Martín Magdaleno Dihigo Llanos (May 25, 1906 – May 20, 1971), nicknamed "the Immortal" and "the Maestro", was a Cuban pitcher, utility player, and manager. He played in the Negro leagues and Latin American winter leagues from 1923 to 1945 as a two-way player, predominantly as a pitcher and a second baseman, although he excelled at all nine positions and later as a manager.

Debuting with the Cuban Stars in 1923, Dihigo spent most of his early career in the Negro leagues. He led the Eastern Colored League in home runs in 1926 and tied for the lead in 1927. He had successful stints with the Homestead Grays and Hilldale Giants, and signed with the New York Cubans as player manager in 1935. Dihigo spent much of his later playing career in the Mexican League, though he returned to the New York Cubans for the 1945 season.

Dihigo was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977, the second Hispanic-born ballplayer to be inducted after Roberto Clemente. He also holds the unique distinction of membership in three other baseball halls of fame: Cuban, Mexican, and Dominican.

Early career

Dihigo was born in the sugarmill town of Cidra in Matanzas Province, Cuba. He was the only child of Benito Dihigo, a sergeant in the Cuban Liberation Army who fought against Spanish rule, and Maria Llanos. At the age of four, his family moved to a modest wood-frame house in Matanzas, less than one hundred yards from the historic Palmar de Junco that was supposedly the site of Cuba's first baseball game.

He began his professional baseball career in the winter of 1922-23 at the age of 16 as a substitute infielder for Habana in the Cuban League. As a pitcher, he once defeated Satchel Paige while Paige was touring Cuba.

Negro leagues

The following summer, Dihigo broke into American baseball as a first baseman for the Cuban Stars. He played in the Negro leagues from 1923 through and again briefly in . Over the course of his career, he played all nine positions. As a hitter, he led the Negro leagues in home runs in and .

Dihigo's career record in twelve seasons in the Negro leagues was a .307 average and .511 slugging percentage, with 431 hits, 64 home runs, 61 doubles, 17 triples, 227 RBI, 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. Dihigo served as player-manager of the New York Cubans in 1935 and 1936.

Latin American leagues

thumb|left|Dihigo (front row, center) on club [[Almendares (baseball)|Almendares.]]

From 1922 to 1947, he spent much of Cuban career with Habana, though he also played several seasons with Almendares (1923–24, 1929–30, 1931–32), Marianao (1926–27, 1936–38), Santa Clara (1935–36), and Cienfuegos (1939–40, 1945–47). Over the course of his Cuban League career, he accumulated a 109-59 record as a pitcher with a .296 average at the plate.

Dihigo played in Venezuela from 1931 to 1935, mainly with the Concordia club owned by Gonzalo Gómez, son of President Juan Vicente Gómez. There he played alongside Hall of Famers Johnny Mize and Josh Gibson, as well as Luis Aparicio Sr. and Tetelo Vargas.Dihigo also played with Concordia in overseas tournaments in Puerto Rico (1933) and the Dominican Republic (1934).

Dihigo died at age 64, on May 20, 1971, in Cienfuegos, Cuba. He is buried in Cementerio Municipal Cruces in Cruces, Cienfuegos, Cuba.

Legacy and honors

thumb|upright|left|110px|Dihigo's plaque at the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]]

Known for his humor, good nature, wide reading, and versatility on the field, Dihigo is one of the few players to be inducted into four major baseball halls of fame: the American, Cuban, Mexican, and Dominican Baseball Halls of Fame.

Others had heaped praise on him earlier, as well. Hall of Famer Buck Leonard said, “He was the greatest all-around player I know. I'd say he was the best ballplayer of all time, black or white. He could do it all. He is my ideal ballplayer, makes no difference what race either. If he's not the greatest I don't know who is. You take your Ruths, Cobbs, and DiMaggios. Give me Dihigo and I bet I'd beat you almost every time.”

Hall of Famer Johnny Mize said, “He was the only guy I ever saw who could play all nine positions, manage, run and switch-hit.”

In February 2025, Dihigo was selected by a committee of journalists as a pitcher for the Mexican League Centennial All-Time Team on the occasion of the league's hundredth anniversary.

See also

  • List of members of the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame

Notes

References

Bibliography

  • , or Baseball-Reference Black Baseball / Minor league stats, or Seamheads
  • and Seamheads