minnie minoso is in my hall of famer collection

aside from dick allen, i figured that minnie minoso would have the best chance of being elected to the hall of fame from the golden era ballot this past sunday. regardless of his election, i decided a few months ago that i would add minoso to my hall of famer collection and so picked up this card for his entry:

that is a 2001 topps archives reserve rookie reprint autograph card.  here's the back:

as we know now, minoso was elected by the committee (along with gil hodges, jim kaat, and tony oliva) and will be posthumously inducted in july of next year.

i first learned about minoso through baseball cards. it was probably 1979 before i saw his 1977 topps record breaker that celebrated him as the oldest player in major league history to hit safely in a game (although his birthdate has been updated since then such that he is no longer considered to be the oldest player to get a hit). the card didn't mention that minoso was brought back by owner bill veeck largely as a publicity stunt after rosters expanded in september of 1976, so i thought he was a regular on their roster and was amazed. i think i finally figured out what was happening in 1980 when he was again added to the white sox roster late in the season and received a couple of at bats. those plate appearances gave him at bats in five different decades which was the idea as i understood it. 

while minoso wasn't in the 1978 topps set, and i really didn't take an interest in learning about his career like i did with some other players who played before my fandom began, there is no denying his importance and legacy as cuban ballplayer. there is also no denying his skill and talent in playing the game as his stats will attest.

i did have a connection to him that made it easy for me to include him in my collection even had he not received the call. back in 2003, i made my first trip to see the st. paul saints play at their old home, midway stadium. i had lived in the twin cities since 1997 but had never gone to see mike veeck's (bill's son) team. we happened to choose the july 17 game to attend, and i was surprised to discover that the saints' leadoff hitter was none other than minnie minoso.  

he had appeared in a game with the saints in 1993, marking his sixth decade in professional baseball, and appearing in this game would give him a professional at bat in seven decades. he drew a walk and was replaced by a pinch runner. i remember watching and feeling a bit sorry for the pitcher who was probably worried about hitting minoso accidentally - i know i would have been. unfortunately, even though my dad had brought his camera, we failed to take any pictures of minoso - at least i can't find any among the photos that we did take that evening. it was only later that i thought about the history - as fabricated as it was - that i had seen, as well as the fact that i had been able to see a player who first played in the 1940's and had appeared on a pretty interesting baseball card at the plate.

i was patient in buying a minoso autograph, and stumbled upon this card that was listed for sale using only his full name - no "minnie" anywhere in the title or description. i am glad that i not only didn't have to pay the hall of fame premium, i was able to pay less than the same card was going for because the seller didn't know who was depicted on the card.

congratulations to minoso, although it is sad that he is not alive to enjoy his enshrinement. as bert blyleven said (i am paraphrasing) a few years back, the stats are the same as they were when minoso and others retired, and a hall of famer is a hall of famer. better late than never, i suppose. by the way, i've updated my hall of famer collection on my want site - i decided not to show it in its entirety as part of these posts anymore.