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Sometimes the encore is even better than the touted center-stage performance. Last winter’s golden anniversary fiftieth National Series season was widely billed as a landmark of Cuban baseball, and it did indeed provide its share of memorable moments – a near-miss triple-crown batting performance by Pito Abreu, a new league individual home run standard, a fifty-first no-hit no-run game, and a surprise championship for Pinar del Río. Nonetheless the current campaign is now well on its way (at only the two-thirds mark) to outstripping National Series #50 for both excitement and historical significance. Alfredo Despaigne (with 27 round trippers in his first 59 games) seems destined to obliterate the home run mark temporarily shared by Abreu and recently departed Yoennis Céspedes, the current Matanzas squad under Victor Mesa has gone Pinar one better when it comes to true “Cinderella Team” status, and the revival of perennial powerhouse Industriales (after last winter’s rare post-season absence) has capital city ball fans clamoring with renewed enthusiasms.

Pete Bjarkman with Enriquito at Changa Mederos Stadium in January, after the game that moved Diaz within 20 hits of the new record.

So much buzz surrounds this current showcase Cuban League season and yet rather surprisingly the most significant development of all has unaccountable remained buried on the back pages of island baseball press coverage. This past weekend, in a final home series before an extended upcoming road trip, ageless Metros fireplug Enríque Díaz smacked a quartet of base hits against Ciego de Avila pitching and thus climbed above the milestone plateau of 2,350 career base hits. A first-inning line-drive single to center off a soft delivery from Tigers starter Yander Guevara during Sunday’s Latin American Stadium mid-series match left the 43-year-old Díaz a mere five safeties short of the league career base hits standard held by Antonio Pacheco – a celebrated record that has now stood for a full decade (Pacheco having retired at the conclusion of the 2002 season). When Pacheco’s landmark inevitably falls during the coming week, the new base hits total will surely stand as one of the true highlight achievements of a season already graced by more than its share of milestone events.

Now playing in a unprecedented 26th season, Diaz has quietly overhauled one of the most prestigious individual marks in the league record books and thus now stands poised to move into the career top slot in a remarkable sixth distinct category: he already leads in lifetime plate appearances (9,565), at-bats (7,861), runs scored (1,622), triples (98), and stolen bases (724). To add to his often-overlooked but nonetheless stellar resume, Enriquito (“Little Rickey”) also boasts the National Series single-season marks for stolen bases (55 in 1993) and runs tallied (100 in 2003). Of course the bulk of these rankings are in large measure the direct fallout of still another record-book entry: Diaz stands alone among non-pitchers with his 26 campaigns played (the next most for a position player is the 24 logged by both Antonio Muñoz and Victor Bejerano). Only recently retired Isla hurler Carlos Yanes has appeared in a larger number of National Series seasons (28) and that trophy also seemingly remains clearly within grasp if Diaz can only maintain his unsurpassed motivation and his legs for another pair of island winters.

Of course there are several rather not-so-subtle reasons why Enrique’s history-making chase is not drawing larger attention these days in Havana. With the exception of a seven-year stint at second base for the fan-favorite Industriales Blue Lions early in the new millennium (2002-2008), Diaz was long labored for the lackluster Havana Metropolitanos ball club (where he debuted and played his first 15 campaigns) – a team relegated to the league’s most rundown ballpark and also the club boasting the circuit’s smallest fan base. And “if big league home run bashers drive Cadillacs, while single hitters only drive Fords” (a catchy phrase usually attributed to fifties-era slugger Ralph Kiner), it is equally true in Cuba that sluggers like Despaigne, Abreu, Gourriel and Cepeda always rivet more attention that less spectacular contributors who earn their stature through more modest and less explosive daily contributions to team success.

Enríque Diaz may have lasted long enough to dwarf all others in hit production, but he has never enjoyed a bust out year as the single-season pacesetter, never has paced the circuit in base hits on even one occasion (something, it should be pointed out that was also true of Antonio Pacheco, who also climbed the latter by steady progress and not by ringing up a handful of singularly spectacular seasons). Perhaps the biggest factor in Enriquito’s relative invisibility, however, is the simple fact that he has never played for the celebrated national team in even a single major international tournament (Pacheco, Juan Padilla and Yulieski Gourriel have always had the second base slot nailed down on those clubs). Without national team exposure Enríque Díaz – despite his soaring numbers in hits, steals and run production – has never been accorded true star status by either the normally diligent Cuban press or the generally savvy Cuban fandom. Therein seemingly lays the raw truth of Ralph Kiner’s much admired witticism.

Enriquito congratulated at second base by former record holder Lázaro Vargas after the landmark hit in earl- season 2009-10 that moved him atop the all-time hits list for native Havana ballplayers.

