Martin Dihigo

Anyone ever have any luck using Martin Dihigo? I have had him on 3 different teams with 3 different ballparks and he never performs to his card.

SEVERAL COMMENTS:

1. Nobody "performs to his card" very often. This game is a bunch of hitters with OPS above .800 Facing a bunch of pitchers with ERA's below 3. Something's gotta give. Usually, everything gives.

2. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

3. A single season here is a very small sample size. Once you accumulate 15000 or so PA's or BFP's for a player in a single ballpark, you probably can make some conclusions as to how he should perform there.

4. Visiting ballparks matter. You can put Koufax or Marichal in Forbes 57, but if the rest of your league is using big HR parks, they're going to allow a lot at of HR anyway.

5. There's about a 2 1/2 to 3 run ERA differential between Petco and Fulton. Adjust your expectations for hitters and pitchers accordingly.

6. Not a lot of people use him. I suspect that's a function of how often he "performs well."

SEVERAL COMMENTS:

1. Nobody "performs to his card" very often. This game is a bunch of hitters with OPS above .800 Facing a bunch of pitchers with ERA's below 3. Something's gotta give. Usually, everything gives.

2. One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

3. A single season here is a very small sample size. Once you accumulate 15000 or so PA's or BFP's for a player in a single ballpark, you probably can make some conclusions as to how he should perform there.

4. Visiting ballparks matter. You can put Koufax or Marichal in Forbes 57, but if the rest of your league is using big HR parks, they're going to allow a lot at of HR anyway.

5. There's about a 2 1/2 to 3 run ERA differential between Petco and Fulton. Adjust your expectations for hitters and pitchers accordingly.

6. Not a lot of people use him. I suspect that's a function of how often he "performs well."

#6 is likely the most accurate of your explanations. I assume his amazing defense/arm at multiple positions is what raises his cost higher than his actual hitting value.

I don't think he's a bad player. But defense, being invisible, is not valued highly here. I think he's a moderate bargain as a CF. Another flaw is that he's a switch-hitter, which means that he will get eaten alive on the road in places like Minute Maid and Dunn. I've thought of using him as a super utility guy in 200 MM leagues, but he would hit about .175 there.

IMO the biggest turn off for Dihigo is his injury risk and his 18 errors in the OF. You cut those errors down to 10-11 or make him a 1 and he'd be worth the money regardless of his bat "under performing".

IMO he would be a highly used sub at higher caps if the above transpired.

His price tag comes from being a decent fielding middle infielder with good baserunning speed and 20-30 HR power. He is not going to hit .319. IMO he is a poor value used as an OF. I used him once at SS on an all switch hitting team that won a ring. My results with him were pretty typical.