RIP, Minnie Minoso, 92, MLB pioneer

[laughedatbytime]

First, Ernie, now Minnie. Minoso should be in the Hall of Fame.

 

 

CHICAGO -- Minnie Minoso, who hit a two-run home run in his first at-bat when he became major league baseball's first black player in Chicago in 1951, has died, the Cook County medical examiner said Sunday.

 

The medical examiner's office did not immediately offer further details. There is some question about Minoso's age but the White Sox say he was 92.

 

Minoso played 12 of his 17 seasons in Chicago, hitting .304 with 135 homers and 808 RBIs for the White Sox. The White Sox retired his No. 9 in 1983 and there is a statue of Minoso at U.S. Cellular Field.

 

Minoso made his major league debut with Cleveland in 1949 and was dealt to Chicago in a three-team trade two years later. He made his White Sox debut on May 1, 1951, and homered in his first plate appearance against Yankees right-hander Vic Raschi.

 

It was the start of a beautiful relationship between the Cuban slugger and the White Sox.

 

Minoso, regarded as baseball's first black Latino star, was a Havana native who spent most of his career in left field. He is one of only two players to appear in a major league game in five different decades. He got his final hit in 1976 at age 53 and went 0 for 2 in two games in 1980 for the White Sox, who tried unsuccessfully over the years to get the "Cuban Comet" into baseball's Hall of Fame.

 

"When I watched Minnie Minoso play, I always thought I was looking at a Hall of Fame player," White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said in an informational package produced by the team for a 2011 Cooperstown push. "I never understood why Minnie wasn't elected.

 

"He did everything. He could run, he could field, he could hit with power, he could bunt and steal bases. He was one of the most exciting players I have ever seen."

 

Saturnino Orestes Armas Minoso Arrieta was selected for nine All-Star games and won three Gold Gloves in left. He was hit by a pitch 192 times, ninth on baseball's career list, and finished in the top four in AL MVP voting four times.

 

Despite the push by the White Sox and other prominent Latin players, Minoso has never made it to Cooperstown. His highest percentage during his 15 years on the writers' ballot was 21.1 in 1988. He was considered by the Veterans Committee in 2014 and fell short of the required percentage for induction.

 

"My last dream is to be in Cooperstown, to be with those guys," Minoso said in that 2011 package distributed by the White Sox. "I want to be there. This is my life's dream."

 

Minoso, who made his major league debut with Cleveland in 1949, hit .298 for his career with 186 homers and 1,023 RBIs. The speedy Minoso also led the AL in triples and steals three times in each category.

 

Playing in an era dominated by the Yankees, Minoso never played in the postseason.

 

"Every young player in Cuba wanted to be like Minnie Minoso, and I was one of them," Hall of Fame slugger Tony Perez said. "The way he played the game, hard all the time, hard. He was very consistent playing the game. He tried to win every game. And if you want to be like somebody, and I picked Minnie, you have to be consistent."

 

Minoso appeared in just nine games in his first stint with the Indians, but he took off when he was dealt to Chicago as part of a three-team trade in 1951 that also involved the Philadelphia Athletics. He went deep in his first plate appearance against Yankees right-hander Raschi, and hit .375 in his first 45 games with the White Sox.

 

Minoso finished that first season in Chicago with a .326 batting average, 10 homers and 76 RBIs in 146 games for the Indians and White Sox. He also had a major league-best 14 triples and an AL-best 31 steals.

 

It was Minoso's first of eight seasons with at least a .300 batting average. He also had four seasons with at least 100 RBIs.

 

"I have baseball in my blood," Minoso said. "Baseball is all I've ever wanted to do."

 

http://espn.go.com/chicago/mlb/story/_/id/12403240/minnie-minoso-first-black-mlb-player-chicago-dies

[Narps]

Don't mean this in a negative way but I would have thought he had already passed. When I was young I remember him being pretty old then and I believe he was coaching first for the White Sox if I am not mistaken. Didn't he also make a plate appearance when he was in his 60's or some such thing so he could say he played in X number of decades back in the Bill Veeck era? I could look it up but that's sort of what I recall and I didn't read the article above. He was quite the representative of baseball as was Mr. Cub. Bravo for the long and productive life and RIP Minnie....

[laughedatbytime]

Don't mean this in a negative way but I would have thought he had already passed. When I was young I remember him being pretty old then and I believe he was coaching first for the White Sox if I am not mistaken. Didn't he also make a plate appearance when he was in his 60's or some such thing so he could say he played in X number of decades back in the Bill Veeck era? I could look it up but that's sort of what I recall and I didn't read the article above. He was quite the representative of baseball as was Mr. Cub. Bravo for the long and productive life and RIP Minnie....

