Chicago White Sox Great Minnie Minoso Has Died

posted March 1, 2015; 9 a.m.

Minnie Minoso, one of the Chicago White Sox’s greatest and a seven-time All Star, died Sunday morning. Minoso, born in Cuba, was the White Sox’s first black ballplayer. Not only that, Orestes “Minnie” Minoso was Major League Baseball’s first black Latin star.

Minoso, who lived on the North Side of Chicago, died at 1:09 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner. His family believes he died of a heart condition. An autopsy showed that he died of a rupture in his pulmonary artery caused by “chronic pulmonary disease.”

He was found in the driver’s seat of a car parked near a gas station in the 2800 block of North Ashland, according to Chicago Police. He was driving home from a friend’s birthday party in Lake View, reports the Chicago Tribune.

The Chicago White Sox issued a statement Sunday morning: “Mr. White Sox has died.”

“Our organization and our city have suffered a heart-breaking loss today,” said Jerry Reinsdorf, chairman of the White Sox. “We have lost our dear friend and a great man. Many tears are falling.”

He was 90 years old. Maybe. Minoso’s year of birth is listed as 1922 and 1925 in baseball publications. No one knows for sure.

The Sox retired his jersey number, 9, in 1983.

According to ESPN.com:

A star third baseman for the New York Cubans of the Negro Leagues from 1946-48 before signing with the Cleveland Indians organization in 1948, Minoso got his big break after a trade to the White Sox in 1951. Minoso, who played outfield for most of his career, led the American League in triples and steals three times each, and in hit-by-pitch frequency 10 times. He retired from the major leagues in 1964, but continued playing and managing for another decade in Mexico — and then returned to the White Sox as a coach in 1976, making brief pinch-hit and DH appearances that year and again in 1980 at the age of 55.

He played baseball in the Major League for 17 years. He was the ninth black ballplayer signed into Major League Baseball. He made his debut in Chicago on May 1, 1951. Despite his accomplishments, Minoso was not admitted to the Hall of Fame last year.

He was an aggressive ballplayer. Consider this anecdote from Minoso.com:

Former White Sox great Minnie Minoso was once struck by a pitch and homered in the same at bat, a strange feat considering you’re supposed to take first base after being hit. He told reporters the story to illustrate his aggressive hitting style. In a minor league game, Minoso turned into a pitch that struck him. The umpire refused to give him the base. Minoso hung in and homered later in the same at bat. After he rounded the bases, the umpire asked if he was happy with the way things turned out. “Give me my first base the first time,” Minoso told the ump.

For much of his life, Minoso was one of the White Sox’s goodwill ambassadors. “I’m proud of everything,” Minoso said of his career. “I’m proud to be a baseball player.”

ESPN, noting the impact Minoso had on attendance at White Sox games, asked him recently about his impact with the fans.

“The most important thing in my life? The fans. To have a smile, and pay them back with a smile. Sometimes, they might say something bad, and you don’t like it? Will you let that get you? No, just smile. That’s what I used to do when I was playing. I never thought I was going to do so many things, do so much for the team. I just wanted to play the game and do the best I can, for the fans, for my family, and for the country that I came from, to open the door for somebody else.”

Barack Obama, a White Sox fan and president of the United States, had this to say on the passing of the Sox legend: “For South Siders and Sox fans all across the country, including me, Minnie Minoso is and will always be ‘Mr. White Sox.’ ... Minnie may have been passed over by the Baseball Hall of Fame during his lifetime, but for me and for generations of black and Latino young people, Minnie’s quintessentially American story embodies far more than a plaque ever could.”

Minoso truly loved baseball, and he had this to say last year as the White Sox campaigned in a 2014 Golden Era ballot to get him into the Hall of Fame during his lifetime.

“They don’t bury me without my uniform.”

YOUR TURN: Share your Minnie Minoso memories with Patch readers in the comments.