Pioneer. All-Star. Gold Glover.
And, in any case this time, inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Minnie Miñoso’s journey from Cuba to Cooperstown, N.Y., turns into official Sunday when the Chicago White Sox legend joins the Hall of Fame.
The on-field statistics are plentiful for Miñoso, who died in March 2015 at 90, however are solely a fraction of the story.
“He was a Hall of Fame person off the field and in the community, especially at home,” his son Charlie Rice-Miñoso mentioned throughout a cellphone interview from Cooperstown, N.Y., on Friday afternoon. “He simply had the largest coronary heart. I do know it might have meant the world to him to be right here in Cooperstown himself and to be on that stage.
“He spoke a universal language off the field and one-on-one because he was such a genuine individual. He was a very passionate Cuban. It means so much that his contributions will always be remembered.”
Miñoso, nicknamed the “Cuban Comet,” spent elements of 12 seasons with the Sox and was the primary Black participant for the group in 1951. He shortly emerged as one of many sport’s first Afro-Latino stars.
Miñoso was a nine-time All-Star and received three Gold Glove Awards as an outfielder throughout 17 seasons with Cleveland, the White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington Senators. Before that, he made the All-Star roster in two of his three Negro Leagues seasons with the New York Cubans and was a part of a championship group in 1947.
Miñoso was one in all 4 gamers elected by the Golden Days Era committee on Dec. 5, becoming a member of Jim Kaat — who additionally hung out with the Sox — Gil Hodges and Tony Oliva.
Candidates wanted a minimum of 75% of the vote by the 16-member committees — or 12 votes — to achieve election. Miñoso acquired 14.
Buck O’Neil, who was the primary Black coach in American League or National League historical past with the Cubs, was elected by the Early Baseball Era committee together with Bud Fowler.
Boston Red Sox nice David Ortiz was elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America in January.
Minne’s spouse, Sharon Rice-Miñoso, will give his speech at Sunday’s ceremony. She has been allotted 10 minutes.
“I’m at 8:58,” she lately mentioned whereas assembly with reporters on the Guaranteed Rate Field press field earlier than a Sox sport, “however that doesn’t rely crying or the rest.
“He was so humble. At home, he would have been excited, overwhelmed, like ‘I don’t believe it.’ But he took everything so in stride. I think during the speech is where he would have got emotional. I picture him at times on the stage and saying, ‘He should be here. This should have been him.’ ”
The household additionally has Minnie’s oldest son, Orestes Arrieta Miñoso Jr., on their minds. He died of issues from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), aka Lou Gehrig’s illness, on March 15. The two have been teammates within the Seventies when Minnie was a player-manager within the Mexican National Baseball League.
Charlie Rice-Miñoso identified that amongst his father’s honors is a spot within the Mexican Professional Baseball Hall of Fame.
Minnie Miñoso’s profession stats embody a .299 common, 2,113 hits, 195 residence runs, 1,089 RBIs and 216 stolen bases in 1,948 video games. He was additionally a mentor to a number of gamers, together with former White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramírez, who was born in Pinar del Rio, Cuba.
“I’m very happy for him to get this honor,” Ramírez mentioned by an interpreter throughout a July 15 video convention name. “I’d have most popular this may have occurred when he was alive. It would have been method higher. But it didn’t occur. I do know that proper now, he’s in all probability pleased simply seeing this.
“Ever since I met him in 2007, my first year when I came to the U.S., I met him and (pitcher José) Contreras, we started talking about his time in Cuba and when he moved here all the things he did. Every day he gave me advice about everything. It was every day. And it was something I’m glad, very proud of, to just receive advice from him.”
Sox supervisor Tony La Russa, who was within the dugout throughout Miñoso’s temporary return in 1980, mentioned: “I never (saw) him have a bad day.”
Sharon Rice-Miñoso referenced “Minnie-isms.”
“He had a lot of nice things to say, like “Thank you, my friend,’ and ‘from the bottom of my heart,’ ” she mentioned. “Minnie said those all the time in his speech. So when I say those, I can hear him and his tone, which his nice. It makes me feel closer to him.”
Charlie Rice-Miñoso complimented his mother, saying she’s doing a “great job” main into the ceremony.
“I have all the confidence in her,” he mentioned. “But on the similar time it’s very bittersweet for us to be right here with out my dad and with out our brother. I’m excited that my sisters shall be right here and my nieces and nephews.
“It will be a lot of laughing, a lot of crying, a lot of moments of pause. How it’s been already. Even if dad were here, that’s exactly how it would have been like as well.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com