HALL OF FAME: Minnie Miñoso, 2022

MINNIE MIÑOSO “The Cuban Comet”

Born: November 29, 1923 in Perico, Cuba

Died: March 1, 2015 (age 91)

Position: Outfielder, third baseman

Bats: Right / Throws: Right

Hall of Fame induction: 2022

Teams: Cleveland Indians (1949, 1951, 1958, 1959), Chicago White Sox (1951-1957, 1960-1961, 1964, 1976, 1980), St. Louis Cardinals (1962), Washington Senators (1963)

MLB debut: 1949

Hall of Fame plaque:

Electrifying left-fielder from Cuba who blazed path for generations of Latino ballplayers to follow as the first dark-skinned Latin-American to play in the AL or NL. Led Negro National League’s New York Cubans to 1947 championship. Starred for Cleveland and Chicago (AL), distinguishing himself with daring base running and clutch hitting. Batted .299 with 1,963 hits, 216 stolen bases, and a .387 on-base percentage over 20 major league seasons. Three-time Gold Glove winner who returned to the field to extend his major league playing career into five different decades. Nine-time All-Star.

Career:

Batting average: .299

Home runs: 195

RBI: 1,089

Hits: 2,113

OPS: .848

Highlights:

Batted .300 in eight seasons

AL Hit by pitch leader 10 times

AL Top 10 in MVP votes five times

AL Stolen bases leader (3): 1951-1953

AL Triples leader (3): 1951, 1954, 1956

Gold Gloves (3): 1957, 1959, 1960

AL All-Star 9 times

 

Photo: Bowman Gum, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons LatinoBaseball.com illustration