Nov. 29: On this day in 1923, Saturnino Orestes Armas (Arrieta) "Minnie" Miñoso was born in Perico, Matanzas, Cuba.Miñoso, who played in the majors in five different decades -- from 1949-1964, plus 1976 and 1980 -- was elected to the Cuban Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983. He played 14 seasons for Marianao between 1945-61,
According to Who's Who in Cuban Baseball, 1878-1961, Miñoso (shown in a 1947 Casa Caluff postcard) ranks second in Cuban League history in runs scored (504), triples (51) and home runs (66). He was the league's rookie of the year in 1945-46. Twice, he was the league's MVP (1952-53 and 1956-57).
His MVP season in 1956-57 marked his and Marianao's first Cuban League pennant, a feat the club repeated in 1957-58.
The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum's eMuseum has five interesting video interviews with Miñoso on various subjects, including:
- Believing he would never play in the majors because he was black,
- The differences between racism in Cuba vs. the United States and
- Jackie Robinson breaking baseball's color barrier.
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