Saturnino Orestes Armas (Arrieta) Minoso was signed by the Cleveland Indians in 1948. After only 11 games in class A ball in 1948, Minoso jumped to triple-A to start the 1949 season. After 2 full seasons with the Indians' AAA team in San Diego, Minnie made the majors for keeps to open the 1951 season. His time in Cleveland was short though, as on April 30th he was traded to the White Sox in a 3-team deal that also included the Philadelphia Athletics.
Minoso became a star immediately, finishing 2nd in the Rookie of the Year balloting in 1951, and began a string of 11 straight years with over 600 plate appearances. He was a 7-time all-star, including his 1st 4 seasons in the league.
During his rookie season, he split his time evenly between 3rd base and the outfield. After that season he was primarily an outfielder, although he managed to appear in a few games at 3B each season. In 1952, he alternated between left field and center field, before settling in as the ChiSox' regular left fielder for the next five years.
After the 1957 season, Minoso was traded back to the Indians for pitcher Early Wynn and outfielder Al Smith. Minnie manned the left field spot for Cleveland in 1958 and 1959, before being traded to - THE WHITE SOX! This latest maneuver was a 7-player deal which included 1B Norm Cash and catcher Johnny Romano going to the Indians.
Minoso led the AL with 184 hits in 1960, and collected his last all-star appearance. After 2 seasons with the Sox, he was traded again, this time to the
In April 1963, the Senators purchased Minoso's contract. He spent 1 season in Washington, sharing the left field job with Chuck Hinton, before getting his release in October. The following April, he hooked on with the White Sox, appearing in 30 games before they released him in July.
Minoso played ball in various Mexican leagues from 1966-1969, before going on to a long career as a coach with the White Sox.
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3 comments:
Did you notice that he also played for the whitesox in 1976 and 1980 and played for st.paul (a independent team) in 1993 and 2003? In other words he played pro ball in 7 decades.
Yes, but those were fraudulent publicity gimmicks. Ted Williams, Jim Kaat, and others LEGITIMATELY played major-league baseball in 4 decades.
Minoso's later appearances were while he was a member of the coaching staff. I have no respect for him doing that, which attempts to put himself above the game, and claiming to be the record holder for most decades in the majors.
(I even have a problem with Tim McCarver (who retired after 1979) coming out of the Phillies' broadcast booth in late 1980, just to play a few games so he could be a 4-decade man. But at least his was the following year. Not years later. And TWICE!)
I agree wholeheartedly with Jim; a publicity stunt. Good ballplayer and I understand a good guy, but he cheapened his career legacy with this nonsense.
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