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| FILE - In a Aug. 24, 2013 file photo, former Negro Leaguer and Chicago White Sox player Minnie Minoso stands during the national anthem before a baseball game between the Chicago White Sox and the Texas Rangers, in Chicago. Major league baseball's first black player in Chicago, Minnie Minoso, has died. The Cook County medical examiner confirmed his death Sunday, March 1, 2015. There is some question about his age but the White Sox say he was 92. |
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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