Orestes minnie minoso biography

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In his native Cuba, Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso was more than steady a popular baseball player, high-mindedness first Latino superstar in rank majors.

He was also a ethnic icon, sharply dressed and driving get out Havana in his signature Cadillac.

His baseball exploits were even immortalized in a popular 1954 Land song, “Miñoso al bate” (Miñoso at bat), the lyrics advertisement how the ball “dances integrity cha-cha-chá” whenever he came comparable with the plate, whether with ethics Chicago White Sox or lecture in Cuba's winter league.

Miñoso died assume 2015 at age 92, on the contrary his significance in baseball sailed well beyond Cuba's shores confirm decades, impacting Latino players — both Black and white — in diverse countries.

In his 1998 autobiography, Puerto Rican-born Hall of Famer Metropolis Cepeda gave voice to Miñoso's impact, writing he “is take care of Latin ballplayers what Jackie Histrion is to Black ballplayers.

Monkey much as I loved Roberto Clemente and cherish his reminiscence, Minnie is the one who made it possible for cunning us Latins. Before Roberto Clemente, before Vic Power, before Metropolis Cepeda, there was Minnie Miñoso."

After three seasons with the Additional York Cubans of the Pitch-black National League, Miñoso broke into representation majors with Cleveland in 1949, two years after Robinson penniless baseball's color barrier.

Miñoso was traded to the White Sox in 1951, making nine All-Star Game appearances in that decade.

"When someone like Orlando Cepeda, who saw Josh Gibson, who aphorism Satchel Paige as Negro leaguers coming to Puerto Rico, during the time that he says that Minnie was our Jackie Robinson, this research paper not just hyperbole," said writer and University of Illinois chronicle professor Adrian Burgos, Jr., who was the founding editor-in-chief for La Vida Baseball. 

"This is put paid to an idea the significance that Latinos obtain especially Black Latinos place game park the success of Miñoso limit show everyone in the superior leagues and MLB what Latinos who had previously labored behave the Negro leagues were at all times capable of doing."

Miñoso was arrange the first Latino to terrain in the majors. Cuban-born Esteban "Steve" Bellán played for the Ilion Haymakers of the National Fold in 1871 — although interpretation National Association is not universally reputed as a "major league." And Colombian-born Luis "Lou" Castro played care the American League's Philadelphia Contest in 1902.

Before Robinson, only white market light-skinned Latinos could reach decency majors, the most successful kick off Cuban-born Adolfo Luque, who worked 20 seasons in the conference while compiling a 194-179 cloak-and-dagger with a 3.24 ERA.

Meet 1923, Luque led the NL with 27 wins (eight losses) lecturer a 1.93 ERA.

He was significance first Latino to appear advocate a World Series in 1919, tossing fin scoreless innings in two comfort appearances for the Cincinnati Reds against the Chicago "Black Sox." And he was the first Latino to win a Series affair, pitching 4 ⅓ innings in relief at litter 43 to win the Series-clinching Enterprise 5 in 1933 for say publicly New York Giants against interpretation Washington Senators.

"Adolfo Luque doesn’t strategy the same thing to simple Tony Oliva, to a Luis Tiant, to an Orlando Cepeda," Burgos said, "that generation pounce on Black Latinos because the lighter-skinned Latinos got a shot. The properly of the Black Latinos, they were playing in the Bad leagues and they were proving their greatness there."

In the Angry Leagues, one of Miñoso's teammates was Negro leagues legend Luis Tiant Sr., so Luis Jr.

knew Miñoso long before authority younger Tiant embarked on a 19-year major-league career that saw him win 229 games with out 3.30 ERA. 

"He would come cause with his Cadillac and they would talk over a beer," Tiant Jr. said of Miñoso's visits fasten the Tiant household in Marianao, Cuba. Tiant started his major-league growth in 1964, the year Miñoso retired — for the supreme time.

"He was the one who represented all of us soupзon the major leagues," Tiant Jr.

said. "For me, he was a hero and a beneficial friend."

Tiant even got to statistic against his good friend divulge the final season of righteousness Cuban League in 1960-61, Tiant's lonely professional season in Cuba conj at the time that he was named that league's rookie of the year added a 10-8 record and 2.72 ERA.

"He was my idol," Tiant articulated.

"Since I started playing, grace was the Cuban who non-natural the best in the league at that time. Then significant would come back to State and do the same live in winter ball. Every best he played in Cuba. ...

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He was systematic tremendous ballplayer. Compete ballplayer. Ran, hit, threw. To me, significant was the best that came out of my country."

Miñoso's everywhere in the majors certainly well-defined that. From 1951 to 1960, "The Cuban Comet" had a Hostilities (wins above replacement) of 50.2, comparable to Stan Musial (54.4), Richie Ashburn (51.4) and Count Snider (50.8) and higher go one better than Ted Williams (46.4) during those years.

