H A L L   O F   F A M E   C A N D I D A T E S

Minnie Minoso
Left Field, Brooklyn Superbas, Detroit Griffins, Washington Monuments · 1951-1962

When one thinks of Minoso, the image is a Cuban who collected hits for fun.  He hit over .300 in nine consecutive seasons, seven of them above .325, and three higher than .350.  In his debut season, he had a 23-game hitting streak.  He was in the top three in batting five times and in on-base percentage four times.  A typical Minoso season featured a .330 avg, .400 OBP and .500 SLG, and for years he was an integral part of the Brooklyn outfield.

But Minoso was far from just a singles machine: rather, he was a proper offensive force in the heart of the Brooklyn lineup.  In 1957 he may have been the best offensive player in the league, hitting .353, with a .429 OBP, along with 47 doubles, 14 homers, 100 RBIs and 129 Runs scored, with a .949 OPS that was best in the league (teammate Granny Hamner deservedly won the MVP with a .946 OPS).  But that was nowhere near his career mark - in 1952 and 1955, he had OPS's above .980 (although in the former, he missed six weeks with a broken finger), the latter being in the top 25 all-time UL offensive seasons.  Of his nine consectuive .300+ seasons, he had an OPS over .900 five times and over .800 every time: by comparison, Gus Zernial had only two season over .900 OPS.  Minoso walked a lot (as many as 72 times in '51), and hit between 10 and 23 homers a season every year between 1951 and 1958.

Minnie played in four World Series (missing 1958 after his short stint at Detroit).  In the '57 Classic, Minnie played in all five games, going 6 for 22 with three doubles and two walks as the Superbas defeated St. Louis four games to one.  By 1959, Minnie was relegated to the role of pinch hitter, although he got in all seven games and hit 3-for-10, as the Superbas lost in seven to the Spiders.  In 1960, Brooklyn regained their crown, but Minoso got only 2 ABs, and was 1-2. In 1961, Minoso collected his third ring as Brooklyn again pipped Chicago.

Although it is tempting to remember Minoso as a Superba from start to finish, he did play for two other East Division teams.  In the monster trade-deadline deal with Detroit that brought Ralph Kiner to Brooklyn in 1958, Minoso headed over to the Griffins, although he only stayed in the Motor City for only two months, before rejoining Brooklyn as a free-agent the next spring.  In 19'62, Minoso played eight games for the Washington Monuments as a pinch-hitter.  But these sojourns were short-lived: it was with the Superbas that Minoso compiled his career numbers of .325/.390/.493.  Gaudy indeed, leaving Minoso with the highest career batting average of all retired players with at least ten years service time.

Yet there are question-marks over Minoso's candidacy.  In only five seasons did Minoso play in 140 games or more.  Over a 12-season career, Minoso amassed just 1359 games, and even though he finished with a .325 career average, he only collected 1538 hits. If there are question marks about whether Musial qualifies for the Hall of Fame, it should be noted that Minoso played in only 120 games more despite playing for three more seasons.  Minoso never won an MVP, for example, and made only one All-UL Team.  Yet he was an excellent hitter, and was excellent for long enough that he deserves consideration.  (Doug Aiton)


AWARDS & ACCOLADES
All-UL Team (1955), Gold Glove Award (1951)
Batting Champion (1955, 1956), OPS Champion (1957)
3-time Batter of the Month, 6-time Player of the Week