Mr. White Sox Joins the Hall of Fame

Orestes “Minnie” Minoso, a.k.a. “Mr. White Sox,” has finally been elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Needless to say, the honor was long overdue. 

     Born in Havana, Cuba, Minoso was the first significant Latin American star in major league history. He finished second in voting for the American League Rookie of the Year in 1951. He finished fourth in voting for Most Valuable Player in 1951, 1953, 1954, and 1960. He won three Gold Gloves and was a nine-time All-Star.

     

MINNIE MINOSO

When Minoso made his debut with the Sox on May 1, 1951, he became the first Black player to appear in a major-league game for either Chicago team (almost three full seasons before Ernie Banks and Gene Baker joined the Cubs).

In his first seven seasons, Minoso hit over .300 five times, knocked in 100 or more runs three times, and led the league in stolen bases three times. His aggressive style ignited the Go-Go White Sox, and he became the most popular player on the South Side. But then he was traded to Cleveland, and he missed the pennant year of 1959.

Minoso returned to the White Sox in 1960. A record opening-day crowd of 41,661 at Comiskey Park gave him a hero’s welcome, and he gave them their money’s worth. He went 2-f0r-4 and drove in six runs on a grand slam, a sacrifice fly, and a walk-off home run leading off the bottom of the ninth. He also threw out two Kansas City baserunners at home plate. The Sox prevailed 10-9.

“I’m comfortable here,” he said after the game. “I was here before and I feel like this is my home.” 

When it was all said and done, Minoso had played on the South Side from 1951 through 1958, 1960 through 1961, and in 1964 (he also played briefly in 1976 and 1980, thanks to owner Bill Veeck’s fondness for publicity stunts). 

Minnie’s number 9 was retired in 1983, a statue of him was erected in 2004, and he remained a constant presence at White Sox home games through 2014. He passed away during spring training in 2015.

 

  

Check out our book Heydays: Great Stories in Chicago Sports on Amazon.  

 

Minnie Minoso

On May 1, 1951, Orestes “Minnie” Minoso made his debut with the White Sox, thus becoming the first black player to appear in a major-league game for a Chicago team (almost three full seasons before Ernie Banks and Gene Baker joined the Cubs). 

 

 

MINNIE MINOSO

 

“I’m the first guy to bat,” Minoso recalled years later. “First pitch comes right over the plate and I hit a home run to center field. The people who wanted to boo me didn’t get a chance. But later they got a chance. The bases were loaded and I was playing third base. A hit bounced off the bag and hit my ankle, then went through my legs. I was charged with an error, and two runs scored. My first game on the White Sox I was at the top and then sunk to the bottom. Same day, good and bad.”

As time went on, there was a lot more good than bad. In his first seven years, Minoso hit over .300 five times, knocked in 100 or more runs three times, and led the league in stolen bases three times. His aggressive style ignited the Go-Go White Sox, and he became the most popular player on the South Side. But then he was traded to Cleveland, and he missed the pennant year of 1959.

Minoso returned to the White Sox in 1960. A record opening-day crowd of 41,661 at Comiskey Park gave him a hero’s welcome, and he gave them their money’s worth. A more eventful day would have been difficult to imagine.

In the first inning, Minoso beat out a bunt for an apparent base hit but was called out for running outside the baseline. A lengthy rhubarb ensued.

In the second, he hit a screaming liner and was robbed on a circus catch by Kansas City center fielder Bill Tuttle; he was credited with a sacrifice fly when Luis Aparicio scored on the play.

In the fourth, Minoso hit a grand slam. In the fifth, playing left field, he narrowly missed colliding with Aparicio as both men chased a pop fly; he dropped the ball for an error.

In the seventh, he raced into the left-center field gap to spear a line drive that would have scored two runs.

In the top of the ninth, with the score tied 9-9, he threw out the go-ahead runner at the plate. In the bottom of the ninth, he belted another home run to win the game. 

Minnie was back, as his two home runs, six runs batted in, two sensational defensive plays, and countless ovations from the crowd amply demonstrated. “I’m comfortable here,” he said after the game. “I was here before and I feel like this is my home.” 

 

Born in Havana, Cuba, Minoso was the first significant Latin American star in major league history. He finished second in voting for the American League Rookie of the Year in 1951. He finished fourth in voting for Most Valuable Player in 1951, 1953, 1954, and 1960. He won three Gold Gloves and was a nine-time All-Star.

Minoso played for the White Sox from 1951 through 1958 and 1960 through 1961 before seemingly ending his career back with the South Siders in 1964. But Bill Veeck, ever on the lookout for marketing stunts, put Minoso on the active roster in his second go-round as Sox owner from 1976 to 1980. Minoso got one hit in eight at-bats in 1976 at the admitted age of 50 (many people suspected that he was older), and he went o-for-2 in 1980.

