Why he belongs:
7 All-Star Games – Other players with 7 All-Star Games:
Luke Appling
Craig Biggio
Joe Cronin
Larry Doby
Rollie Fingers
Lou Gehrig
Lefty Gomez
Trevor Hoffman
Chipper Jones
Sandy Koufax
Paul Molitor
Hal Newhouser
Tony Perez
Robin Roberts
Willie Stargell
Mickey Vernon
(All Hall-of-Famers or on their way)
Finished in the MVP ballot 8 times, all in the same decade.
3 Gold Gloves
Finished in the top 10 in Batting Average 8 times, highest finish was 2nd.
Finished in the top 10 in On-Base% 9 times, highest finish was 2nd.
Finished in the top 10 in Slugging % 6 times, highest finish was 2nd.
Finished in the top 10 in Games 6 times, led AL in 1960.
Finished in the top 10 in At Bats 8 times, highest finish was 6th.
Finished in the top 10 in Runs 9 times, highest finish was 2nd.
Finished in the top 10 in Hits 8 times, led AL in 1960.
Finished in the top 10 in Doubles 8 times, led AL in 1957.
Finished in the top 10 in Triples 6 times, led AL 3 times in ’51, ’54 & ‘56.
Finished in the top 10 in RBI’s 5 times, highest finish was 2nd.
Finished in the top 10 in Stolen Bases 9 times, led AL 3 times in ’51, ’52 & ‘53.
There are certain other factors to include. Minoso had his number retired with the Chicago White Sox. Here are some other names that stand out there: Nellie Fox, Luke Appling, Luis Aparicio, Ted Lyons, Carlton Fisk and Frank Thomas. Also, he was the first black player to wear a White Sox uniform.
Why he doesn’t:
Minoso had 10 great years. Is 10 years enough? If I’m looking at the 50’s only, the guy is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. But were those ten years enough?
His career numbers aren’t that great. 1963 hits. That ties Jay Bell for #283 on the all-time list. 1136 runs seems like a lot until you realize that makes him #211. His 336 doubles tie him with Augie Galan for #303 on the all-time list. His 86 triples tie him for #256 (with HOFer Johnny Mize). His 186 home runs put him at #334 with Rich Aurilia & Glenallen Hill. At 1,023 RBI’s, he’s at #249, and probably will be out of the 250 by this season. 814 walks puts him at #237. And 205 steals puts him at #320 (tied with Zack Wheat). But in his defense, he was dominant for his time period.
Which of these numbers says Hall of Famers?
The Hall-of-Fame Monitor lists Hodges at 87. A Hall of Famer is 100 or higher.
Similar players according to baseball-refernce.com include Gary Matthews, Sr., Ken Griffey, Sr., and Amos Otis. There isn’t a single Hall-of-Famer in the 10 players compared with him (except for Tony Oliva who has a chance this year).
And probably the thing that looks worst for him is his former HOF voting. The year he reached his highest voting percentage was 1988, 21.1%. He came in 13th place that year. Willie Stargell was elected. Jim Bunning, Orlando Cepeda & Bill Mazeroski would eventually go on to election. Above him were 8 players NOT in the HOF currently. (Tony Oliva & Ken Boyer are on the ballot this year.)
All in all… Well, I surprised myself with this one. I expected to write this thinking that Minoso wasn’t really a Hall-of-Famer. I seemed to have talked myself into why he WAS a Hall-of-Famer. He had a very dominant career for 10 years. One question remains: Are 10 years enough?
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