Comments on: Minnie Minoso for the Hall of Fame

By: Detroit Michael

Detroit Michael — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 12:24:04 +0000

Using WAR as calculated on baseball-reference.com, Minnie Minoso has 52.8 WAR. If we exclude 19th century players and active players and consider just batters, let’s look at those with 50-55 WAR, putting Minoso about in the middle of this group as far as career value. 10 guys are in the Hall of Fame and 11 guys are not in the Hall of Fame. That is about as grey as it can get.

The guys with 50-55 WAR who are in the Hall I would guess have more peak seasons and/or more championship rings than Minoso had. It’s close, but he needs something extra to get him across the line. If the beginning of his career was significantly truncated because the bigots who ran baseball disapproved of his skin color, that’s enough to get him in, but you’ve got to know his birthdate to make that argument.

By: fquaye149

fquaye149 — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 00:45:03 +0000

I don’t know. I think he claimed that he is actually younger than he was originally thought to be. So for instance, although he claimed he entered the MLB at age 25, some people think he might have actually been 22. So, the controversy is really about whether he was 19 when he entered Negro Leagues ball or 22. I don’t know that it means he “lost fewer years” since talented players were very often brought up at age 18-20 in those days

By: mrfloydpink

mrfloydpink — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 20:44:51 +0000

Not sure I agree. He had 52.8 career WAR, which by itself puts him in pretty clear HOF territory (Enos Slaughter, Bill Dickey, Joe Medwick, Andre Dawson, Hank Greenberg, and Billy Williams are all in his neighborhood, give or take a couple WAR). If he needs extra credit, his historic impact should push him over.

And even if we need to estimate, a precise year of birth is not really necessary. Just three more seasons at 4.0 WAR (below average for him) puts him at 65 WAR, which is nearly slam dunk HOF territory. That would put him on par with Willie McCovey, Ernie Banks, Ozzie Smith, Yogi Berra, Duke Snider, Tony Gwynn and, most significantly, Jackie Robinson.

By: mgflolox

mgflolox — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:55:27 +0000

Never got to see Minoso play, but from what I’ve heard, he was a tremendously exciting and fun player to watch. I would say his on-field performance is definitely HOF worthy. Plus he is near universally regarded as one of the genuine good guys and class acts to ever play the game.

By: ta192

ta192 — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 18:03:20 +0000

Every now and again they get one right, but I’m thinking this isn’t going to be one of those times.
Saw a fair amount of Minoso with the Sox; one of my mother’s favorite ballplayers, and we lived in D.C.

By: Detroit Michael

Detroit Michael — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:27:49 +0000

It’d be nice if a researcher could determine with certainty what his birthdate is. Without that, we can’t make a decent estimate of how much playing time that racial segregation cost Minoso and can’t really have a very rational Hall of Fame debate.

Contrary to what the first poster wrote, he really does need some extra consideration to be Hall of Fame worthy.

By: Old Gator

Old Gator — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:15:27 +0000

I agree, but don’t be shocked if they don’t. The Veteran’s Committee is usually a bunch of congenital decerebrates who are renowned for making one appalling decision after another.

By: spudchukar

spudchukar — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 17:00:06 +0000

It makes my day knowing Minnie is still alive. Come on, Vet Com the Hall would be a better place with a Minnie Minoso plaque.

By: Lukehart80

Lukehart80 — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:40:15 +0000

Even without any adjustment for the time he missed due to discrimination, or any bonus points for his unique longevity, Minoso’s career is Hall of Fame worthy. Here’s to hoping the Veteran’s Committee gets it right.