Minnie remained a constant presence at White Sox home games through the 2014 season. He passed away during spring training in 2015.

 

  

Check out our book Heydays: Great Stories in Chicago Sports on Amazon.  

 

Go-Go Sox

On the morning of Sunday, July 26, 1959, the White Sox were in first place in the American League, half a game ahead of Cleveland. That day, the Sox split a doubleheader with Baltimore, and Cleveland took two from Washington to reclaim first place by a half game. There were no games Monday, so the Indians spent the off day atop the standings.   

A throng of 43,829 packed Comiskey Park on Tuesday night for the opener of a three-game series with the hated Yankees. Al Smith’s two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth gave the Sox a seemingly safe 4-1 edge heading into the ninth. But New York battled back, scoring twice and putting the tying run on base before veteran lefty Billy Pierce fanned Bobby Richardson to end the threat and the game. It was a gutsy effort by Pierce, who allowed 10 hits but walked none and struck out eight. He received a lengthy ovation after the final out. The Sox were back in first place.

Rain terminated the next day’s game with the Sox and New York tied 4-4. The day after that, Chicago’s popgun offense produced three decidedly unimpressive runs. The first came on a single, stolen base, safe bunt, and infield out; the second on a misjudged fly ball which fell for a double, followed by a single; and the third on a two-base error, an infield out, another error, and an infield single. It was enough, as Early Wynn limited the Yankees to six hits and one unearned run for a 3-1 decision.

It was Yankee manager Casey Stengel’s 69th birthday, and not a very happy one for the “Old Perfessor.” White Sox fans mockingly sang “Happy Birthday to You” as Stengel and his charges trudged slowly to the clubhouse entrance. The Yankees left town with a malodorous record of 48-51; they were 10½ games behind the Sox, who led the Indians by one game.

The Yankees were done. By August, there was no question that the pennant would be won by either Chicago or Cleveland—two teams that could hardly have been more different. Cleveland’s attack featured sluggers Rocky Colavito, Tito Francona, Woodie Held, and Minnie Minoso (the former Sox star and fan favorite who’d been traded for Wynn and Al Smith prior to the 1958 season). Cleveland would lead the league in home runs and finish last in stolen bases, Chicago would finish last in home runs and first in stolen bases. If the Indians were a steamroller, the White Sox were a motor scooter. “A typical White Sox rally,” owner Bill Veeck, Jr., wrote, “consisted of two bloopers, an error, a passed ball, a couple of bases on balls, and, as a final crusher, a hit batsman.”  

Throughout August, fans looked forward to the White Sox’ four-game showdown with the Indians on the last weekend of the month. Neither team let up in the weeks preceding the fateful series; the Indians went 17-9, while the Sox went 18-9.

The Sox brought a one-and-a-half-game lead into Cleveland’s colossal Municipal Stadium on the muggy evening of August 28. They were greeted by a hostile crowd of 70,398 and a virtual quagmire in the infield. Several days before, Cleveland groundskeeper Emil Bossard had begun watering the basepaths more than usual; when he was through, he had made them as soft and spongy as possible. The slow track made no difference to the plodding Indians, of course, but it was supposed to hinder the Go-Go Sox. “Chicago won’t steal any bases against us this weekend,” Bossard chortled.

Bossard’s handiwork had little effect on Friday night’s game, in which Sherm Lollar, a tower of strength all season, cracked a three-run homer in the seventh inning to snap a 3-3 tie and provide the unheralded righthander Bob Shaw his 14th victory against just four defeats. Jim Landis collected three hits, Nellie Fox and Ted Kluszewski two each.

Dick Donovan was called to emergency duty when projected starter Ken McBride came down with tonsillitis on Saturday. Donovan responded by tossing a five-hit shutout as the Sox won 2-0. Employing a variety of slow curves, sliders, and change-ups, he kept the Indians off balance all day.

      Sox skipper Al Lopez remained cautious. “We’re still going to keep playing like hell,” he said. “Nothing has been easy for us this year. We’ve won the hard way and we’ll have to keep doing it that way.” On Sunday, 66,586 Cleveland fans turned out (pushing the total for the series to almost 190,000) to see if the Indians could arrest the White Sox’ momentum. Most had long since departed by the end of the doubleheader, in which the Sox captured both games to complete a stunning sweep of the series. In the first game, Chicago trailed 2-0 in the sixth when Wynn’s home run triggered a five-run rally that paved the way to a 6-3 win. In the second game, Smith and Billy Goodman combined for five hits and five runs batted in. The game was effectively over when Turk Lown entered the fray in the sixth. He shut out the Indians for the final four innings, and the Sox triumphed 9-4.

