Minnie Miñoso

Minnie Miñoso
Miñoso in 1953
Left fielder
Born: (1923-11-29)November 29, 1923 Perico, Cuba
Died: March 1, 2015(2015-03-01) (aged 91) Chicago, Illinois
Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
April 19, 1949, for the Cleveland Indians
Last MLB appearance
October 5, 1980, for the Chicago White Sox
MLB statistics
Batting average	.298
Home runs	186
Runs batted in	1,023
Teams
Cleveland Indians (1949, 1951) Chicago White Sox (1951–1957) Cleveland Indians (1958–1959) Chicago White Sox (1960–1961) St. Louis Cardinals (1962) Washington Senators (1963) Chicago White Sox (1964, 1976, 1980)
Career highlights and awards
9× All-Star (1951–1954, 1957, 1959–1960²) 3× Gold Glove Award (1957, 1959, 1960) 3× AL stolen base leader (1951–1953) Chicago White Sox #9 retired
Member of the Mexican Baseball Hall of Fame
Baseball Hall of Fame
Inducted	1996

Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso (born Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arrieta, /mᵻˈnoʊsoʊ/; Spanish pronunciation: [miˈɲoso], November 29, 1923 – March 1, 2015), nicknamed "The Cuban Comet" and "Mr. White Sox", was a Cuban Negro league and Major League Baseball (MLB) player. He began his baseball career in 1946 and became an All-Star third baseman with the New York Cubans and was signed by the Cleveland Indians after the 1948 season as baseball's color line slowly fell. Miñoso went on to become an All-Star left fielder with the Indians and Chicago White Sox. The first Black Cuban in the major leagues and the first black player in White Sox history, as a 1951 rookie he was the one of the first Latin Americans to play in an MLB All-Star Game.

Miñoso was an American League (AL) All-Star for seven seasons and a Gold Glove winner for three seasons when he was in his 30s. He batted over .300 for eight seasons. He was the AL leader in triples and stolen bases three times each and in hits, doubles, and total bases once each. Willie Mays (179 steals) and Miñoso (167 steals) have been widely credited with leading the resurgence of speed as an offensive weapon in the 1950s. Miñoso was particularly adept at reaching base, leading the AL in times hit by pitch a record ten times, and holding the league mark for career times hit by pitch from 1959 to 1985. Miñoso, as a defensive standout, led the AL left fielders in assists six times and in putouts and double plays four times each.