No, you're right. As jarring as it is to modern ears, Minoso could have been a first ballot HOFer and definitely would have made the Hall eventually if he would have been allowed to play earlier in his career. Some consistent excellence in the stats below. Got a hit in the 70s and made some PAs in the 80s.

 

There is some question about his true age, the ages here are some of the lower estimates.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/m/minosmi01.shtml

[Narps]

Don't mean this in a negative way but I would have thought he had already passed. When I was young I remember him being pretty old then and I believe he was coaching first for the White Sox if I am not mistaken. Didn't he also make a plate appearance when he was in his 60's or some such thing so he could say he played in X number of decades back in the Bill Veeck era? I could look it up but that's sort of what I recall and I didn't read the article above. He was quite the representative of baseball as was Mr. Cub. Bravo for the long and productive life and RIP Minnie....

No, you're right. As jarring as it is to modern ears, Minoso could have been a first ballot HOFer and definitely would have made the Hall eventually if he would have been allowed to play earlier in his career. Some consistent excellence in the stats below. Got a hit in the 70s and made some PAs in the 80s.

 

There is some question about his true age, the ages here are some of the lower estimates.

 

http://www.baseball-...minosmi01.shtml

I thought I remember there was some question about his true age. There was always alot of question about Tiant as well if I recall....

[laughedatbytime]

Don't mean this in a negative way but I would have thought he had already passed. When I was young I remember him being pretty old then and I believe he was coaching first for the White Sox if I am not mistaken. Didn't he also make a plate appearance when he was in his 60's or some such thing so he could say he played in X number of decades back in the Bill Veeck era? I could look it up but that's sort of what I recall and I didn't read the article above. He was quite the representative of baseball as was Mr. Cub. Bravo for the long and productive life and RIP Minnie....

No, you're right. As jarring as it is to modern ears, Minoso could have been a first ballot HOFer and definitely would have made the Hall eventually if he would have been allowed to play earlier in his career. Some consistent excellence in the stats below. Got a hit in the 70s and made some PAs in the 80s.

 

There is some question about his true age, the ages here are some of the lower estimates.

 

http://www.baseball-...minosmi01.shtml

I thought I remember there was some question about his true age. There was always alot of question about Tiant as well if I recall....

 

At least Tiant didn't miss out on any years because of ignorance.

[Narps]

Don't mean this in a negative way but I would have thought he had already passed. When I was young I remember him being pretty old then and I believe he was coaching first for the White Sox if I am not mistaken. Didn't he also make a plate appearance when he was in his 60's or some such thing so he could say he played in X number of decades back in the Bill Veeck era? I could look it up but that's sort of what I recall and I didn't read the article above. He was quite the representative of baseball as was Mr. Cub. Bravo for the long and productive life and RIP Minnie....

No, you're right. As jarring as it is to modern ears, Minoso could have been a first ballot HOFer and definitely would have made the Hall eventually if he would have been allowed to play earlier in his career. Some consistent excellence in the stats below. Got a hit in the 70s and made some PAs in the 80s.

 

There is some question about his true age, the ages here are some of the lower estimates.

 

http://www.baseball-...minosmi01.shtml

I thought I remember there was some question about his true age. There was always alot of question about Tiant as well if I recall....

 

At least Tiant didn't miss out on any years because of ignorance.

Amen to that. "Ignorance and prejudice and fear walk hand in hand" :(

[Babycat]

[Xanadu]

Hits close to home with this White Sox fan.

 

RIP, Minnie. :(

[WorkingAllTheTime]

There are so many of these guys who should have had the opportunity and, without question, would have been in the HOF where it not for the Comiskeys (insert irony here) of the world.

 

Moments like these usually make me think of John McGraw. He's a HOFer, of course, and was the first great player to also be a great manager. But for my money, his greatest legacy is one that many people don't know about.... the story about how, after his death, his wife found a list of names among his personal effects.... the names of black players he wished he could have signed to play on his teams.

 

There was a former Negro League great who lived in San Antonio named John "Mule" Miles. I had the fortunate experience of getting to visit with him a number of times. He lived very close to a high school I once taught at and I literally just stopped by his house one day to talk baseball with him. He was an incredible old soul who graciously indulged me and told me stories about playing with and against some legends of the game in the Negro Leagues. He only played for a few years in the Negro Leagues, but he was a force in his time there. He probably wouldn't have been a HOFer in the majors, but he probably would have played and played well.... and damn it... it is a terrible injustice he never got that opportunity. He was in that awkward window of time right around Jackie Robinson... when only a handful of teams would dare to follow Branch Rickey's lead (lest people forget the last team to integrate was the Boston Red Sox in 1959, more than a decade after Robinson).

