WHY I THINK MINNIE MINOSO SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN

WHY I THINK MINNIE MINOSO SHOULD BE IN COOPERSTOWN 

By- Damien 

Minnie Minoso was one of the players who successfully made the transition from the Negro Leagues to the recognized MLB. An outfielder and third baseman, Minoso was an excellent baserunner, a leader on the Go-Go White Sox, and when he reached base (at a .387 lifetime clip), the fans would often chant, “Go! Go! Go!” Minoso rewarded them by leading the AL in stolen bases three years in a row. Minnie Minoso started his career with the New York Cubans of the Negro National League II in 1946, clocking four homers but batting only .227 in 36 games. In 1947, Minoso found his stride as he batted .356 and .344 the next season. The Indians decided to give Minoso a job and played him in nine games in 1949. He spent 1950 in the minors and was traded to the White Sox after eight games in 1951. Minoso finished the season with a .326 batting average and led the AL in triples, stolen bases, and hit by pitch (as he was a notorious plate crowder). For the next decade Minoso was one of the best players in the Major Leagues, batting a composite .303 with three Gold Glove awards as a leftfielder. He led the AL in several different batting categories and always supplied a steady amount of runs, as he drove in 100 runs in four different seasons and scored over 100 four times. He was dealt back to the Indians for the 1958 season and played two more years for them before the White Sox got him back. Minoso made his 13th and final all-star team in 1960 and last played productively as a regular in 1961. On May 11, 1962, Minoso crashed into an outfield wall, an injury that fractured his skull and broke his wrist, and he finished the season with a .196 mark in 39 games. Minoso hung around until 1964, bouncing ineffectively from team to team, and was finally released by the White Sox on July 17, 1964. In 1976, the White Sox signed Minoso and played him in three games as a pinch hitter, and he became one of the oldest players ever to get a hit in the Majors (at least 50 years old; he was born on November 29 in either 1922, 1923, 1924, or 1925, and different sources use different dates). In 1980, the Sox went at it again, and used him twice as a pinch hitter. They were going to do it again in 1993, but it never happened. He played his last professional game in 2003 as a member of the St. Paul Saints in the Northern League. Minnie Minoso was a fine hitter, a great baserunner, and an exhilarating thrill to fans everywhere. He truly was one of the greatest players of all time and a worthy Hall of Fame candidate. 

LIFETIME STATISTICS 

Games career: 1,946 season high: 154 in 1960 led AL: 154 in 1960 

At Bats career: 7,048 season high: 591 in 1960 

Hits career: 2,110 season high: 184 in 1960 led AL: 184 in 1960 

Doubles career: 365 season high: 36 in 1957 led AL: 36 in 1957 

Triples career: 95 season high: 18 in 1954 led NN2: 6 in 1948 led AL: 14 in 1951, 18 in 1954, 11 in 1956 

Home Runs career: 195 season high: 24 in 1958 

Runs career: 1,225 season high: 119 in 1954 

Runs Batted In career: 1,093 season high: 116 in 1954 

Stolen Bases career: 216 season high: 31 in 1951 led AL: 31 in 1951, 22 in 1952, 25 in 1953 

Walks career: 850 season high: 86 in 1956 

Strikeouts career: 584 season high: 63 in 1960 (Minoso’s strikeout data from his Negro League seasons are unavailable) 

Batting Average career: .299 season high: .356 in 1947 

On Base Percentage career: .387 season high: .425 in 1956 

Slugging Percentage career: .461 season high: .556 in 1948 led NN2: .556 in 1948 

Total Bases career: 3,250 season high: 304 in 1954 led AL: 304 in 1954 

Sacrifice Hits career: 70 season high: 14 in 1952 

Fielding Percentage career: .969 season high: .985 in 1959 led NN2 3B: .953 in 1947, .919 in 1948 

Double Plays career: 41 season high: 11 in 1951 led AL LF: 3 in 1953, 1954, and 1960, 2 in 1957 

Putouts career: 3,508 season high: 347 in 1954 led AL LF: 267 in 1955, 282 in 1956, 317 in 1959, 277 in 1960 

Assists career: 466 season high: 130 in 1951 led AL LF: 13 in 1954 and 1958, 18 in 1955, 10 in 1956, 14 in 1959 and 1960 

DID YOU KNOW? 

-nicknamed the “Cuban Comet” 

-was the first black player ever for the White Sox, and rewarded the club by homering in his first at bat with them 

-was the first black Cuban in the recognized MLB 

-finished fourth in the AL MVP Award voting in 1951, 1953, 1954, and 1960, eighth in 1957, 12th in 1959, 18th in 1958, and 27th in 1956 

-batted over .300 ten times and over .320 four times 

-led the AL a record ten times in hit by pitch, twice in sacrifice flies, and once each in stolen base percentage and times on base 

-led AL outfielders in games in 1957 (152) and 1960 (154) 

-batted .333 with four walks and four runs scored in the 1947 Negro League World Series defeat of the Cleveland Buckeyes 

-finished second in the 1951 AL batting race 

-hit six home runs each off of Early Wynn and Jim Bunning, five off of Bob Lemon, three each off of Bob Feller and Billy Pierce, and one each off of Hal Newhouser, Whitey Ford, Jim Kaat, Allie Reynolds, and Bobby Shantz 

-also played eight games at first base, six at shortstop, and 17 as a pinch runner 

-ranks tenth in career hit by pitch with 195 

-among MLB leftfielders, ranks 21st in career games, 30th in double plays, 21st in putouts, and 16th in assists