Baseball BeatNovember 29, 2008
Happy Birthday, Minnie, No Matter Your Age
By Rich Lederer

Depending on the source, Minnie Miñoso either turns 83 or 86 years old today.

Miñoso's actual age may or may not matter at this point. What's most important is that he's alive and apparently doing well. However, as it relates to his baseball career, Miñoso's age is relevant. You see, it could be the difference as to whether he deserves to be elected to the Hall of Fame or not. At worst, he is a borderline candidate. At best, he should have been voted in long ago.

Saturnino Orestes Armas (Arrieta) Miñoso was born in Havana, Cuba on either November 29, 1922 or 1925. On page five in Just Call Me Minnie, Miñoso claims he was born in 1925, which would make him 83 today (and not 86 as has been widely reported).

People always want to know how old I really am. The official sources have me listed as being born on November 29, 1922. That would make me 71 years old, and I would not make excuses or apologies. I am actually just 68 years old. I was 19 years old when I arrived in the United States in 1945, but my papers said I was 22. I told a white lie in order to obtain a visa, so I could qualify for service in the Cuban army. My true date of birth is the 29th of November, 1925.

Miñoso (mean-YO-so, commonly pronounced minn-OH-so by media) was the first black Latino player to appear in the major leagues. He made his MLB debut on April 19, 1949 two years after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Depending on his date of birth, Miñoso was either 23 or 26 at that time. If the latter, it's fair to say that he lost at least a few years in the big leagues due to the fact that he was born with the wrong skin color.

52bowmanminosorcsb.jpgBefore joining the Cleveland Indians in 1949, Miñoso played with the New York Cubans from 1945 to 1948. He batted leadoff and played third base when the Cubans defeated the Cleveland Buckeyes for the Negro League World Series title in 1947. In addition, Miñoso was the starting third baseman in the 1947 and 1948 East-West All-Star games.

Other than his nickname, there was nothing Minnie about Miñoso. He should have been called Maxie Miñoso because he did everything well on a baseball field. Known as the Cuban Comet, Miñoso ran exceptionally well, played strong defense, and hit for both average and power.

Miñoso was one of the most outstanding players during the 1950s. A seven-time All-Star, he finished fourth in the Most Valuable Player voting four times. Miñoso was also a three-time Gold Glove winner as a left fielder. For his career, he batted .298 with 1,962 hits. Minnie would have hit .304 had he retired after the 1961 season and not hung around for another three years as a part-timer and pinch hitter. But even as is, Miñoso hit .298/.389/.459 with an OPS+ of 130.

The 5-10, 175-pound Miñoso was an on-base machine. He ranked in the top 10 in times on base for 10 consecutive seasons (1951-1960), including seven when he finished in the top five. Miñoso had 11 consecutive seasons with 10 or more hit by pitches, including back-to-back years with at least 20. Moreover, he led the league in HBP in 10 of those 11 campaigns. He retired as the all-time leader among 20th century players and still ranks ninth in career HBP with 192. But, who paid attention to HBP back then? Heck, who pays attention to them today? I mean, can you recall seeing a column with HBP on the back of a baseball card when you were growing up? Wasn't getting hit by a pitch a fluke, something caused by a wild pitcher?

Miñoso led the AL in stolen bases in each of his first three full seasons. Unfortunately, he also topped the league in caught stealing in two of those years and ranked first four other times. For his career, Miñoso stole 205 bases and was caught 130 times (for a success rate of 61%). Nonetheless, by all accounts, he was an electrifying force on the base paths.

As good as Miñoso was, it seemed as if he was held back or overlooked throughout most of his career. As the first black player from Cuba, his MLB career may have been delayed by as many as a few years. Secondly, on May 1, 1951, Miñoso homered in his first at-bat in a White Sox uniform when he became the first black to break the color barrier in Chicago but another rookie by the name of Mickey Mantle slugged his first big-league home run in the sixth inning of the same game. Miñoso (.324/.419/.498 and 24 Win Shares) finished second to Yankees infielder Gil McDougald (.306/.396/.488, 23 Win Shares) in the Rookie of the Year balloting (although he was honored as TSN's ROY) even though he outpolled him in the MVP vote (fourth place to ninth). He also had the misfortune of being
traded from Chicago back to Cleveland two years before the Go-Go White Sox met the Dodgers in the 1959 World Series. Lastly, he played left field during the same decade as two of the greatest ever: Ted Williams and Stan Musial.

Miñoso was lauded in other ways. He had his jersey #9 retired by Bill Veeck and the White Sox in 1983. Furthermore, Miñoso was invited to present the White Sox lineup card to the umpires in the pregame ceremonies at home plate in the last game played at the old Comiskey Park on September 30, 1990. He also took part in the victory parade for the Chicago White Sox 2005 World Series Championship and his statue stands on the outfield concourse at U.S. Cellular Field.

We'll never know what kind of counting totals Miñoso may have been able to amass had he played in the majors from the get go. But, let's not forget, he had an exemplary career anyway.

Bill James, who listed Miñoso as the 10th-best left fielder and 85th-greatest player ever in The New Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, put together a table of "the greatest players in history, based on Win Shares between ages 30 and 39, not including pitchers." Miñoso ranked 16th and was the only player in the top 20 who has yet to be enshrined in Cooperstown.

