Martín Dihigo was a multi-talented Cuban ballplayer who excelled in the Negro leagues and Latin American leagues during his 12-season career. Starring at a myriad of positions, but mostly at pitcher and second base, Dihigo began his professional career at the age of 16 as a substitute infielder for Habana in the Cuban League. As a member of the Cuban League, he accumulated a record 107 wins as a pitcher while hurling 121 complete games. While with the Mexican League, Dihigo achieved a record .676 winning percentage while playing the same position. During his career, he would play for 14 different teams in the Negro, Cuban and Mexican Leagues. Dihigo was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.
I completed this sketch card in September 2012.
10 random facts about Martin Dihigo:
- Over the course of his career, Dihigo played all 9 positions on the baseball diamond.
- As a batter, Dihigo led the Negro leagues in homers in 1926 and 1935.
- His greatest season came in the Mexican League in 1938, where he went 18-2 as a pitcher with a 0.90 ERA, while also winning the batting title with a .387 average.
- In the Cuban League, Dihigo had a career pitching record of 107-56 while batting .298.
- Aside from being a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, Dihigo is also a member of the Cuban and Mexican Baseball Halls of Fame, as well as the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame.
- He is the only player to be inducted into the American, Cuban and Mexican Baseball Halls of Fame, and he is also a member of the Venezuela and Dominican Republic Halls of Fame.
- As a pitcher, he threw the first no-hitter in Mexican League history.
- Combining his Dominican, American, Cuban and Mexican statistics, Dihigo accumulated a lifetime .302 batting average with 130 homers that are accounted for, as well as a 252-132 pitching record.
- He was Cuba's Minister of Sport from 1959 until his death in 1971.
- His nickname in his home country of Cuba was "The Immortal".
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