The Indians had come into the series riding an eight-game winning streak. After leading for exactly one half inning of the 36 played, they left as a thoroughly beaten ballclub. For the White Sox, the series had been almost too good to be believed. Their record now stood at 80-49. Their advantage in the standings was five and a half games. When the Sox touched down at Midway Airport that night, they were met by a welcoming committee of thousands.

The raucous reception of August 30 was a dress rehearsal for the celebration that now seemed inevitable—and was. It was both ironic and fitting that the coup de grace was delivered in Cleveland. On September 22, Smith and Jim Rivera smashed back-to-back homers in the sixth inning, putting the Sox ahead 4-1. Wynn was touched for a run in the bottom of the sixth. Bob Shaw relieved him and carried the 4-2 margin into the ninth, when the Indians loaded the bases with one out.

Gerry Staley came on to replace Shaw. The tying and winning runs were aboard, and Vic Power was at bat for the Indians. Staley’s first offering was a sinker, low and a tad outside. Power swung and pounded a grounder up the middle. Shortstop Luis Aparicio flashed to his left, speared the ball in his glove, started to flip it to Fox covering second but changed his mind, then glided across the bag himself and fired to Kluszewski to complete the double play.

Staley’s one pitch had saved the game and wrapped up the pennant. “This was the perfect example of the way we’ve played all year,” said Veeck, “and a typical way to end it.” The clincher was Wynn’s 21st victory of the season; he wound up with a log of 22-10 and received the Cy Young Award as the finest pitcher in the major leagues (in those days, there was one award covering both leagues). The Sox’ five-game margin over the Indians was neatly accounted for by Wynn’s 6-1 mark against his former teammates.

White Sox Honor Roll

LUKE APPLING

White Sox retired numbers:
  2 - Nellie Fox
  3 - Harold Baines
  4 - Luke Applling
  9 - Minnie Minoso
11 - Luis Aparicio
16 - Ted Lyons
19 - Billy Pierce
72 - Carlton Fisk

World championship managers:
1906 - Fielder Jones
1917 - Pants Rowland
2005 - Ozzie Guillen

American League Most Valuable Player:
1959 - Nellie Fox
1972 - Dick Allen
1993 - Frank Thomas
1994 - Frank Thomas

World Series Most Valuable Player:
2005 - Jermaine Dye

American League Cy Young Award:
1959 - Early Wynn
1983 - LaMarr Hoyt
1993 - Jack McDowell

American League Rookie of the Year:
1956 - Luis Aparicio
1963 - Gary Peters
1966 - Tommie Agee
1983 - Ron Kittle
1985 - Ozzie Guillen

Batting champions:
1936 - Luke Appling
1943 - Luke Appling
1997 - Frank Thomas

Home Run leaders:
1971 - Bill Melton
1972 - Dick Allen
1974 - Dick Allen

Runs Batted In leaders:
1972 - Dick Allen

Leaders in victories:
1907 - Doc White
1908 - Ed Walsh
1917 - Eddie Cicotte
1919 - Eddie Cicotte
1925 - Ted Lyons
1927 - Ted Lyons
1957 - Billy Pierce
1959 - Early Wynn
1964 - Gary Peters
1972 - Wilbur Wood
1973 - Wilbur Wood
1982 - LaMarr Hoyt
1983 - LaMarr Hoyt
1993 - Jack McDowell

Leaders in earned-run average:
1906 - Doc White
1907 - Ed Walsh
1910 - Ed Walsh
1917 - Eddie Cicotte
1921 - Red Faber
1922 - Red Faber
1941 - Thornton Lee
1942 - Ted Lyons
1947 - Joe Haynes
1955 - Billy Pierce
1960 - Frank Baumann
1963 - Gary Peters
1966 - Gary Peters
1967 - Joel Horlen

Leaders in strikeouts:
1908 - Ed Walsh
1909 - Frank Smith
1911 - Ed Walsh
1953 - Billy Pierce
2003 - Esteban Loaiza

Manager of the Year:
1983 - Tony LaRussa
1990 - Jeff Torborg
1993 - Gene Lamont
2000 - Jerry Manuel
2005 - Ozzie Guillen

Bill James's Greatest Chicago Players

EDDIE COLLINS

     Bill James and his fellow sabermetricians--so named after the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), through which they operate--seek to go beyond the traditional figures that have populated the sports pages for more than a century (batting average, home runs, runs batted in, wins, strikeouts, and earned-run average), in order to measure every aspect of a player's performance and value.
     Their work leads inevitably to the ranking of players, which is always interesting, often controversial, and sometimes changes considerably over time (for example, Ernie Banks was ranked 40th in an early version of James's list of the greatest players of all time, but has since slipped to 77th). The rankings have made James's books best sellers and are surefire conversation starters.
     The best Chicago player of all time, according to James, was Eddie Collins. "Collins is described by various sources," James wrote, "as the best bunter in the history of baseball, the best hit-and-run man in the history of baseball, the best defensive second baseman in the history of baseball, the best sign-stealer who ever lived, and the greatest World Series star who ever lived. Kid Gleason, who managed Collins on the White Sox, said that Collins was the greatest team player who ever lived. Connie Mack [who managed Collins with the Athletics] said that Collins was the greatest team player who ever lived."
     Below is a list of all the Chicago players in James's most recent top 100. (Note that some of them played only briefly in Chicago, and therefore earned their ranking elsewhere.) Notable by his absence from this list is Sammy Sosa, whose steroid-tainted career remains difficult to evaluate at present.

