Remembering Minnie Minoso (1925-2015) |

Minnie Minoso died on Sunday at the age of 89. The Cuban-born third baseman and outfielder broke the color barrier for the Chicago White Sox in 1951, en route on to an All-Star career with the ChiSox and Indians.

More on Minoso after the jump.

Minoso first played in the US as a 20 year-old for the 1946 New York Cubans of the Negro National League. Though earning just $300 a month in New York, Minoso shrewdly resisted a $15,000 contract offer from the Mexican League (that would have banned him from the majors for an extended period), electing to remain with the Cubans, a decision made in part due to Jackie Robinson breaking the color barrier in organized baseball that year, playing for the Dodgers’ affiliate in Montreal.

Minoso would lead the Cubans to the NNL title in 1947, and when he started the 1948 season on a .403/.442/.611 clip, major league clubs started taking notice. The Cardinals gave Minoso a tryout, but when a contract offer didn’t follow, Cleveland scooped up the young prospect, one of a number of black players the Indians would sign in the late 1940s. The Indians in those years were a championship-caliber club that was pretty much set at both third and the outfield. Thus, after a brief major league debut to start the 1949 season, Minoso instead spent that season and the next tearing up the PCL (.319/.389/.513) with the San Diego Padres.

Minoso made the big club to start the 1951 season, but was not in management’s good books after reporting late to training camp, resulting in an early season trade to Chicago. Minoso made an immediate impression with the Sox, launching a mammoth home run in his first at bat in Comiskey, en route to a stellar .326/.422/.500 rookie season in which he led the AL in triples, stolen bases and HBP, narrowly missing out on RoY honors behind Yankee third sacker Gil McDougald.

Showing his rookie season was no fluke, Minoso turned in solid campaigns the next two years with a .297/.392/.444 slash and 127 OPS+, while again leading the AL in stolen bases and HBP (he led in HBP in 10 out of 11 years through 1961, including 9 times leading the majors). But, that was only a foretaste of his career-best 8.2 WAR season in 1954, leading the AL with 304 total bases, the most in any season with fewer than 200 hits, 30 doubles and 20 home runs. Minoso’s 116 RBI that season was his career high, and his second consecutive season with both 100 runs and 100 RBI. In his first 7 seasons, Minoso was a model of consistency, recording at least 75 runs, 70 walks, 20 doubles, 10 home runs and 10 stolen bases every year, a streak of such seasons, at any point in a career, exceeded only by Bobby Abreu‘s 12 straight years (1999-2010) and, excluding the strike-shortened 1994 campaign, Brady Anderson‘s 8 seasons (1992-2000).

After a bit of an off year in 1955, Minoso turned in four consecutive 4.5 WAR seasons batting .300 with 25 doubles and 80 RBI, markers duplicated among outfielders aged 30-33 only by Stan Musial and Bernie Williams. The last two of those seasons came in an Indians uniform as Cleveland, perhaps regretting having let Minoso get away, jumped at the opportunity to reacquire him, offering up All-Star pitcher Early Wynn (who would lead the White Sox to the 1959 pennant) plus Al Smith, at the time a promising outfielder who looked like he might be a younger version of Minoso (but wasn’t).

After their championship season, the White Sox, hoping to bolster their roster for another pennant run, sent a young Norm Cash to Cleveland to reacquire Minoso, who responded with another stellar season, again batting .300 while pounding 32 doubles, 20 home runs and 105 RBI and leading his league with 184 hits, markers no outfielder aged 34+ has since accomplished in a 2.0 WAR season. Minoso was limited to 2.8 WAR in that 1960 campaign as age started taking a toll on his defensive game (-1.5 dWAR). He would have one more season as a regular in Chicago (3.5 oWAR but -.2.2 dWAR) before closing out his career as a part-time player in St. Louis and Washington, and finally as a pinch-hitter with the 1964 White Sox (who released Minoso in July after an 0 for 14 run of PH appearances).

For his career, Minoso compiled 50.1 WAR and 130 OPS+, the only Cuban-born outfielder to reach both of those markers. Among contemporary outfielders (career totals for 1951-64), Minoso ranked: top 5 in runs, doubles, triples, stolen bases, caught stealing, sacrifice bunts, sacrifice flies, GIDP and, of course, HPB; top 10 in WAR, hits, extra-base hits, RBI, walks and OBP; top 15 in OPS+ and BA; and top 20 in HR. Minoso’s career totals of 180+ HR, SB, HPB and GIDP have been matched only by Don Baylor and Frank Robinson. RIP Minnie!

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Voomo Zanzibar

9 years ago

The Indians did get a young Norm Cash in trade…
… and then flipped Cash for Steve Demeter.

