Minnie Miñoso's Cooperstown Moment Arrives, But What Took So Long

CHICAGO — Minnie Miñoso’s Hall of Fame moment finally arrived on Sunday, much later than it should have. But that hardly matters now that Minnie Miñoso has his rightful place in Cooperstown. Finally.

The former White Sox star and a trailblazer — often referred to as the Hispanic Jackie Robinson — was elected into to the National Baseball Hall of Fame Sunday as part of the Golden Days Era ballot, which also included former Sox slugger Dick Allen. The Cuban Comet is among the first to officially named to the Hall’s Class of 2022 and will be included in the company that he so richly deserves to be part of.

But the question remains, what took so long?

Miñoso should have been voted in long ago, not just because his statistics were good enough to grant him admission into the Hall, but because of the legacy he left behind for Latino players in the same way Robinson did for African American ballplayers. The fact that it took so long for Sunday’s accomplishment to take place at a time when many Hall of Fame voters are checking the box for Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and others who cheated the game rather than to make it better for it as Miñoso did shouldn’t necessarily come as a surprise But it’s sad just the same.

The fact Miñoso finally gained entry into the Hall should serve as a reminder that character matters and that contributions to a game that currently finds itself in a lockout because owners and players can’t come to an agreement about how to make the rich richer should actually matter in the ways that voters value other statistical achievement — whether it was earned or not.

On Sunday, MLB Network analyst Bob Costas said that many of those who were on the ballot Sunday, including Negro Baseball Legend Buck O'Neil and Allen held more historical significance than some players already enshrined in Cooperstown. O'Neil also earned his Cooperstown ticket while Allen fell one vote shy of reaching the required 75 percent threshold.

Miñoso's certainly falls into the category of historical significance as do his fellow induces including O'Neil, Jim Kaat, Tony Oliva and Gil Hodges. Of those of the Golden Days Era ballot, Miñoso received the highest number of votes from the 16-member committee with 14.

The fact that Minnie Miñoso’s Cooperstown moment came six years after his death is a sad realization that the contributions of players who did so much off the field got overlooked while the arguments of whether players like Bonds, Clemens, Mark McGuire and Sammy Sosa should be included with asterisks next to their names and numbers waged on.

But after so many years, the fact Miñoso’s family can celebrate that his contributions not only mattered but finally were recognized by those who have the authority to open Cooperstown’s doors is a special moment — regardless of how long it took. For Miñoso, what he meant to the game on and off the field has stood the test of time.

“My dad lived the American Dream. He was able to open doors and break barriers all while doing what he loved, fulfilling his life-long dream of being a major league baseball player,"Minnie's son, Charlie Rice-Miñoso said Sunday in a statement released by the Sox. "He devoted his life to baseball, to all the fans, to the community and to Chicago, which he loved. He was so proud to be Black, to be a Cuban, to be an American and to be a professional baseball player for the Chicago White Sox. He also would have been so very proud to be a Hall of Famer.”

The nine-time all-star had a career .299 career batting average and became the first Black Latin player of any consequence to ever play in the Major Leagues, preceding Roberto Clementé. While the obstacles that Miñoso faced may not have been as publicized as the hatred Robinson faced, the challenges were there just the same. He led the league in being hit by pitches nine times during his career, which Miñoso once told the New York World-Telegram happened because others who weren’t in his corner “try to make me feel afraid.”

Undeterred, Miñoso carved his own path, but knew that the way he went about his baseball business was more about the future of the game than it was about anything he had to endure at the time.

“He wanted to chase the American dream, and he laid down that foundation to so many others, because they knew they would have the opportunity to play this game,” Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Baseball Hall of Fame told reporters last month.

While his career started in the Negro Leagues and then with the Cleveland Indians, it was in Chicago where Miñoso made his biggest mark as a ballplayer. His energy and enthusiasm for the way he played the game was contagious and, according to many, put the “Go” in “Go, Go White Sox” in the 195os, inspiring the style of his team's play. But the fact he was beloved in Chicago by fans and by players alike who bore witness to what Miñoso did on and off the field speaks to everything that makes him a true Hall of Famer.

Now, so many years later, Miñoso is finally officially where he belongs. The alone is a testament to not only how he played the game, but to the impact he made on a game he loved so much. But while the fact that he finally has found his way to Cooperstown deserves celebrating, perhaps so too does the notion of wondering why it took as long as it did.