Latino Legends - Where's Dihigo?

Well, the votes are in - and the world has shown us how short-sighted they are. Here's the MLB Latino Legends team, as voted by the public and announced during Game 4 of the 2005 World Series:

C: Ivan Rodriguez (Puerto Rico)
1B: Albert Pujols (Dominican Republic)
2B: Rod Carew (Panama)
3B: Edgar Martinez (Puerto Rico)
SS: Alex Rodriguez (Dominican Republic)
OF: Vladimir Guerrero (Dominican Republic), Manny Ramirez (Dominican Republic), Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico)
SP: Pedro Martinez (Dominican Republic), Juan Marichal (Domincan Republic), Fernando Valenzuela (Mexico)
RP: Mariano Rivera (Panama)

Okay, maybe 'short-sighted' is a bit too strong - you'll get no argument from me that it's a solid team. Choosing the greatest among the great is difficult and rarely worng, no matter the subject. But it's a shame that fans aren't familiar with players from before their lifetimes - that they can't appreciate the rich history of this globally popular sport. Granted, that's what people do: childhood memories of someone rocking a game-winning home run will forever color a person's judgement. But there's so much more to baseball than the last few years!

Albert Pujols is one of the greatest players of our day - but to say he's the greatest Hispanic first baseman at the age of 25? Not yet... Tony Perez and Orlando Cepeda had distinguished careers, and were a couple of the best.

Now, that's not to say that very soon, Pujols won't more than fill that role of greatest to cover the first bag, but you have to look at it this way: if he retired today, will his short yet amazing career get him into the Hall of Fame? Maybe. But I'd rather bestow the honor upon someone who's put in at least 6 or 7 years in the game. Anyway, this example may just be nitpicking, and in a year or two this will likely all be moot.

My primary beef with the list is the exclusion of one person in particular. The exclusion of one of the greatest to ever play, and, according to those who were around at the time, quite possibily the greatest baseball player to have ever lived. Yeah, quite possibly better than Babe Ruth. Better than Willie Mays or Hank Aaron or Ty Cobb or Barry Bonds or A-Rod. Maybe, just maybe, the best ever.

"El Maestro"

He was a superstar pitcher and a superstar slugger who literally played every position on the field. He's the only player to be in the U.S., Mexican, and Cuban Halls of Fame.

And yet, the average person doesn't even know his name.

He was Martin Dihigo, a 6'4" 200-lb righthanded Cuban who was one of the most versatile players of all time. Endowed with great speed and an exceptionally strong arm, Dihigo was a star performer at every position.

"Dihigo was the best all around baseball player I've ever seen," - Baseball Hall of Famer, Buck Leonard.

“Dihigo was one of the greatest I ever saw. He was tremendous hitter, had great power, could hit for an average, everything.” - Baseball Hall of famer, Roy Campanella.

"The greatest player I ever saw was a black man. He's in the Hall of Fame, although not a lot of people have heard of him. His name is Martin Dihigo. I played with him in Santo Domingo in winter ball in 1943. He was the manager. He was the only guy I ever saw who could play all nine positions, run and was a switch hitter. I though I was havin' a pretty good year myself down there and they were walkin' him to get to me." - Baseball Hall of Famer, Johnny Mize.

The Polo Grounds hosted the Negro League's New York Cubans, whose roster included the most versatile player to ever play in the Negro Leagues, Martín Dihigo (#17).

The tall, lanky Cuban-born Dihigo, was a star in many positions. "He was the only guy I ever saw, who could play all nine positions, manage, run and switch-hit." said Johnny Mize, the Hall of Fame first baseman who finished his career with the Yankees and once played for a team Dihigo managed in the Dominican Republic Winter League in 1943.

Known as "El Maestro" in Mexico and "El Immortal" in Cuba, Dihigo began his U.S. career in 1923 as an 18-year-old second baseman for the touring Cuban Stars. After five years, he moved on to the Homestead Grays, and had short stints with the Philadelphia Hilldales, the Baltimore Black Sox, and the New York Cubans.

He was a superb pitcher who dominated on the mound. In fact, Dihigo is credited with the first no-hit, no-run game in Mexican League history when he blanked Nogales, 4-0, in Veracruz, Mexico in 1937. That same year, Dihigo hit .351.

When he wasn't pitching he regularly started in the outfield or infield and batted near or at the clean-up spot.

To appreciate how gifted Dihigo was, in 1938 in the Mexican League his .387 average won the batting title and as a pitcher he was 18-2 with an 0.90 earned run average.

In a classic moment that same year, Dihigo met Satchel Paige in a much-anticipated pitching match-up that has become a Mexican League legend. Paige, hindered by a sore arm and relying on underhand and trick pitches, battled Dihigo for six scoreless innings. In the seventh, Paige's control faltered. After two walks and a single loaded the bases, he threw a wild pitch, giving Dihigo's team the lead. Paige left for a pinch hitter, and his team later tied the game, 1-1. Dihigo took matters into his own hands in the ninth and homered to win the game.

Dihigo was arguably the greatest Cuban ballplayer of all time. His speed, size, and strong throwing arm made him one of the most versatile players in baseball history. During his 30-year career, Dihigo played every position on the field. Sometimes more than one in the same game. Among Cuban-born players, only Cristobal Torriente was considered his peer at the plate.

But in the decades before Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier after World War II, Dihigo could not play in the major leagues. Instead, he played in the Negro leagues, mostly for the New York Cubans (his eventual ticket to Cooperstown) when he wasn't playing in Cuba or elsewhere in Latin America.

