Fernando Díaz

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Note: This page discusses 1940s All-Star player Fernando Díaz. For the Guam national team player of the same name, click here.

Fernando Diaz-Pedroso
(Bicho)
also listed as Fernando Diaz Pedrozo, Pedroso Diaz or Pedro Diaz

  • Bats Right, Throws Right
  • Height 5' 11", Weight 180 lb.

BR page

Biographical Information[edit]

Outfielder and infielder Fernando Diaz, also known as Fernando Pedroso, played in the Negro Leagues, Mexican League, Puerto Rican League and Cuban Winter League.

He debuted in 1943-1944, going 6 for 26 for Cienfuegos. He was 10 for 41 for Marianao in 1944-1945. He came to the US with the 1945 New York Cubans, hitting .163. He was 14 for 50 with two doubles and a triple for Marianao in 1945-1946. Despite not being a starter for New York in 1946, he was picked for the first 1946 East-West Game. Pinch-hitting for Bill Byrd in the 7th, he was retired by the West's Johnny Williams. His team from the East won, 6-3.

Pedroso starred in the 1946-1947 Puerto Rican League, hitting .3684 to edge Monte Irvin by .0007 for the batting title. His three homers tied Irvin and Sam Bankhead for the league lead. He was a backup for the Cubans in 1947, when they won the 1947 Negro World Series, and was a starter for them in 1948-1950. In the 1947-1948 Puerto Rican League, Pedroso hit 13 home runs, second to Willard Brown. In the 1949 East-West Game, he starred for the East. Starting in center field and hitting second, he went 3 for 4 with a walk and a steal in a 4-0 win. That winter, he returned to Cuba after a three-year absence and was 7 for 24 with 3 doubles for his hometown Marianao club.

The veteran outfielder hit cleanup for the East in the 1950 East-West Game and went 1 for 5 with a RBI double off Bill Powell. With Habana in the winter, he was 5 for 24 with 3 steals. He saw increased action in the 1951 Caribbean Series, going 4 for 13 with a double and three steals while sharing the outfield with Sandy Amoros, Pedro Formental and Antonio Zardon. He tied Jesse Douglas for the most steals of the Series.

Díaz moved to Mexico in 1951 and hit .333/.396/.437 with 13 steals between the Veracruz Eagle and Nuevo Laredo Owls. In 1951-1952, he was a starter for the only time in the Cuban Winter League, hitting .265 and slugging .347 for Habana. In the 1952 Caribbean Series, he went 6 for 15, the second-best average on the Series champs after Amoros. He split outfield time with Amoros, Formental and Alejandro Crespo.

Fernando was 16 for 68 with a double and a homer for Marianao in 1952-1953. He went 7 for 36 with a double the next winter for Almendares. Returning to Mexico after a two-year hiatus, Pedroso hit .330/.387/.514 with a Mexican League-leading 80 RBI in 80 games. He had 72 runs and 14 home runs. He edged out René González for the RBI lead by three, thus depriving him of a Triple Crown. He saw scant action with Habana in 1954-1955, going 6 for 34 with a double. He had another big season in Mexico, though, in 1955, putting up a .331/.371/.513 line for Nuevo Laredo and the Mexico City Red Devils, cracking 17 homers in 101 games, scoring 86 runs and driving home 79. He tied for fifth in both home runs and RBI.

He batted .345/.387/.461 for the 1956 Red Devils, with 27 doubles and 9 triples. In his last season in Cuba, he was 1 for 7 for Almendares in 1956-1957. With Mexico City in 1957, he hit .333/.364/.447 with 89 RBI in 117 games. He was at .287/.322/.418 between the Red Devils and the Mexico City Tigers in 1958 to end his career.

Overall in Mexico, Fernando hit .329/.373/.468 with 389 RBI and 385 runs in 564 games.

Notable Achievements[edit]

Sources[edit]

Related Sites[edit]

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