18. Eddie Collins, White Sox 1915-1926

20. Grover Alexander, Cubs 1918-1926

22. Rogers Hornsby, Cubs 1929-1932

29. Jimmie Foxx, Cubs 1942, 1944

38. Tom Seaver, White Sox 1984-1986

58. Ryne Sandberg, Cubs 1982-1994, 1996-1997

66. Joe Jackson, White Sox 1916-1920

71. Al Simmons, White Sox 1933-1935

73. Ken Griffey Jr., White Sox 2008

75. Frank Thomas, White Sox 1990-2005

77. Ernie Banks, Cubs 1953-1971

78. Steve Carlton, White Sox 1986

80. Roberto Alomar, White Sox 2003-2004

81. Tim Raines, White Sox 1991-1995

83. Mordecai Brown, Cubs 1904-1912, 1916

85. Minnie Minoso, White Sox 1951-1957, 1960-1961, 1964

87. Ron Santo, Cubs 1960-1973; White Sox 1974

92. Greg Maddux, Cubs 1986-1992, 2004-2006

96. Robin Roberts, Cubs 1966

97. Carlton Fisk, White Sox, 1981-1993

100. Billy Williams, Cubs 1959-1974

Homecoming

In honor of the White Sox' season opener today at U.S. Cellular Field, we revisit one of the club's most memorable openers from the past, which took place an even 50 years ago.

MINNIE MINOSO

     On April 19, 1960, one of the most beloved Chicago ballplayers of all time celebrated his homecoming at Comiskey Park. His name was Orestes "Minnie" Minoso, and he had rejoined the the White Sox after two years in exile with the Cleveland Indians.
     Minoso had made his White Sox debut nine years earlier, after being acquired from those same Indians. When he took the field on May 1, 1951, Minoso became the first black player to appear in a major-league game for a Chicago team. “I’m the first guy to bat,” Minoso recalled many years later. “First pitch comes right over the plate and I hit a home run to center field. The people who wanted to boo me didn’t get a chance. But later they got a chance. The bases were loaded and I was playing third base. A ball bounced off the bag and hit my ankle, then went through my legs. I was charged with an error, and two runs scored. My first game on the White Sox I was at the top and then sunk to the bottom. Same day, good and bad.”
     As time went on, there was a lot more good than bad. In his first seven years, Minoso hit over .300 five times, knocked in 100 or more runs three times, and led the league in stolen bases three times. Minoso's aggressive style ignited the Go-Go White Sox, and he became the most popular player on the South Side. But then he was traded to Cleveland, and he missed the pennant year of 1959.
     When Minoso returned to the White Sox in 1960, he received a hero's welcome from a then-record opening-day crowd of 41,661 at Comiskey Park. Also in attendance were the Kansas City Athletics; it was the first time in the Sox' 60-year history that they opened a season against a team other than the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, or St. Louis Browns (when travel by train was the norm, the Midwestern clubs opened against one another, and the East Coast clubs did likewise).
     Minoso gave the throng its money's worth. A more eventful day would have been difficult to imagine.
     In the first inning, Minoso beat out a bunt for an apparent base hit but was called out for running outside the baseline; a lengthy rhubarb ensued. In the second, he hit a screaming liner and was robbed on a circus catch by Kansas City center fielder Bill Tuttle; he was credited with a sacrifice fly when Luis Aparicio scored on the play. In the fourth, Minoso hit a grand slam. In the fifth, he narrowly missed colliding with Aparicio as both men chased a pop fly; he dropped the ball for an error. In the seventh, he raced into the gap to spear a line drive that would have scored two runs. In the top of the ninth, with the score tied 9-9, he threw out a runner at the plate.
     The game was still tied when Minoso stepped into the batter's box to lead off the bottom of the ninth. He blasted a long home run into the left-center field bleachers, giving the Sox a 10-9 win.
     Minnie was back, as his two home runs, six runs batted in, two sensational defensive plays, and countless ovations from the crowd amply demonstrated. “I’m comfortable here,” he said after the game. “I was here before and I feel like this is my home.”
     And so it has remained for half a century more.