In a number of respects it might be said that Diaz is something of a small-scale reincarnation of MLB’s Pete Rose. We are not speaking here of inflated ego or game-fixing sins and shameful banishment, but rather only of unrestrained “hustle” and much-admired success through mere persistence. Pete Rose (MLB’s reigning base hits king) overhauled the long-standing record of the immortal Ty Cobb not through superior skill but more because he simply outlasted all the productive batsmen that came before him. Cobb owns the career batting average standard (.366) while Rose (.303) does not even rank in the top hundred. Rose also fails to match Cobb and numerous others when it comes to hits/at-bats ratios (Rose had one hit for every 3.31 Abs, Cobb 1/2.72). Rose played more games than any other big leaguer (527 more than Cobb, who is fourth on the all-time list); he had more at-bats (almost 1,700 more than runner-up Hank Aaron, and 2619 more than Cobb – although only 67 more hits than the latter and 485 more than the former). Perhaps the most telling yardstick of all is found with the “Relative Batting Average” measure devised by SABR stat gurus Pete Palmer and John Thorn (it is a measure by which Bas are normalized to reflect of overall league batting average of a ballplayer’s era). By this measure Ty Cobb stands atop the historical list while Pete Rose comes in at number 56 overall (well behind such forgettable sluggers as Matty Alou and Ralph Garr).

The same relative stature in terms of statistical measures is largely valid for Diaz, who does not match Pacheco or Omar Linares or Wilfredo “Hit Man” Sánchez in hit-frequency, even if he now passes them all in raw totals. The ratios (hits per Abs) look like this: Linares 1/2.72, Pacheco 1/2.99, Sánchez 1/3.02, and Diaz 1/3.34. While it is surprising enough that Enriquito has never paced the National Series in base hits on even a single occasion (nor did he ever pace the league in the several Selective Series seasons he enjoyed), it is more telling still that (unlike Pacheco, who did top the Selective Series list in both 1985 and 1987) he has never even come within striking distance. The closest Enríque has ever come to pacing the National Series in base knocks was in 2000 (he trailed the league leader by 23) and again 2002 (when he fell 27 behind). Even on those two occasions he didn’t strike within 20% of the league pacesetter and those were the only pair of winters when he didn’t trail the top batsman by 30 or more hits. He has, of course, been a league leader in several other categories, especially in his true specialties – stolen bases (1987, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004), runs scored (1996, 2000, 2003), and triples (1990, 1996, 1997). In the end he would rise to the top almost exclusively due to the total number of seasons he managed to ring up – and the relentless consistency of those seasons – and not due of any exceptional string of single-season eye-popping numbers.

When it comes to longevity Enríque Diaz definitely stands in a class by himself across the era of post-revolution Cuban baseball. And it would be equally hard to find a more durable player from either North American professional baseball or pre-revolution Cuban baseball. Only Carlos Yanes has logged more National Series seasons, but as a pitcher Yanes’ total number of game appearances only reached 714 contests, less than a third of Enríque’s ledger. Only Nolan Ryan and 19th-century star Cap Anson (both with 27 campaigns) boast a similar longevity in the majors, but Anson (1871-1897) played in a far different era (one that does not lend itself to valid comparisons) while Ryan again was a pitcher who entered only a shade over 800 games. Pitchers (who admittedly have their own durability issues associated with fragile arms) simply are not subjected to the same rigors of rough and tumble daily season-long play.

Comparisons with big leaguer Pete Rose might seem as insightful when it comes to personality type as when the topic is the obvious longevity factors. Like Rose in Cincinnati, Enriquito has been beloved in Havana (even if not always accorded star status by his many fans) far more for the flamboyant style of his play than for any occasional impressive numbers posted on the league leaders lists. But this somewhat damning “success through mere longevity” tag is even more obvious with Diaz than with Rose. Rose did after all win three batting crowns in his 24 active seasons, and he did in fact pace the National League in hit totals on seven occasions, only one season less than 12-time batting champion Ty Cobb. Rose’s ultimate trophy (his rank as the all-time hits leader) nonetheless resulted mainly from his refusal to retire before the pursuit was completed; yet despite that reality he was indeed a frequent National League all-star and would thus still rate in most fan polls as one of the top major leagues of the 1970s and 1980s. Few would place Enríque Díaz on any such Cuban list of league standouts during any segment of the 1980s, 1990s or 2000s.

The lengthy career of Enríque Diaz is split almost perfectly between aluminum-bat and wooden-bat eras of recent Cuban League history. Cuba returned to the use of wooden bats at the time of the Baltimore Orioles visit to the island in May 1999; the new lumber was employed for the first time since the mid-seventies during National Series #38 post-season play. It became a regular feature of league games with the onset of the 1999-00 season, ironically the precise mid-point of Enriquito’s quarter-century-plus career. It is also interesting to point out that Enríque’s rookie season of 1986-87 also fell at the exact mid-point of post-revolution Cuban baseball’s five decade run – a span that culminated with a golden anniversary season only last winter. Entering this current campaign, Diaz has now played in exactly half of the Cuban National Series seasons, something that no other ballplayer will likely ever again be able to claim.

