Induction day: Former White Sox great Minnie Minoso going into Hall of Fame
Shohei Ohtani is the talk of major-league baseball, and it's well deserved given his unique skill set.
The Los Angeles Angels star is one of MLB's most dangerous hitters - and he can stake the same claim as a starting pitcher.
And that brings us to ... Minnie Minoso?
He didn't show much when he broke in with the Cleveland Indians in 1949, but that quickly changed in the following decade.
Acquired by the White Sox from the Cleveland in a three-team trade that also included the Philadelphia Athletics in 1951, Minoso established himself as an all-around talent.
"The Cuban Comet" could hit for average, hit for power and run. He also won three Gold Gloves as a left fielder and was versatile enough to play third base, center and right field, shortstop and first base.
In three stints with the White Sox - 1951-57, 1960-61 and 1964 - Minoso finished in the Top 10 in American League MVP voting four times and was a six-time all star.
As for the Ohtani comparison, Minoso really became a household name after he retired following the 1964 season at the age of 40.
He came back in 1976 and played 3 games for the Sox at age 52. In 1980, Minoso appeared in 2 more games for the White Sox as a pinch-hitter at age 56.
In MLB history, Minoso and Nick Altrock are the only players to appear in a game for five decades.
Yeah, that's pretty unique.
Still, despite batting .299/.387/.461 over his 20-year career, amassing 2,113 career hits and going to 13 All-Star Games, Minoso was on the Baseball Writers' Association of America Hall of Fame ballot for 15 years and he never received more than 21% of the vote for induction (75% is required to be enshrined in Cooperstown).
That blatant wrong was righted on Dec. 5, when Minoso was the elected to the Hall of Fame by the Golden Days Era committee.
Minoso passed away in 2015 at the age of 90, but his presence will be felt Sunday when he is ushered into Cooperstown.
Current White Sox manager Tony La Russa was also in the dugout in 1980 when Minoso pinch-hit in two games.
"I was thrilled just to be a part of his history," La Russa said. "Everybody got to know him, I never saw him have a bad day. Wish he would have made it long ago. He made a mark and I wish he could still be here to enjoy it."
When he did stop playing, Minoso was always around Guaranteed Rate Field in his role as White Sox ambassador.
"You can talk to half the guys out there playing catch about the impact Minnie Minoso made on them as kids growing up and the pride they take in wearing the White Sox uniform because of what Minnie meant to them and what Minnie represented while he wore it," Sox general manager Rick Hahn said before Friday night's game against Cleveland. "We've heard it time and again. I'm thrilled I got to know him a little bit early in my career. But the guys he had the most impact on are many of the players over there."
Thanks in large part to Minoso, the White Sox have been a landing spot for countless other Cuban-born players, including Jose Abreu, Jose Contreras, Luis Robert, Yoan Moncada, Alexei Ramirez and Orlando "El Duque" Hernandez.
"Ever since I met him in 2007, my first year when I came to the U.S., we started talking about his time in Cuba and when he moved here, all of the things that he did," said Ramirez, who played shortstop for the Sox from 2008-15. "Every day he gave me advice about everything. It was every day."
On Sunday, Minoso's wife Sharon will give his Hall of Fame induction speech.
"He was so humble," Sharon Rice-Minoso said. "At home, he would have been excited, overwhelmed. Like, 'I don't believe it.' But he took everything so in stride. I think during the speech is where he would have gotten emotional. I picture him at times on the stage and I'm saying, 'He should be here. This should have been him.'"