Minnie Miñoso
November 29, 1923 – March 1, 2015
“I LOVE EVERYBODY, SOUTHSIDE, WESTSIDE, EASTSIDE, I LOVE EVERYONE, RESPECT EACH OTHER “.
Armas Miñoso Arrieta; November 29, 1923 – March 1, 2015), nicknamed “The Cuban Comet” and “Mr. White Sox”, was a Cuban professional baseball player. He began his baseball career in the Negro leagues in 1946 and became an All-Star third baseman with the New York Cubans. He was signed by the Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball (MLB) after the 1948 season as baseball’s color line fell. Miñoso went on to become an All-Star left fielder with the Indians and Chicago White Sox. The first Afro-Latino in the major leagues and the first black player in White Sox history, as a 1951 rookie he was one of the first Latin Americans to play in an MLB All-Star Game.
Miñoso was an American League (AL) All-Star for seven seasons and a Gold Glove winner for three seasons when he was in his 30s. He batted over .300 for eight seasons. He was the AL leader in triples and stolen bases three times each and in hits, doubles, and total bases once each. Willie Mays (179 steals) and Miñoso (167 steals) have been widely credited with leading the resurgence of speed as an offensive weapon in the 1950s. Miñoso was particularly adept at reaching base, leading the AL in times hit by a pitch a record ten times, and holding the league mark for career times hit by a pitch from 1959 to 1985. Miñoso, as a defensive standout, led the AL left fielders in assists six times and in putouts and double plays four times each.
Miñoso was one of the most popular and dynamic players in White Sox franchise history. He helped the “Go-Go” White Sox become one of the premier teams of the 1950s and 1960s. A rare power threat on a team known for speed and defense, Miñoso also held the White Sox record for career home runs from 1956 to 1974.
Miñoso left the major leagues following the 1964 season but went on playing and managing in Mexico through 1973. He rejoined the White Sox as a coach and made brief but highly publicized player appearances in 1976 and 1980. He became the third player to get a hit after the age of 50 and the second player to appear in the major leagues in five different decades (Nick Altrock is the other). Miñoso’s White Sox uniform number 9 was retired in 1983, and a statue of him was unveiled at U.S. Cellular Field in 2004. Miñoso was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in Exile in 1983, and to the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.
In 2014, Miñoso appeared for the second time as a candidate on the National Baseball Hall of Fame’s Golden Era Committee election ballot[2] for possible Hall of Fame consideration in 2015. He and the other candidates including former White Sox teammate Billy Pierce, and two other former players from Cuba, Tony Oliva and Luis Tiant, all missed induction in 2015. He and Oliva were elected to the Hall of Fame in 2021.
Miñoso was selected to be on the Hall of Fame’s Golden Era Committee election ballot in 2011 and 2014. Since 2011, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America’s (BBWAA) Historical Overview Committee serves as Hall’s screening committee every three years to identify ten long-retired players, managers, umpires, or executives (living or deceased) from the “Golden Era” (1947–1973) for possible induction into the Hall of Fame. In order to be inducted, any of the ten candidates on the ballot must receive at least 12 of 16 votes cast by the 16-member Golden Era Committee at the MLB Winter Meeting in December. In 2011 and 2014, Miñoso received 9 and 8 votes; in 2011, only Ron Santo with 15 votes was elected to the Hall of Fame (inducted 2012). In 2014, none of the candidates were elected by the committee. He was voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on December 5, 2021. He was formally inducted on July 24, 2022, with his widow Sharon speaking on his behalf.
He played with the White Sox for 12 of his 17 seasons in Major League Baseball, hitting .304 with 135 homers and 808 RBIs for the White Sox. The White Sox retired his No. 9 in 1983 and in 2004 placed a statue of Minoso at U.S. Cellular Field.
As a player, Minoso was a true dual threat. He drove in more than 100 runs four times, stole at least 20 bases on four occasions and was regularly among the league leaders in extra-base hits. In 1960, at the age of 34, Minoso set a career-high with 184 base hits while playing in his highest number of games (154).
Minoso finished his career with a .298 batting average, 186 home runs, and 1,023 RBI.
Chicago White Sox legend Minnie MinosoMinnie Minoso was unresponsive in the driver’s seat of his car near a gas station in the 2800 block of North Ashland Avenue around 1 a.m. Sunday morning. According to published reports, he had gone out Saturday night for a friend’s birthday party. An Autopsy revealed that his pulmonary tear in his artery. March 1, 2015. at the time of his death, he was 90 years old.
Another leader has left us he was an will always remain a seven-time All-Star and legend who has bridged the gap setting a precedence for all generations of black and Latinos in the field. His legacy will go on by his family.