The wooden-bat era of the last dozen years itself reflects the remarkable consistency of Enríque’s long career. Representing precisely half of his 26 league campaigns (lacking only the final month and a half of the current season), this era has produced slightly more base hits and slightly more runs scored than the first half of his tenure, although not significantly more of either. Over the first 13 90-game seasons Enríque averaged 80.46 hits per year; over the second 13 the number has jumped to 100.54 hits per season. But in large part the increase is explained by a rise in the number of plate appearances: over the period using aluminum war clubs Diaz recorded a safety every 3.26 official at-bats; during his wooden bat phase it has been a hit in every 3.41 Abs – almost an identical figure. While the number of stolen bases has unsurprisingly dropped sharply with age (an average of 35 per year over the first career phase; only 20 per season since 1999) the hit production remains consistent. If the BA has finally dipped a shade below .300, more plate appearances and also fewer free passes nonetheless have meant that the hit parade has continued unabated.

Many devoted fans of Cuban baseball will likely recall the indelible image of Diaz captured with the concluding moments of Ian Padrón’s award-winning documentary film entitled “Fuera de La Liga” (2004), a landmark film dedicated to the 2002-03 season of the wildly popular Havana Industriales ball club. In the closing segment of that film a frantic Enriquito is captured at close range in the Estadio Latinoamericano dugout moments after committing a crucial ninth inning error on a routine play that might have closed out a vital post-season game and continued the team’s playoff run toward a possible league title. The fateful result of that costly boot was an opening of the flood gates for visiting rival Pinar del Río; moments after the two-out error Pinar would surge into the lead on a dramatic Daniel Lazo homer that nailed shut the coffin on another frustrating near-miss season for the Blue Lions. Filmmaker Ian Padrón dramatically records Industriales players desperately trying to console their distraught teammate and refocus his attention on the fact that he is the fourth-scheduled batter in the team’s last ditch effort to salvage a comeback victory. Nowhere is the pain and passion of Cuban post-season play better illustrated than in those brief seconds of award-winning filming. Nor are Enriquito’s total dedication to team victory and unmatchable emotional effort anywhere more vividly placed on full display.

Enríque Diaz has always been a rare breed of ballplayer – one defined far more by his unbridled passions and 110% daily effort than by his mere statistical legacy. Enriquito’s rarely matched professionalism is now once again reflected in the desire to play on and on despite the challenges and pains of increasing age. And to play on with a cellar-dwelling club that owns almost no fan support within its own metropolis, with little chance of post-season glory, and with no chance for such perks as Team Cuba status or league all-star recognitions. Enriquito – as much as any player in Cuba – plays for the untarnished love of the game itself, and for personal pride which is the hallmark of any truly great athlete. There are certainly no financial rewards for going on season after season – Cuban leaguers live only a half-step above the struggle for economic survival shared by all Cuban citizens. Enríque Diaz will likely have little claim on local fame or sporting immortality when his career days eventually wind down to a long-delayed conclusion.

Enriquito during his mid-career tenure with the Industriales Blue Lions.

Yet in the end Enríque Diaz will remain one of the true treasures of Cuban post-revolution baseball. He is indeed the legitimate “poster boy” for precisely what the less commercial and more patriotic Cuban game is all about. Like so many other Cuban athletes boasting talent on the diamond, Díaz might well have left long ago for the lure of financial security in North American professional baseball. While other top stars remaining on the island are anchored at home by the lure of hometown celebrity or the perks of national team travel, this also has not been the case for Enríque Diaz. In his heyday he never ranked with Germán Mesa, Carlos Tabares, Alex Mayeta or Rudy Reyes among the most cherished hometown Industriales stars. Only a few short years of his career were played in the limelight with the beloved capital city squad. He boasts no Olympic or IBAF World Cup Gold Medals, as do so many others of his era who graced the prestigious national squad during world class tournament play. As my colleague Kit Krieger has cogently observed, in the end Enríque will own little more than his often over-looked records and a handful of entries in the Cuban Federation annual guide book. But those records are indeed something to be richly cherished. Especially to be valued is the final accolade that will come later this week with the newly earned title of Cuba’s true “El Hombre Hit.”

Note 1: This article was completed and published on March 2, 2012, with Enriquito standing two hits short of tying Pacheco’s record. All statistics are complete through March 1 games.

Note 2: In completing this article the author discovered a small if serious-enough error on the Cuban Baseball Federation’s own website. In their listing of career top ten categories (complete through last season, National Series #50) the Federation claims that in the VECES AL BATE category (At-Bats as opposed to Plate Appearances) the career leader is still Sergio Quesada with 7637, with Victor Bejerano (7481) second and Enriquito (7346) standing third. There are two errors here, resulting from the fact that Enríque’s 2011 season total of 291 was added incorrectly to the total for Quesada (while the printed Diaz total remained the same in the Federation records as it was at the end of the previous season). In brief, Enríque (now at 7861 sand counting) had already grabbed the top spot in this department at the end of last season and now has increased his lead over Quesada to more than 300 (nearly a full season’s total).





Peter C. Bjarkman is author of A History of Cuban Baseball, 1864-2006 (McFarland, 2007) and is widely recognized as a leading authority on Cuban baseball, both past and present. He has reported on Cuban League action and the Cuban national team for www.BaseballdeCuba.com during the past five years and is currently completing a book on the history of the post-revolution Cuban national team.