Miñoso didn't get to play in the majors until he was 28 years old, but had a better career after age 28 than almost any Hall of Fame left/right fielder. Miñoso hit for power, drove in 100 runs like clockwork, was a Gold Glove outfielder and one of the best baserunners of his time. Had he gotten the chance to play in the Majors when he was 21 years old, I think he'd probably be rated among the top thirty players of all time.

In Nothing minor about Minnie, Alex Belth argued in a SI.com article in February 2006 that "Miñoso deserves more recognition as player, pioneer" rather than "his clownish pinch-hitting stunts in 1976 and 1981, which he did as much to qualify for a pension as for the giggles."

Paul Soglin, on his Waxing America blog, contends that Miñoso's split tenure between the Negro Leagues and MLB and the poor relations between the U.S. and Cuba unfairly penalize his case for the Hall of Fame.

Rob Neyer has also been one of Miñoso's biggest supporters when it comes to the HOF. It's just too bad that James, Belth, Soglin, and Neyer don't have a vote, either as part of the BBWAA or the Veteran's Committee, both of which have failed to elect Miñoso whenever he has been on the ballot.

Hall of Fame or no Hall of Fame, 83 or 86, we should all celebrate Miñoso's birthday. Happy Birthday, Minnie. You were one of the game's best and most unrecognized players.

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[Additional reader comments and retorts at the Baseball Think Factory.]

Comments

Thanks so much for this! Had he been able to start at the age of Kaline or Clemente, his career accomplishment could look like that of Kaline or Clemente. And he had to deal with being a trailblazer in ways similar to (though not as difficult as) the careers of Jackie and Larry Doby. And he has been such a good man. Minnie for Cooperstown!

Age 25 is still a late start for a player with Minoso's skills. His route to the majors was anything but direct, going from Cuba through the Negro League before being assigned to San Diego of the PCL for two seasons because Cleveland didn't need him. Minoso was originally an infielder, mostly playing thirdbase and sometimes second. The Indians were deep in talent. When Minoso signed in 1948 Keltner was having the best season of his career. Al Rosen was at AAA and blossoming into a terrific hitter. They also had Ray Boone, then a shortstop, who showed a lot of promise, and Lou Boudreau wasn't going to play shortstop forever but could hit well enough to hold thirdbase if he moved over. Secondbase was held by Joe Gordon, and the Indians would soon sign an excellent secondbaseman from the Mexican League, Bobby Avila. Minoso played just 11 games at class A Dayton in 1948, going 21 for 40 (.525) with 9 extra base hits. In 1949 he was sent to San Diego (PCL) to learn the outfield and batted .297 with 22 HRs in 137 games. That didn't earn him a promotion, and for 1950 he returned to SD back at thirdbase. Minoso batted .339 and slugged .539, but the Indians still saw him as a thirdbaseman. Al Rosen took over from Keltner and hit 37 HRs while driving in 100, so Minoso was deemed expendable. He was traded to the White Sox early in the 1951 season, packaged with two other players as part of a three-team deal, with the Indians getting Lou Brissie in return.

In retrospect, the Indians didn't recognize Minoso as having the potential to be an excellent outfielder. Minoso had the misfortune of signing with an organization awash with talent, where there was stiff competition at both his primary and secondary positions. His falsified age may have held him back too, since younger players are usually assumed to have more upside potential.

Thanks for an excellent article. Minoso still works in PR for the White Sox. No one represents the team better than Minnie. He is loved in Chicago, and Minoso always treats the fan with genuine kindness.

Rick you inspired me to write again.

http://www.waxingamerica.com/2008/11/happy-birthday-minnie-minoso.html

It is heart breaking what Minnie, Clemente and the other black players endured both on and off the field for many years after Jackie Robinson walked across Ebbets Field.

Great post Rich! Growing up as a White Sox fan in the 90s (I'm young, what can I say), I was exposed early to the legend of Minnie. However, it saddens me that the Sox have seemingly failed to include the tilde on his last name in just about everything. Am I wrong in this perception?

Thanks for this. I have a memory of Minoso coming to the plate with 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th in both games of a double header with the Yankees, in old Comiskey sometime in the mid 50's, both games with tying or winning runs in scoring position. The first game he struck out and wound up face down on the ground at home plate, and I (probably 6 or 7) thought he'd been hit, before realizing he was anguished about making the final out. The second game he delivered a line drive single to center to win the game, the capacity crowd going crazy.

In my opinion there has never been another player that played with his enthusiasm and pure hustle. Or probably just Jackie Robinson himself, though I never saw him play.

The few years with Minoso and Aparicio on the same field, there were some exciting times on the South Side. The Yankees were practically unbeatable then, but the Sox certainly provided some thrills for their fans.

My cousin and I attended the White Sox-Angels doubleheader in September 1976 when the 53-year Minoso pulled a line drive single to LF off Sid Monge.

The chance to see Minnie get a hit was the only reason to watch a late-season doubleheader with two dreary teams. I saw Minoso a few years later, mentioned his hit and described the moment. His huge smile was priceless.

As a boy of 8 I attended my first professional baseball game at Lane Field in San Diego. Minnie was in left field that night and almost single handedly sparked a come from behind victory for the Padres. His two out single in the 9th tied the score. He then scored the winning run on a long single. Might have been a double but no one notice as all eyes were on Minnie rounding 3rd and sliding home. Our family was from Chicago and my dad was a Sox fan and I grew up a Sox fan also. Needless to say Minnie was my favorite player. He's already in my "Hall of Fame".