Cuba and Negro leagues Miñoso played professional baseball as a
third baseman in Cuba and in the
Negro leagues. He signed a contract with the team from the borough of
Marianao in 1945 for $150 per month, and moved into the Negro leagues with the
New York Cubans the next season and doubled his monthly salary. Batting leadoff for the Cubans, he hit .309 in 1946, and followed up with a .294 average in 1947 as they won the
Negro World Series over the
Cleveland Buckeyes. He was the starting third baseman for the East in the 1947
All-Star Game, and again in 1948.
Cleveland Indians On April 19, 1949, Miñoso made his major league debut with the
Cleveland Indians becoming the first
Black Cuban in the major leagues; he drew a
walk as a
pinch hitter in the seventh inning of a 5–1 road loss to the
St. Louis Browns. He got his first hit in his next game on May 4, a
single off
Alex Kellner in the sixth inning of a 4–3 win over the
Philadelphia Athletics. The next day, he hit his first
home run, off
Jack Kramer in the second inning of a 7–3 win over the
Boston Red Sox. Miñoso had little further chance to make an impression, however; the Indians were signing black players more aggressively than any other team in the American League, but coming off their victory in the 1948 World Series, they were the strongest team in baseball. They had little opportunity to get Miñoso into the lineup as a rookie, as they played
Ken Keltner at third base, and he had only 16
at bats through May 13 before being sent to the minor leagues. Miñoso rejoined the Indians to start the 1951 season, but the team still could not find a spot for him in the lineup, as the Indians had
Al Rosen at third base and
Larry Doby,
Dale Mitchell and
Bob Kennedy in the outfield. He consequently had only 14 at bats in eight April games. On May 1, Miñoso became the first black player on the White Sox, hitting a home run in
Comiskey Park on the first pitch of his first at bat against the
New York Yankees. He was an instant star, maintaining a batting average over .350 through most of the first half of the season, and finished the season hitting .324 – second in the AL behind the .344 mark of the Athletics'
Ferris Fain. Miñoso was named for the first time to the AL All-Star roster (reserve player) becoming – along with White Sox teammate
Chico Carrasquel and
Washington Senators pitcher
Connie Marrero – one of the first Latin Americans ever named to an All-Star team. That year, he scored 112
runs (one short of
Dom DiMaggio's league leading total) in 138 games played, topping the league with 14 triples and 31 stolen bases as well as 16 times being hit by pitches, and became known as "Mr. White Sox". Following the 1951 season, he finished second in the AL's Rookie of the Year voting behind the Yankees'
Gil McDougald, drawing a protest by the White Sox due to Miñoso having better statistics in nearly every category. Miñoso also finished fourth in the year's
Most Valuable Player voting. Miñoso followed up with several years of outstanding play for Chicago. He led the AL in steals in both 1952 (22) and 1953 (25), and topped the league with 18 triples and 304 total bases in 1954, appearing in the All-Star Game all three years and starting in 1954. On April 14, 1953, Opening Day, he provided the only hit for the Sox in a 4–0 loss to the Indians'
Bob Lemon, and on July 4, 1954, he broke up a combined no-hitter by three Indians pitchers with two out in the ninth inning of a 2–1 loss. He led AL left fielders with three double plays in 1953, and the following year led all major league left fielders with 13 assists and three double plays. In the first game of a doubleheader on May 16, 1954, he drove in six runs in a 10–5 win over the Senators, and on April 23, 1955, he scored a career-high five runs in the White Sox' record-setting 29–6 road win over the Kansas City Athletics. Miñoso again finished second in the batting race in 1954 with a .320 mark, trailing the .341 average by the Indians'
Bobby Ávila He finished the season with a .288 average, his lowest from 1953 through 1960; however, he had the longest hitting streak in the AL that year and the longest of his career, a 23-game string from August 9 to 30 during which he batted .421. In addition, his 18 assists that season were not only twice as many as any other left fielder in the major leagues, but also matched the highest mark by any AL left fielder from 1945 through 1983. He also led AL left fielders in putouts for the first time with 267. Miñoso also represented a rare power threat for the Sox; due to the dimensions of Comiskey Park, the White Sox were the only major league team who did not have a player hit 100 home runs for them prior to World War II. On September 2, 1956, he hit his 80th home run with the Sox, off
Hank Aguirre, in a 4–3 win over the Indians, breaking
Zeke Bonura's team record. On September 23, 1957, in a 6–5 road loss to the Athletics, he became the first player to hit 100 home runs with the White Sox, connecting in the fourth inning off Alex Kellner. Miñoso topped AL left fielders again with 282 putouts and 10 assists in 1956, and with two double plays in 1957. He led the league in triples again in 1956 with 11, and in doubles with 36 in 1957. In the 1957 All-Star Game, he saved a 6–5 victory for the AL with a dramatic catch for the final out, with the tying run on second base. The 1957 season marked the first in which
Gold Glove Awards were awarded, and Miñoso was chosen as the first honoree in left field (separate awards for both leagues were established the following year, and awards for each outfield position were discontinued for half a century after 1960 in favor of three awards for outfielders regardless of position).
