.com/graphics/18n2artwork/martin1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.efqreview.com/NewFiles/v18n2/onhistoricalground.html&h=356&w)
Cuban great Martin Dihigo, Neg. L. P/OF--Arguably the most versatile player the game ever produced.
http://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv217/BillBurgess/Negro%20Leagues/Image28-2.jpghttp://i685.photobucket.com/albums/vv217/BillBurgess/Negro%20Leagues/Image41-2.jpg
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Bill Burgess12-22-2007, 03:29 PM
Martin Dihigo Data
There's surely better data on Dihigo's Mexican and Cuban play out there, but here's the data from Holway and career data from MacMillan for us to get started with.
Born 1905
Teams
23-37 Cuban Stars (East), 28 Homestead Grays, 29-31 Hilldale Daisies, 32 ??, 33 Venezuela, 34 ??, 35-36 NY Cubans, 37 Santa Domingo, 38-44 Mexico, 45 NY Cubans
Batting and Position Data from Holway
NeL
1922 no ba data; 1b for Eastern Cuban Stars
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