Major league baseball's 1st black Latino star Minoso dies

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Major league baseball's 1st black Latino star Minoso dies
By JAY COHEN

CHICAGO (AP) — When Minnie Minoso broke into major league baseball, the "Cuban Comet" was part of a wave of black players who changed the game forever. By the time he played in his final game 35 years ago, he was a beloved figure with the Chicago White Sox.

It was one amazing ride for the seemingly ageless slugger, who died early Sunday morning after helping clear the way for generations of minority ballplayers, including a long list of stars from his home country.

"I know we're all going to go at some time, but I had gotten to the point where I really thought Minnie was going to live forever," White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said. "There has never been a better ambassador for the game or for the White Sox than Minnie."

Minoso, who made his major league debut just two years after Jackie Robinson and turned into the game's first black Latino star, died of natural causes, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. There is some question about Minoso's age, but the medical examiner's office and the White Sox said he was 90.

Minoso's death comes on the heels of the loss of Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks, who passed away on Jan. 23 at age 83.

"For Minnie, every day was a reason to smile, and he would want us all to remember him that way, smiling at a ballgame," Minoso's family said in a statement released by the team. "As he so often said, 'God Bless you, my friends.'"

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.

For Minoso's many admirers, his absence from the Hall of Fame remains a sore spot. President Barack Obama, a longtime White Sox fan, praised Minoso for his speed, power and "resilient optimism" while helping integrate baseball in the 1950s.

"Minnie may have been passed over by the Baseball Hall of Fame during his lifetime, but for me and for generations of black and Latino young people, Minnie's quintessentially American story embodies far more than a plaque ever could," Obama said.

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

It was the dawn of a long relationship between the slugger and the White Sox.

Minoso, a Havana native who spent most of his career in left field, 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 hired him as a team ambassador after his playing career and repeatedly lobbied for his inclusion in Cooperstown.

"I think that everybody has to respect his legacy because he did so much for the Latin players, for the Cubans, for everybody because when he arrived here it was a tough time because of racism and discrimination," said White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez, another Cuban star. "He wrote a huge legacy for all of us."

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 come close to making it to the Hall. 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 an informational package produced by the team for a 2011 Cooperstown push. "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, he never played in the postseason.

"He gave you 100 percent at all times," former teammate Billy Pierce said. "You have to rate him with the better ballplayers of all time."

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."
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Associated Press writer Caryn Rousseau and Associated Press freelance writer Jack Thompson in Glendale, Ariz., contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2015-03-02

[Publicus]

The 'Cuban Comet' Minnie Minoso meant a lot to my best buddy who was also dark skinned from the Cape Verde Islands when he and I were adolescents playing ball well before anyone had heard of Fidel Castro (and in between snowstorms left over from winters).

Every time the White Sox came to town for a set my buddy and I went to the games on saved pennies cause the ball park was a 15 minute walk to bleacher seats at one thin dime apiece. The price of hot dogs didn't bankrupt anyone back then either.

Minnie Minoso was a delight to watch and he was called the Comet for his speed in his left field position and for leading the league in stolen bases (he wuz after all black ). My buddy thrived on watching and following Minoso and is now a retired commodore of the Merchant Marine.

Sad day but a great career and a super role model for so many of any color. Minnie was 5' 10" and baseball is still a game where an average guy can play a career as a star. My father was a devoted fan of the local major league franchise but also of the former Negro League which had formed during segregation. so my buddy and I heard many stories of black players' resilience and fame.

Don't look now but I think the White Sox are about to wake up their fans by Minnie Minoso knocking in yet another run

Former baseball player in the Negro League, Minnie Minoso, center, and his wife Sharon Minoso, left, walk outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington following their meeting with President Barack Obama, Monday, Aug. 5, 2013. White House says Obama invited about a dozen players to the White House to mark their contributions to American history, civil rights and athletics. The players competed for teams like the Philadelphia Stars, New York Black Yankees, Indianapolis Clowns and Boston Blues. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The obit story didn't report it of course but I have to say how media did report when Minnie announced at a Chicago banquet years after he'd retired that if he died he wanted to die in Chicago. "If I die I want to die in Chicago,." Minnie declared to a silent November crowd in 1986. English of course wuz not his first language.

So for a long time now when I think of the Cuban people vs Castro's Cuba I try to think of Minnie Minoso who was so fortunate to get out of there in what turned out actually to have been plenty of time.

Well done Minnie and RIP.

http://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=119176#gameType=R&sectionType=career&statType=1&season=2015&level=ALL'

[dekestone]

I grew up in Chicago in the 60s and was a huge White Sox fan, unlike most of my friends who were Cub fans. Loved Minnie and also Luis Aparicio.

[Suradit69]

I grew up in Chicago in the 60s and was a huge White Sox fan, unlike most of my friends who were Cub fans. Loved Minnie and also Luis Aparicio.

Yes, just hearing his name (and Ernie Banks) brought back a flood of memories from my childhood ... a bit before the 60's.

I had a truly obnoxious English teacher who spent half our class time going on about the Cubs, so I gravitated to following the White Sox too.

[Harveyg]

I grew up in Cleveland and Minnie played there in '58-'59, when I really started following baseball. The thing I remember most is him stealing home- am still amazed by that. It stuck with me until many years later, playing fast pitch softball in Northern California when, with my team behind by one run and me on 3rd with 2 outs in the last inning, I had the audacity to try and steal home and made it!! God the things we remember.... Thanks for the inspiration Minnie. RIP

[chuckd]

Never was much of a Cubs fan, but Banks and Minnie were always a couple of my favorites.

In 1951 I used to listen to the "game of the day" on radio, when I wasn't out playing the game.

Fond memories from a long gone era.

He should be in the Hall of Fame...post haste.