Scroll Down to Read Today’s Essay
Subscribe to Baseball History Comes Alive for automatic updates. As a Free Bonus, you’ll get instant access to my Special Report: Gary’s Handy Dandy World Series Reference Guide!
Minnie Minoso Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Photo Gallery:
Minnie Minoso’s “Grand” Return to the White Sox, 1960!
With February being Black History Month, I think this is a good time to shine our baseball spotlight on one of the recent inductees to the Hall of Fame, Orestes “Minnie” Minoso. I think you’ll agree with me that after you read about his career in its entirety, there’s no doubt that Minnie reserves a plaque in Cooperstown. The honor was long overdue and all of us here at Baseball History Comes Alive are glad this great ballplayer is finally getting the recognition he deserves.
Minnie Returns to the White Sox!
Opening Day at Comiskey Park, April 19, 1960 was a special day in White Sox history. The 1959 American League champions welcomed back fan-favorite Minnie Minoso after a three-year exile to Cleveland. And what a “grand” return it was, as Minnie hit a fourth-inning grand slam and followed that with a ninth-inning walk-off home run to give the Sox a 10-9 victory over the Kansas City Athletics!
Check out the featured photo above. How’s that for a hook slide! The catcher is the Red Sox’ Sammy White.
Minnie’s Career
Orestes “Minnie” Miñoso was one of the most popular players in White Sox
history, helping the “Go-Go” White Sox become one of the premier teams of the 1950s and 1960s. The La Habana, Cuba native played 17 seasons in the majors (1946-1980) for the Indians, White Sox, Cardinals, and Senators. Over his career, he hit .299, with 2110 hits, 1136 runs, 365 doubles, 195 home runs, 1093 RBIs, 216 stolen bases, a .387 on-base percentage, and a .461 slugging average. His 130 OPS+ places him well above average among his major league contemporaries.
“Mr. White Sox” was a seven-time All-Star (appearing in nine games), and a three-time Gold Glove winner. He began his professional career in 1946 in the Negro Leagues with the New York Black Cubans and was later signed by the Cleveland Indians in the wake of Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier, appearing in nine games in 1949.
Minnie had a great rookie year in 1951, hitting .326, with 112 runs, 34 doubles, a league-leading 14 triples, 10 home runs, a league-leading 31 stolen bases, .422 on-base percentage, and .500 slugging average. That year, he also became one of the first Latin Americans to play in the major league All-Star Game.
The “Cuban Comet” batted over .300 eight times. He was the American League leader in triples and stolen bases three times each and in hits, doubles, and total bases one time each. He also led the American League in times hit by a pitch a record ten times.
The 1950s saw a resurgence of speed into the game as an offensive weapon. Minnie and Willie Mays are often cited as the two players most responsible for this influx. Miñoso was a defensive standout and led left fielders in assists six times and in putouts and double plays four times each.
The White Sox in the 1950s were known for speed and defense, but Minnie was a rare power threat, holding the White Sox record for career home runs from 1956 to 1974 with 186. After his major league playing career was over in 1964, he 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, becoming the third player to get a hit after the age of 50 and the second player to appear in the major leagues in five decades.
Minnie was the first black Cuban in the major leagues and the first black player in White Sox history. Over the years after his playing days ended, Minnie received many honors. His White Sox uniform #9 was retired in 1983. He became a member of the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996, the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in 2002, and
the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 2014. On September 19, 2004, Minnie Miñoso Day was celebrated at U.S. Cellular Field which included a pregame unveiling of a Minnie Miñoso statue.
And now we can add that he has also been selected for induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, an honor he richly deserves.
Gary Livacari
Subscribe to our website, “Baseball History Comes Alive!” with over 1200 fully categorized baseball essays and photo galleries, now surpassing the 700K hits mark at 768K hits: www.baseballhistorycomesalive.com
Information: Excerpts edited from Minnie Minoso Wikipedia page; Stats from Baseball Reference.com
