Whether you’re a fan of sports or not, you’ve probably heard of Jackie Robinson. The first African-American to ever play in the MLB, he broke barriers and paved the way for thousands of black athletes, doing it all under the shadow of vile racism and awful treatment from opposing players. Maybe you’ve heard of Roberto Clemente, the first Latin American ballplayer to ever get elected to the Hall of Fame, widely recognized for his humanitarian efforts. Well it’s time you learned about Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arrieta, also known as Minnie Miñoso.
Miñoso was born in Havana and after several years in the Negro Leagues began his major league career in 1949, two years after Robinson broke the color barrier. While Robinson deservedly earns a lot of praise and fond remembrance to this day (his jersey number 42 has been permanently retired by Major League Baseball), there is no fanfare for Miñoso despite being a pioneer for Latin-American athletes. As a dark-skinned Cuban, not only did he go up against an institution that was reluctantly breaking its color barrier but he also faced the daunting task of integrating himself in an all-white clubhouse without speaking a word of English. Fortunately for Miñoso, he was pretty good at baseball. In his first full season in 1951 with the Chicago White Sox he finished fourth in MVP voting and second in Rookie of the Year voting while leading the American League in triples and stolen bases. He immediately won the affection of many of the then predominantly white Southsiders. His pro career spanned three decades, even though he started out at the age of twenty-eight.
As a player he was known for being fearless. He’s 9th all-time in getting hit by a pitch, mostly because he loved to crowd the plate and understood the value of getting on base but there’s no denying he was beaned because of skin color. In Miñoso’s 11 seasons as a full-time player (1951-1961), he was one of the top five players in the American League, ranking ahead or close to many all-time greats. He ranked fifth in batting average (.305), fourth in on-base percentage (.395), second in hits (1861), second in runs (1,078), second in total bases (2,879), second in extra-base hits (579), second in steals (193) and second in triples (81). Even the advanced stats agree with Minoso’s greatness. In that same ten year span, he’s second only to Mickey Mantle in WAR outpacing Yogi Berra, Ted Williams, Al Kaline and Nellie Fox, all of whom are Hall of Famers. Bill James, the godfather of sabermetrics ranked Minoso the 91st greatest player of all-time and the 10th best left fielder. Despite being held back from the majors due to the color barrier during his athletic peak, he was still able to keep up and outperform the game’s best.
Yet despite all these accomplishments in the face of discrimination, Miñoso is not a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Recently, the Veteran’s Committee decided yet again to not elect Miñoso. While his overall numbers may rate out as very good as opposed to legendary, he performed in an era where the general public and players did not believe black and Latino ballplayers deserved to be on the same field as whites, much less a black Cuban. As the first black Latino star in baseball, he paved the way for future greats such as Roberto Clemente. In an era where almost 30% of MLB lineups are comprised of Latino players he still does not get the special recognition he deserves. Hall of Famer Orlando Cepeda said it best in his biography:
“Believe me when I say that Minnie Miñoso is to Latin ballplayers what Jackie Robinson is to black ballplayers. As much as I loved Roberto Clemente and cherish his memory, Minnie is the one who made it possible for all of us Latins. Before Roberto Clemente, before Vic Power, before Orlando Cepeda, there was Minnie Miñoso. Younger players should know this and offer their thanks. He was the first Latin player to become a superstar.”