Dihigo was described as a tall, fun-loving goofy man. Once, while safely on third base, he screamed at the pitcher, "You balked! You balked!" He continued to holler as he strolled toward home. Everyone stared as if Dihigo had suddenly gone mad. But when he crossed the plate and walked slyly into the dugout, the fans laughed and cheered.

Dihigo played sparingly as player-manager for the New York Cubans in 1945 and continued to play and manage in Cuba and Mexico until the early 1950s, when he returned to Cuba to stay.

Dihigo finished his career winning three Negro League home run crowns and tied Josh Gibson for another. As a pitcher, he racked up more than 200 wins in American and Mexican ball.

Known for his warm, friendly personality, Dihigo was a national hero in his native Cuba, where he served as Minister of Sport in his later years. He was elected posthumously to the American baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. In a poll conducted in the early 1980s among ex-Negro League players and other experts on black baseball, Dihigo gathered votes as best all-time outfielder and third baseman, and was voted to the first team all-time black all-star team as a second baseman.

Dihigo's Stats

He played in the U.S. from 1923 to 1936. After 1936 he played his summer ball in Mexico, except in 1945 when he was the player-manager of the New York Cubans. He reportedly continued to play in the Mexican Leagues until the 1950s, although his statistics are available only through 1947.

Statistics documenting Dihigo's American career exist for 1923-31, 1935-36, and 1945. In those 12 years, Dihigo hit over .300 six times, including .325 in 1926 with a league-leading 11 home runs in 40 games, and .333 in 1935 with a league-leading 9 home runs in 42 games. His overall American statistics show a .295 career batting average and a 6-1 record as a pitcher in 1931.

Dihigo was primarily a pitcher in Latin America, where he was known for his blazing fastball. His Mexican League totals show a lifetime .317 batting average in 10 seasons (1937-44, 1946-47), including a league-leading .387 in 1938. He was 119-57 as a pitcher in Mexico, going 18-2 with a 0.90 ERA in 1938 and 22-7 with a league-leading 2.53 ERA in 1942. He threw the first no-hitter in Mexican League history, and also had no-hitters in Venezuela and Puerto Rico.

Dihigo played for 24 seasons in Cuba (1922-29, 1931-46). The record of his Cuban career is somewhat fragmentary, but for the years which are documented (1922-29, 1931, 1935-46), he hit over .300 nine times, finishing with a lifetime .291 batting average. As a pitcher he was 93-48 in 1935-46.

Statistics exist for one year of play in the Dominican Republic (1937), when Dihigo hit .351.
Combining his Dominican, American, Cuban and Mexican statistics results in a lifetime .302 batting average with 130 home runs (11 seasons worth of home run totals are missing) and a 218-106 (.673) pitching mark. Dihigo often showed his versatility in Negro League competition by playing all nine positions in the course of a single game.

There Is No Substitute

But instead of Martin Dihigo, who did they pick?

At pitcher, Fernando Valenzuela was chosen, who quite honestly had a couple of absolutely astronomical seasons early - nothing short of a phenominal beginning - but he was barely more than pedestrian for the large majority of his career. "Fernandomania" aside, he was just overrated for most of his career.

My Latino Legends Team

There have been some amazing Hispanic players through the years, and to single one out over another is almost an injustice. But I thought I'd do it anyway...

For those players who played more than one position (like Dihigo), I only picked one position.)

C: Ivan Rodriguez (Puerto Rico), Tony Peña (Dominican Republic)
1B: Orlando Cepeda (Puerto Rico), Albert Pujols (Dominican Republic)
2B: Rod Carew (Panama), Roberto Alomar (Puerto Rico)
3B: Edgar Martinez (Puerto Rico), Adrián Beltré (Dominican Republic)
SS: Luis Aparicio (Venezuela), Alex Rodriguez (Dominican Republic)
OF: Roberto Clemente (Puerto Rico), Tony Oliva (Cuba), Cristobal Torriente (Cuba), Vladimir Guerrero (Dominican Republic), Minnie Miñoso (Cuba), Manny Ramirez (Dominican Republic)
SP: Martin Dihigo (Cuba), Dolf Luque (Cuba), Juan Marichal (Domincan Republic), Jose Mendez (Cuba), Dennis Martinez (Nicaragua), Pedro Martinez (Dominican Republic), Luis Tiant (Cuba)
RP: Mariano Rivera (Panama), Guillermo Hernández (RP - Puerto Rico)

Alternates & Future Stars: Bobby Abreu (OF - Venezuela), Armando Benitez (RP - Dominican Republic), Miguel Cabrera (OF - Venezuela), Mike Cuellar (SP - Cuba), Silvio Garcia (SS/SP - Cuba), Lefty Gomez (SP - Mexico), Juan González (OF - Puerto Rico), Luis González (OF - Cuba), Livan Hernandez (SP - Cuba), Orlando Hernandez (SP - Cuba), Alejandro Oms (OF - Cuba), Rafael Palmeiro (1B - Cuba), Camilo Pascual (SP - Cuba), Tony Perez (1B/3B - Cuba), Manny Sanguillen (C - Panama), Lazaro Salazar (OF - Cuba), Johán Santana (SP - Venezuela), Alfonso Soriano (2B - Dominican Republic), Miguel Tejada (SS - Dominican Republic), Fernando Valenzuela (SP - Mexico)

[some excerpts from latinolegends.com & baseballlibrary.com]