By Jueseppi B.
Saturnino Orestes Armas ”Minnie“ Miñoso Arrieta (/mɨˈnoʊsoʊ/; Spanish pronunciation: [miˈɲoso]; born November 29, 1925 in Havana, Cuba), is one of the famous Major League Baseball (MLB) players. A left fielder and third baseman, he played 7 different positions on 4 teams, for 17 seasons beginning in 1949 (9 games) and ending in 1980 (2 games). He received The Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award (American League) for 1951. He also received one of the 9 original Rawlings Gold Glove Awards in 1957.
Miñoso was signed by the Cleveland Indians as an amateur free agent in 1948. Between 1949 and 1964 he played for the Indians (1949, 1951, 1958–59), Chicago White Sox (1951–1957, 1960–61, 1964, 1976, 1980), St. Louis Cardinals (1962) and Washington Senators(1963).
A Conversation With Baseball Legend Minnie Minoso
Uploaded on Aug 3, 2010
A 1993 interview with Baseball Legend Minnie Minoso. Taken from an episode of “Chicago Slices.” Produced by Tom Weinberg and Joel Cohen.
On May 1, 1951, Orestes Miñoso was playing third base and batting third for the White Sox against the New York Yankees at Comiskey Park during his first game on the White Sox. He hit a 415 foot home run at his first time at-bat off the first pitch to him. He finished the season hitting .324 in 138 games played for the White Sox and became known as “Minnie” Minoso and “Mr. White Sox”.
Minoso had been an outstanding third baseman in the Negro Leagues, and would later play several seasons in Mexico. He was nicknamed “The Cuban Comet” and while playing in Mexico was “El Charro Negro” — “The Black Cowboy”. He is one of two players in Major League history to play in five-decades (1940′s-1980′s), the first being Nick Altrock (1890′s–1930′s). With brief appearances with the independent Northern League‘s St. Paul Saints in 1993 and 2003, Miñoso is the only player to have played professionally in seven different decades. He was the last Major Leaguer to have played in the 1940′s, to play a Major League game.
| Left fielder | |
| Born: November 29, 1925 (age 87) Havana, Cuba |
|
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right |
| MLB debut | |
|---|---|
| April 19, 1949 for the Cleveland Indians | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 5, 1980 for the Chicago White Sox | |
| Career statistics | |
| Batting average | .298 |
| Home runs | 186 |
| Runs batted in | 1,023 |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Major league comebacks
In 1976, after several years playing in Mexico, Miñoso returned to MLB to play three games with the White Sox. He picked up one single in eight at bats, becoming, at age 50, the fourth-oldest player ever to get a base hit in the Major Leagues (Hall of Famer Jim O’Rourke was the oldest when he hit safely at age 54 on September 22, 1904, Nick Altrock singled on October 6, 1929 at 53, and Charlie O’Leary singled on September 30, 1934, at 51). Miñoso then returned to appear in two more games with the Sox in 1980. His five stints with Chicago cemented his image as a local baseball icon for at least three generations of White Sox fans. When the last game was played at the old Comiskey Park on September 30, 1990, Miñoso was invited to present the White Sox lineup card to the umpires in the pregame ceremonies at home plate. He did so while wearing the new uniform debuted by the White Sox that day, his familiar number 9 on the back.
In his 1980 appearance at age 54, Miñoso became the third-oldest player ever to play in the majors, behind Nick Altrock, who pinch-hit in 1933 at the age of 57, and Satchel Paige, who, at 59, pitched three shutout innings in his one game in 1965. Minoso is one of only two players to have made an appearance in a major league game in five decades, the other being Altrock.
In 1990, he was scheduled to make an appearance with the minor league Miami Miracle and hence become the only professional to play in six decades; however, MLB overruled the Miracle on the idea. Nonetheless, in 1993 at the age of 67, he made an appearance with the independent St. Paul Saints of the Northern League. Then, in 2003 he returned to the Saints and drew a walk, thus becoming the only ball player to appear professionally in seven different decades. The earlier extensions to his career with the Sox were publicity stunts orchestrated respectively by one-time Sox owner Bill Veeck and his son Mike, who at the time owned partial or controlling interest in the teams.
From the Fairway with Minnie Minoso
Major League highlights
Minoso’s lifetime stats include: .298 batting average, 1,963 hits, 186 home runs, 336 doubles, 83 triples, 1,023 RBIs, 1,136 runs, 205 stolen bases, 814 walks, and a .971 fielding average.
- 1951: AL leader in triples and stolen bases
- 1952: AL leader in stolen bases
- 1953: AL leader stolen bases
- 1954: AL leader in triples, times on base, and total bases
- 1956: AL leader in triples
- 1957: AL leader in doubles
- 1960: AL leader in hits and sacrifice flies
- 1961: AL leader in sacrifice flies
- All-Star (1951, 52, 53, 54, 57, 59, 60) (9 games)
- Gold Glove Award (1957, 59, and 60)
Awards and recognition
1994: Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame.
2000: Chicago White Sox All-Century Team.
August 11, 2002: Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame (ceremony at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago, IL).
September 19, 2004: Minnie Minoso Day: Pregame unveiling of Minnie Minoso statue at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago.
October 28, 2005: Minoso participated in the Chicago White Sox World Series Championship Parade in downtown Chicago.
November 3, 2005: Miñoso’s name was placed on a special ballot of Negro League players and executives (39) by a 5-member screening committee to be voted upon on February 27, 2006 by a special 12-member committee of Negro Leagues historians and scholars, for selection into the National Baseball Hall of Fame (Minoso not selected).
April 7, 2011: Minoso threw out the ceremonial first pitch to White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén before the White Sox home opener.
November 3, 2011: Minoso was named one of the 10 candidates on the Golden Era Ballot (1947–1972 era) for election into the National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2012. In the December 5 voting by the Golden Era Committee, Minoso fell short by 3 votes.
January 29, 2012: Minoso receives the 2011 Jerome Holtzman Award from the Chicago Baseball Museum.
Peace, Love and Obama With Minnie Minoso
Uploaded on Feb 2, 2009
On the field or off, former Chicago White Sox left fielder Minnie Minoso has spent a lifetime spreading his message of peace and respect. As the first African-American to wear the White Sox uniform, Minoso shares some heartfelt sentiments about the recent inauguration of President Barack Obama with our own Kendahl Damico.
Golden Era Committee vote totals for National Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2012
Beginning in 2011, an election for Golden Era Ballot (1947–1972 era) candidates (10 selected by the Historical Overview Committee) for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame shall be held every 3 years. In order to be inducted into the hall of fame, any of the 10 candidates must receive 12 or more votes or 75% or more of the votes cast by the 16 member “Golden Era Committee” (1 of 3 Veterans Committee“). 2011 vote totals for 2012:
Ron Santo - 15 (Inducted July 22, 2012)
Jim Kaat - 10
Gil Hodges - 9
Minnie Minoso - 9
Tony Oliva - 8
Buzzie Bavasi (Executive) – 3
Ken Boyer - 3
Charles Finley (Executive) – 3
Allie Reynolds - 3
Luis Tiant - 3
Minnie Miñoso’s number 9 was retired by the Chicago White Sox in 1983.
Filed under: Awards, Baseball, Black History, Celebrity, Celebs & Fame, Education, Fun & Games, Joy & Happiness, Photographs, Sports, Stories, World News Tagged: | Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indians, Havana, Major League Baseball, Mexico, Minnie Miñoso, New York Yankees, Rawlings Gold Glove Award, Sporting News Rookie of the Year Award, White Sox
Jueseppi B.
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