[laughedatbytime]

There are so many of these guys who should have had the opportunity and, without question, would have been in the HOF where it not for the Comiskeys (insert irony here) of the world.

 

Moments like these usually make me think of John McGraw. He's a HOFer, of course, and was the first great player to also be a great manager. But for my money, his greatest legacy is one that many people don't know about.... the story about how, after his death, his wife found a list of names among his personal effects.... the names of black players he wished he could have signed to play on his teams.

 

There was a former Negro League great who lived in San Antonio named John "Mule" Miles. I had the fortunate experience of getting to visit with him a number of times. He lived very close to a high school I once taught at and I literally just stopped by his house one day to talk baseball with him. He was an incredible old soul who graciously indulged me and told me stories about playing with and against some legends of the game in the Negro Leagues. He only played for a few years in the Negro Leagues, but he was a force in his time there. He probably wouldn't have been a HOFer in the majors, but he probably would have played and played well.... and damn it... it is a terrible injustice he never got that opportunity. He was in that awkward window of time right around Jackie Robinson... when only a handful of teams would dare to follow Branch Rickey's lead (lest people forget the last team to integrate was the Boston Red Sox in 1959, more than a decade after Robinson).

 

The NL teams were so far ahead of the AL teams in integrating (though there were exceptions to the rule) that the league became dominant. In fact, I'm not sure it's arguable that the racial attitudes of the Yankees brass led to the end of a dynasty that lasted from the 20s through the early 60s.

[WorkingAllTheTime]

There are so many of these guys who should have had the opportunity and, without question, would have been in the HOF where it not for the Comiskeys (insert irony here) of the world.

 

Moments like these usually make me think of John McGraw. He's a HOFer, of course, and was the first great player to also be a great manager. But for my money, his greatest legacy is one that many people don't know about.... the story about how, after his death, his wife found a list of names among his personal effects.... the names of black players he wished he could have signed to play on his teams.

 

There was a former Negro League great who lived in San Antonio named John "Mule" Miles. I had the fortunate experience of getting to visit with him a number of times. He lived very close to a high school I once taught at and I literally just stopped by his house one day to talk baseball with him. He was an incredible old soul who graciously indulged me and told me stories about playing with and against some legends of the game in the Negro Leagues. He only played for a few years in the Negro Leagues, but he was a force in his time there. He probably wouldn't have been a HOFer in the majors, but he probably would have played and played well.... and damn it... it is a terrible injustice he never got that opportunity. He was in that awkward window of time right around Jackie Robinson... when only a handful of teams would dare to follow Branch Rickey's lead (lest people forget the last team to integrate was the Boston Red Sox in 1959, more than a decade after Robinson).

 

The NL teams were so far ahead of the AL teams in integrating (though there were exceptions to the rule) that the league became dominant. In fact, I'm not sure it's arguable that the racial attitudes of the Yankees brass led to the end of a dynasty that lasted from the 20s through the early 60s.

 

Yep.

 

I always find it curious when some baseball fans do not realize how long it took many franchises, often including their own preferred club, to integrate (my Cardinals were part of the last midwest NL holdouts and didn't do it until 1954). It's pretty obvious that a number of owners and general managers thought Rickey's "experiment" was really just that. By the time they realized it was the new reality, they were dinosaurs.

[laughedatbytime]

There are so many of these guys who should have had the opportunity and, without question, would have been in the HOF where it not for the Comiskeys (insert irony here) of the world.

 

Moments like these usually make me think of John McGraw. He's a HOFer, of course, and was the first great player to also be a great manager. But for my money, his greatest legacy is one that many people don't know about.... the story about how, after his death, his wife found a list of names among his personal effects.... the names of black players he wished he could have signed to play on his teams.

 

There was a former Negro League great who lived in San Antonio named John "Mule" Miles. I had the fortunate experience of getting to visit with him a number of times. He lived very close to a high school I once taught at and I literally just stopped by his house one day to talk baseball with him. He was an incredible old soul who graciously indulged me and told me stories about playing with and against some legends of the game in the Negro Leagues. He only played for a few years in the Negro Leagues, but he was a force in his time there. He probably wouldn't have been a HOFer in the majors, but he probably would have played and played well.... and damn it... it is a terrible injustice he never got that opportunity. He was in that awkward window of time right around Jackie Robinson... when only a handful of teams would dare to follow Branch Rickey's lead (lest people forget the last team to integrate was the Boston Red Sox in 1959, more than a decade after Robinson).

 

The NL teams were so far ahead of the AL teams in integrating (though there were exceptions to the rule) that the league became dominant. In fact, I'm not sure it's arguable that the racial attitudes of the Yankees brass led to the end of a dynasty that lasted from the 20s through the early 60s.

 

Yep.

