Yesterday the sad news of the death of ex-MLB pitcher Diego Seguí broke. His death occurred last Tuesday in the United States at the age of 87. Seguí, a native of Holguín,Cuba was an outstanding pitcher who pitched 15 seasons in the best baseball in the world.
During that period, he played for six teams: the Kansas City Athletics (1962-1965), the Washington Senators (1966), the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics (1967-1968), the Seattle Pilots (1969), the Oakland Athletics again (1970-1972), the St. Louis Cardinals (1972-1973), the Boston Red Sox (1974-1975), and the Seattle Mariners (1977). He pitched 639 games (171 of them as a starter), with a 92-111 record.
In 1,807.2 innings, his ERA was 3.81, with 1,298 strikeouts and 786 walks. His WHIP was 1.35. As a testament to his prowess in various roles, he collected 71 saves in the big leagues. His grandest achievement in MLB was his 1970 AL-leading 2.56 ERA with Oakland in 162 innings of work.
He was named MVP of the Seattle Pilots in 1969, when he recorded his most wins (12) and saves (6) in a single MLB season. He is the only Cuban pitcher to play for both Seattle-based MLB teams, the Pilots and Mariners, in the first game pitched with each franchise: he earned a save for the Pilots in 1969 and lost on Opening Day in 1977 with the Mariners.
His success was not limited to the Majors. On June 21, 1978, at the age of 40, he pitched the third perfect game in the history of the Mexican League (LMB), during the Cafeteros de Córdoba’s 5-0 victory over the Tecolotes de Nuevo Laredo.
Another circuit where he shone was the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League (LVBP), being second all-time in wins (95) and leader in strikeouts (941). As a worthy recognition, he was inducted into that country’s Hall of Fame in 2003. His son David, born in the United States, played first base for teams in the Major Leagues between 1990 and 2004, posting a .291 average and swatting 139 home runs over that span.