These superstar athletes spoke of the racism and cruelties they endured while becoming the greatest ballplayers in the entire world.
They spoke proudly of their Cuban, Dominican and Michigan #USA roots as well as the perseverance and fight it took that led them to baseball immortality.
Baseball has been berry, berry bad to Orestes "Minnie" Miñoso, nicknamed "The Cuban Comet" May God forgive folks at Cooperstown.
Considered by historians, statisticians, and old-time fans to be among the best baseball players not enshrined in the Hall of Fame, Miñoso, awaited the voting results of the Committee on African-American Baseball, a special panel that would open the gates of Cooperstown to overlooked and underappreciated stars of black baseball. However, when the names of the enshrinees were announced, Miñoso was not among them. He died without the recognition he earned and deserved.
Minnie was a Cuban professional baseball player. He began his baseball career in the Negro leagues in 1946 and became an All-Star third baseman with the New York Cubans.. Minnie played for four decades with The Cleveland Indians and later with the Chicago White Sox. He was a Leftfielder and Third Baseman. Bats: Right • Throws: Right. 5-10, 175lb (178cm, 79kg). Born: November 29, 1923, in Perico, Cuba died on March first, 2015 in Chicago.
Miñoso's long journey to Cooperstown
https://www.mlb.com/news/minnie-minoso-inducted-into-mlb-hall-of-fame
Minnie Miñoso is "our Jackie Robinson" https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/white-sox/ozzie-guillen-minnie-minoso…
Miñoso's wife adds a personal touch to the Hall of Fame experience https://www.mlb.com/news/minnie-minoso-s-wife-sharon-adds-to-hall-of-fa…
Hall of Famer Minnie Minoso pinch-hits in his final MLB at-bat https://youtu.be/XXjwteIIwEE
He was the first black player in Major League Baseball, but since he was Cuban, he was not accepted as the first American to break the color barrier. While I was teaching at Tri-State University, I reached out to him through the White Sox office and got him to autograph a baseball for me. When I returned home, I reached out to Cooperstown and gave them a piece of my mind.
Later, in a vote of the Golden Days Committee held on December 5, 2021, Minnie Minoso received 14 of a possible 16 votes or two more than the minimum 12 required for enshrinement, and finally concluded his journey to Cooperstown.
Meanwhile, After 14 years of planning, the Jackie Robinson Museum opens in New York. Full story: http://apne.ws/ga3IqxA