David P

Found this article and wanted to share it for the quote below. Had never thought about this before. “Miñoso’s path was in fact a bit different than Robinson and Doby. As a black Latino, he encountered what Clemente himself stated were “two strikes” while in the United States: one for being black, another for being Latino. Moreover, as a foreign-born black man, Miñoso lacked a familiarity with US racial mores and practices that Robinson and Doby had as they embarked on their big league careers.” http://www.sportingnews.com/mlb/story/2015-03-01/minnie-minoso-dead-dies-hall-of-fame-obituary-white-sox-indians-election The HOF would be a better place with him in it and I’m just… Read more »

no statistician but

Reply to David P

Re Minoso, I’ve said this before but—Minnie was one of those players who made things happen in a game. The HBP element that Hartvig jokes about @ #5 was just part of it. He went for the extra base—all those triples. He made daring fielding plays. He ran the bases dangerously for his time, not always well, but the point was disruption of the pitcher, the game flow. He was part Jackie Robinson in that respect, part Ernie Banks in his outgoing personality. I don’t think there’s a hair’s breadth of difference between Minnie and Larry Doby in terms of… Read more »

HowardR

Reply to no statistician but

Do you know if there are any stats or any evidence of how often he was thrown out going for the extra base? He was a poor base stealer for someone w/speed and I wonder if the same was true of him in other running situations.

Kirk

David P Thanks for the article, I hadn’t realized there was a separation of the Negro League accomplishments from the Major League. I couldn’t agree more with your HOF feelings. When you factor in Minnie was probably closer to 93 than the credited 89 what he accomplished with such a late start, or being allowed to start, and “two strikes” I feel he is truly HOF worthy.

Richard Chester

Only players to lead the league in 3B, TB and HBP in the same season: Minoso (1954) and Pete Reiser (1941).

Hartvig

Reply to Richard Chester

3B, TB and HBP

A combination that speaks to a players speed, power and…

slow reactions?

Not really of course but it was hard to resist.

John

One time while in his 1st stint with the Sox, a reporter asked him who the greatest player in the league was. He said, “Minoso.” The reporter asked him if he was sure. Minnie said, “Me know so.”

Jim

“finally as a pinch-hitter with the 1964 White Sox”

That wasn’t the end. He made those brief appearances in the next two decades. His 1980 appearances made him a teammate of Harold Baines, who played until this century.

Author

Doug

Reply to Jim

Those two gimmick appearances in 1976 and 1980 totaled 5 games, all of them against the Angels.

In playing with Baines in his final year and against Luke Appling in his debut season, Minoso’s career span is a whopping 71 years (1930-2001).

In Minoso’s final game, Steve Trout was on the hill for the Sox, making Minoso the only player to appear in a game with Steve and with Steve’s father Dizzy.

Lawrence Azrin

Reply to Doug

I believe that Ted Williams batted again both Don Lee and his father Thornton Lee (also on the White Sox, from 1942-47). Not quite the same as Minoso’s situation, but when else can I use this otherwise useless factoid :)? Also, I believe that the White Sox wanted to use Minoso in a game in 1990, but someone in MLB nixed it – something about that ‘making a mockery of the game’? Anyone remember this? That this would’ve made Minoso the only six-decade player, also the oldest MLB player at age 64, older than Satchel Paige’s (official) age of 59… Read more »

Reply to Lawrence Azrin

Williams did bat against both Lees, as did Yogi Berra, Eddie Yost, Gene Mauch, George Kell, Sherman Lollar and Vic Wertz.

brp

IMO, those gimmicks hurt the perception of us younger people who tend to think of him as the old guy the White Sox kept trotting out for random events. Then that was followed by the 1990s offensive explosion and his numbers didn’t look that good… and VORP/WAR/similar stats weren’t around yet…

I’d think Minoso may get in the hall some day. He’s just a guy I don’t have a good feel for.

oneblankspace

The regular players on the Sox voted against the idea in 1993, I think.

(They also voted against a playoff share for Carlton Fisk.)

@14,

OOPS, I meant Nick Altrock as the only five decade player.

Editor

John Autin

Nice tribute, Doug.

Another measure of Minoso’s consistency is his 130 OPS+ with all 11 qualified seasons between 113 and 154. I looked at everyone with career OPS+ from 125-135 and 5,000 PAs (82 players). Three others had all their qualified years within Minoso’s range: Mo Vaughn (9 years), Bobby Bonds and Bob Watson (10 each).

Minoso was also 2nd in games played for 1951-61.

(BTW, it’s ironic that saturnine means “slow and gloomy.”)

Steven

Haven’t seen this mentioned anyplace yet, but Alex Johnson, 1970 American League batting champion, passed away recently.

Reply to Steven

Interesting SABR bio on Johnson.

Johnson ranks 10th in career WAR among players with more negative dWAR than positive WAR.

Nice article on Johnson. I’m glad he seems to have turned things around after his career in baseball.