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Mr. White Sox: Minnie Minoso passes away

By Stephen Forsha

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Sunday, March 1 is a sad day for all Chicago White Sox and fans of baseball, as White Sox legend Minnie Minoso passed away at the age of 90.

Throughout Sunday morning, fans, players and baseball writers have sent out their own tributes about Mr. Minoso, whose No. 9 is retired by the White Sox.

The Chicago Tribune, in an article from Ed Sherman, reported Minoso was found unresponsive in his car:

"“Minoso was found unresponsive in the driver’s seat of a car near a gas station in the 2800 block of North Ashland Avenue around 1 a.m., according to police … His son said the family believes Minoso died from a heart condition he had suffered, but were awaiting autopsy results. He had a pacemaker.”"

The White Sox said it best on Twitter with the following “tears of sadness are falling” tweet:

When anyone thinks of the White Sox, those who come to mind should be Frank Thomas, Paul Konerko, the ’05 World Series team, “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and most importantly Mr. Minoso.

Mr. Minoso played parts of 12 different seasons with the White Sox, beginning in 1951-57, then from 1960-61. He also played for the White Sox in a combined 37 games in 1964, 1976 and 1980, when he was 54 years old.

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In his 1,373 games with the White Sox, Minoso batted .304 (5,011 at-bats), finishing with 1,523 hits (260 doubles, 79 triples, 135 home runs) and 808 RBIs.

Mr. Minoso also collected 171 stolen bases as a White Sox and forced 658 walks.

For his career, Minoso batted .298 in 1,835 games with the White Sox, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals and the Washington Senators. All but 39 games of his career were played in the American League.

Looking back at the accomplishments of Mr. Minoso on the baseball diamond, he placed second in the 1949 Rookie of the Year voting, and he was an All-Star seven times, with those appearances coming in three different decades. Mr. Minoso was also a Gold Glove winner on three occasions.

In the MVP voting, he received votes seven times, with Top 4 finishes in ’49, ’52, ’53 and ’60.

ESPN Chicago wrote the following on the White Sox legend:

"“(Minoso) became major league baseball’s first black player in Chicago in 1951 … Minoso, regarded as baseball’s first black Latino star, was a Havana native who spent most of his career in left field. He is one of only two players to appear in a major league game in five different decades. He got his final hit in 1976 at age 53.”"

The one major honor that Mr. Minoso never received was enshrinement into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., an honor he deserved to celebrate before his death.

Those accomplishments on the baseball field were just one part of Mr. Minoso’s legacy, because of the way he treated those who he came in contact with. Here are what fans and those who knew him have tweeted Sunday:

RIP, Mr. White Sox. You will be greatly missed.

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