Miñoso's Latino contemporaries in leadership 1950s raved about him, trade in Cuban-born Tony Oliva, who went on to win three Dweller League batting titles, found obfuscate after he made it explicate the Minnesota Twins in 1962.

"Everybody, like Camilo Pascual, Pedro Ramos, who knew him very be a triumph, Zoilo Versalles, Sandy Valdespino,would emotion me about Minnie Miñoso," spoken Oliva, who followed Miñoso's State League career on the air as a child growing suggestion in the countryside of Pinar del Rio, Cuba.

Like Miñoso, Hall of Famer Tony Pérez was born current raised in a Cuban mitigate mill town, Miñoso in El Perico and Pérez in El Central Violeta in Camagüey.

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Promote like Oliva, Pérez followed Miñoso's activity by listening to Cuban League games removal the radio.

"I admired him," thought Pérez, who first met Miñoso when he practiced as spiffy tidy up reserve player on Marianao, Miñoso's bat in the Cuban League redundant 14 winters. "I’ve always aforesaid in Cuba almost all say publicly youth like us who were coming up in baseball, amazement wanted to be like him."

It wasn't just fellow Cuban players who admired Miñoso.

Burgos points elect the bond that developed amidst Miñoso and Venezuelan-born Hall clutch Famer and White Sox collaborator Luis Aparicio. And Jim Muralist, a New York-born Puerto Rican player, talked about Miñoso being nifty role model.

"These guys actually axiom how the other players able Minnie when they were scream welcoming Black players to baseball," Burgos said. "So, they have that kind of insight about what it means to be a-okay Black ballplayer and how Minnie carried himself."

And Miñoso continued to background a role model into decency 21st century, maintaining his handcuffs to the White Sox translation the pipeline of Cuban faculty continued to flow into Chicago's South Side with the just out additions of Cuban players, much as Alexei Ramírez, José Abreu, Yoán Moncada and Luis Robert.

When Miñoso died on March 1, 2015, Abreu, the 2014 AL novice of the year and 2020 AL MVP, talked about Miñoso as orderly mentor.

"When I came to high-mindedness U.S.

and had the break to meet him it was a special moment because telephone call the background that my holy man told me about him," Abreu said at the time. "He was a great person, crystal-clear was outstanding with me captain it's an honor when you're able to be around well-organized person as good as him."

Burgos said all the Cuban working party on the White Sox show recent years appreciated Miñoso's form ranks in history.

"They knew this give something the onceover a giant," Burgos said.

"The best parallel I can get to that is Dominicanos critical of Felipe Alou. There’s a respect. 'We are in the 1 of our baseball royalty.'"

In ingenious 20-year major-league playing career prowl spanned five decades — he for the nonce came out of retirement extort 1976 (8 at-bats) and 1980 (2 at-bats) — Miñoso batted .299 unwavering 2,110 hits, 195 home runs, 1,093 RBI and 216 taken bases and had 13 All-Star Game appearances. 

In 15 years pool the Baseball Writers' Association longawaited America ballot, Miñoso never got superior than the 21.1% of character votes he received in 1988 and was dropped from character ballot after getting just 14.7% of the votes in 1999.

He also has been passed put the last touches to in veteran committee votes, most lately in 2014, when he everyday only eight votes (50%) getaway the 16-person Golden Era Cabinet, four votes shy of causing.

Oliva missed by one vote.

"That’s a lack of respect," aforesaid Tiant, who got "three or fewer" votes. "With everything that man sincere in baseball, not just support Blacks, not just for Latinos, for whites, everybody. ... Delay was a lack of respect."

Oliva and Pérez also believe Miñoso should titter in the Hall of Fame.

"Yes, he should be," Pérez blunt.

"He was one of excellence ones who opened the follow for Latino and Black out. He’s part of that grade and that should be untenanted into consideration."

At one point, Miñoso was among dozens of Negro cohort players and executives whose Entry-way of Fame credentials were work out considered by a committee forfeited 12 Black baseball scholars enjoin historians, including Burgos, who was tasked with making the set of circumstances for Miñoso.

Despite Burgos' lobbying, Miñoso was not among decency 17 elected to Cooperstown demonstrate 2006.

The committee concluded that character special election was not primacy proper venue to determine Miñoso's credentials because he only pompous three seasons in the Jet leagues. 

"I understood the vote," put into words Burgos, who believes Miñoso merits induction not just because detailed his play on the globe — that his role owing to a pioneer should be working engaged into consideration as well.

"I hope for that with MLB now watching that Negro league (baseball) was what we always knew it was — it was major confederacy — that people would embark upon a second glance at what Minnie had accomplished, and howl just think about the data.

Think about the entirety type that historical era, of what men like Miñoso, Robinson, Larry Doby, Monte Irving and Oliva and Tiant all went defeat to achieve their success featureless major league baseball and fully, the social factors should situation because it was what they had to combat to acceptably on the field, to get to on the field."

Cesar Brioso court case author of "Havana Hardball" squeeze "Last Seasons in Havana."

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