 

I always find it curious when some baseball fans do not realize how long it took many franchises, often including their own preferred club, to integrate (my Cardinals were part of the last midwest NL holdouts and didn't do it until 1954). It's pretty obvious that a number of owners and general managers thought Rickey's "experiment" was really just that. By the time they realized it was the new reality, they were dinosaurs.

True dat.

 

And yet, even though the Cards were late to the party, in 1964, it was a huge advantage for the Cardinals over the slow to integrate Yankees...their biggest stars that year were Curt Flood, Bob Gibson, and Lou Brock.

[WorkingAllTheTime]

There are so many of these guys who should have had the opportunity and, without question, would have been in the HOF where it not for the Comiskeys (insert irony here) of the world.

 

Moments like these usually make me think of John McGraw. He's a HOFer, of course, and was the first great player to also be a great manager. But for my money, his greatest legacy is one that many people don't know about.... the story about how, after his death, his wife found a list of names among his personal effects.... the names of black players he wished he could have signed to play on his teams.

 

There was a former Negro League great who lived in San Antonio named John "Mule" Miles. I had the fortunate experience of getting to visit with him a number of times. He lived very close to a high school I once taught at and I literally just stopped by his house one day to talk baseball with him. He was an incredible old soul who graciously indulged me and told me stories about playing with and against some legends of the game in the Negro Leagues. He only played for a few years in the Negro Leagues, but he was a force in his time there. He probably wouldn't have been a HOFer in the majors, but he probably would have played and played well.... and damn it... it is a terrible injustice he never got that opportunity. He was in that awkward window of time right around Jackie Robinson... when only a handful of teams would dare to follow Branch Rickey's lead (lest people forget the last team to integrate was the Boston Red Sox in 1959, more than a decade after Robinson).

 

The NL teams were so far ahead of the AL teams in integrating (though there were exceptions to the rule) that the league became dominant. In fact, I'm not sure it's arguable that the racial attitudes of the Yankees brass led to the end of a dynasty that lasted from the 20s through the early 60s.

 

Yep.

 

I always find it curious when some baseball fans do not realize how long it took many franchises, often including their own preferred club, to integrate (my Cardinals were part of the last midwest NL holdouts and didn't do it until 1954). It's pretty obvious that a number of owners and general managers thought Rickey's "experiment" was really just that. By the time they realized it was the new reality, they were dinosaurs.

True dat.

 

And yet, even though the Cards were late to the party, in 1964, it was a huge advantage for the Cardinals over the slow to integrate Yankees...their biggest stars that year were Curt Flood, Bob Gibson, and Lou Brock.

 

Thank you, for Lou, by the way. ;)

[laughedatbytime]

There are so many of these guys who should have had the opportunity and, without question, would have been in the HOF where it not for the Comiskeys (insert irony here) of the world.

 

Moments like these usually make me think of John McGraw. He's a HOFer, of course, and was the first great player to also be a great manager. But for my money, his greatest legacy is one that many people don't know about.... the story about how, after his death, his wife found a list of names among his personal effects.... the names of black players he wished he could have signed to play on his teams.

 

There was a former Negro League great who lived in San Antonio named John "Mule" Miles. I had the fortunate experience of getting to visit with him a number of times. He lived very close to a high school I once taught at and I literally just stopped by his house one day to talk baseball with him. He was an incredible old soul who graciously indulged me and told me stories about playing with and against some legends of the game in the Negro Leagues. He only played for a few years in the Negro Leagues, but he was a force in his time there. He probably wouldn't have been a HOFer in the majors, but he probably would have played and played well.... and damn it... it is a terrible injustice he never got that opportunity. He was in that awkward window of time right around Jackie Robinson... when only a handful of teams would dare to follow Branch Rickey's lead (lest people forget the last team to integrate was the Boston Red Sox in 1959, more than a decade after Robinson).

 

The NL teams were so far ahead of the AL teams in integrating (though there were exceptions to the rule) that the league became dominant. In fact, I'm not sure it's arguable that the racial attitudes of the Yankees brass led to the end of a dynasty that lasted from the 20s through the early 60s.

 

Yep.

 

I always find it curious when some baseball fans do not realize how long it took many franchises, often including their own preferred club, to integrate (my Cardinals were part of the last midwest NL holdouts and didn't do it until 1954). It's pretty obvious that a number of owners and general managers thought Rickey's "experiment" was really just that. By the time they realized it was the new reality, they were dinosaurs.

True dat.

 

And yet, even though the Cards were late to the party, in 1964, it was a huge advantage for the Cardinals over the slow to integrate Yankees...their biggest stars that year were Curt Flood, Bob Gibson, and Lou Brock.

 

Thank you, for Lou, by the way. ;)

I was one at the time. :)