Later seasons Cleveland Indians The White Sox traded Miñoso back to the Indians after the 1957 season in a four-player deal, with the White Sox getting pitcher
Early Wynn and outfielder
Al Smith in exchange for Miñoso and third baseman
Fred Hatfield. With Cleveland, Miñoso hit a career high 24 home runs in 1958, and again led AL left fielders with 13 assists. He batted .302 in both 1958 and 1959, and on April 21, 1959, had a career-high five hits in a 14–1 road win against the
Detroit Tigers, also driving in six runs for the second time in his career. He was involved in a notable incident in a road game against the
Boston Red Sox on July 17 that year when Indians manager
Joe Gordon was ejected after an interference call on the previous batter, but continued his argument instead of leaving the field; Miñoso refused to enter the batter's box while Gordon was still arguing, and became furious when plate umpire
Frank Umont called him out on three strikes. Miñoso was then ejected after throwing his bat at Umont, but apologized profusely after the game, saying he was unaware of the rule that any pitch in that situation must be called a strike regardless of its location; he served a three-game suspension. That year, he led all major league left fielders with a career-high 317 putouts, and also led the AL again with 14 assists, He went 0 for 5 in the first game and didn't play in the second game on August 3.
Chicago White Sox Miñoso was deeply disappointed over having missed playing for the White Sox during their 1959 pennant-winning season, and was thrilled to be traded back to Chicago in a seven-player deal in December, with
Norm Cash being the top player sent in return. White Sox owner
Bill Veeck presented Miñoso with an honorary 1959 pennant championship ring at the beginning of the 1960 season, saying that he had done as much as anyone in helping the White Sox reach the top of the league – partially through his influence in building a winning team, and partially because the Sox had acquired Wynn, who won the 1959
Cy Young Award, in exchange for Miñoso in the 1957 trade. Miñoso responded by driving in six runs for the third time in his career, hitting a grand slam in the fourth inning on Opening Day against Kansas City, and giving the Sox a 10–9 victory with a walk-off home run leading off the bottom of the ninth. Minoso had his last great season in 1960 – he made his last All-Star appearances (starter in both games), led the AL with 184 hits, had 105 RBIs, batted over .300 for the eighth and final time, and finished fourth in the MVP vote for the fourth time. He also had perhaps his best defensive season, leading all major league left fielders in putouts (277), assists (14) and double plays (3) and winning his third and final Gold Glove Award. Miñoso had led the AL in times hit by pitch every year since his rookie season, except 1955. After struggling to adjust to his new league's pitchers and strike zone, he missed two months of the 1962 season due to suffering a fractured skull and broken wrist from crashing into the outfield wall and finished the year hitting .196.
Washington Senators His contract was sold to the
Washington Senators prior to the 1963 season, and after hitting .229, he was released that October. On October 12, he played in the first and only Hispanic American All-Star Game at New York's
Polo Grounds.
Chicago White Sox He signed with the White Sox before the 1964 campaign, but appeared in only 30 games that year, batting .226 — almost exclusively as a pinch hitter — and hit his last home run in the second game of a doubleheader on May 6 off
Ted Bowsfield in the seventh inning of an 11–4 win over the Athletics. He retired after the 1964 season. Starting in 1965, Miñoso played for the
Charros de Jalisco of the
Mexican League. Playing first base, he batted .360 in his first season, leading the league with 35 doubles and 106 runs scored. He continued to play in the Mexican League for the next eight seasons. He hit .265 with 12 home runs and 83 RBIs in 1973, when he was 47 years old. He also made three game appearances for the Sox that September in games against the
California Angels, picking up one
single in eight at-bats (four coming as a
designated hitter) — a two-out single off
Sid Monge on September 12 in the second inning of a 2–1, 10-inning win, becoming, at age 52, the fourth oldest player ever to get a base hit in the major leagues. In 1980, Miñoso, age 56, was activated again to play for the White Sox, and was a pinch hitter in two games, again against the Angels. He became the fourth-oldest player ever to play in the majors, behind
Nick Altrock, who at age 57, pinch hit in 1933,
Charley O'Leary, who at age 58, pinch hit in 1934, and
Satchel Paige, who at age 59, pitched three shutout innings in one game in 1965. Miñoso joined Altrock (1890s–1930s) as just the second player in major league history to play in five decades (1940s–1980s); out of the players who played in the major leagues in the 1940s, Miñoso was the last one to appear in a major league game.
Bill Melton broke Miñoso's White Sox record of 135 career home runs in the second game of a doubleheader on August 4, 1974, a 13–10 win over the
Texas Rangers; he had tied the record in the previous day's 12–5 loss. On August 29, 1985,
Don Baylor broke Miñoso's AL record of being hit by pitches 189 times. In 1990, Miñoso was scheduled to make an appearance with the minor league
Miami Miracle of the
Florida State League and become the only professional to play in six decades; however, MLB overruled the Miracle on the idea. When the last game was played at Comiskey Park during the same season, Miñoso was invited to present the White Sox lineup card to the umpires in the pregame ceremonies at home plate. He did so while wearing the new uniform debuted by the White Sox that day, his familiar number 9 on the back. In 1993, a 67-year-old Miñoso made an appearance with the independent
St. Paul Saints of the
Northern League. He returned to the Saints in 2003 and drew a walk, thus becoming the only player to appear professionally in seven different decades. The earlier extensions to his career with the Sox were publicity stunts orchestrated respectively by one-time Sox owner
Bill Veeck and his son Mike, who at the time owned partial or controlling interest in the team. ==Later years and death==