Minnie Miñoso and Tony Oliva Elected to Hall of Fame

December 8, 2021

Cuban baseball added another chapter to its rich history, with the election of Tony Oliva and Orestes Miñoso to the Hall of Fame of the Major Leagues of the United States in Cooperstown.

Oliva and Miñoso will join in the Immortals' Hall their compatriots Tony Pérez, who did so through traditional voting; Martín Dihigo, Cristóbal Torriente, José de la Caridad Méndez and businessman Alex Pompez who were admitted by the Special Committee of the Negro Leagues.

Former right fielder Oliva had a brilliant career in the Big Leagues from 1962 to 1976, always wearing the Minnesota Twins uniform and for life batted .304, achieved an OBP of 353 and a slugging of 476, with 1,917 hits connected, 220 home runs, 947 RBIs and 86 stolen bases.

He won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 1964, when he won the first of his three batting titles (the others in 1965 and 1971), played in eight All-Star Games, led the young circuit five times in hits and four in doubles, obtained a Gold Glove and on two occasions (1965 and 1970) finished second in the voting for Most Valuable Player.

For his part, Miñoso was the first black Latin American player to play in the Major Baseball League (MLB), with the Chicago White Sox.

Called to seven All-Star Games, Miñoso ended his career with 186 home runs, 83 triples, 205 stolen bases and an OPS of 848. Additionally, he led the American League stolen bases table on three occasions and won three Gold Gloves in left field.

Miñoso retired for the first time in 1964, but returned with the White Sox in 1976, at age 50, and got a hit in eight at-bats. He also had a couple of visits to home in 1980, allowing him to play in five different decades of the Big Leagues.

In addition to the two Cubans, Buck O'Neil, defender of black players inside and outside the diamond, as well as Gil Hodges, Jim Kaat and Bud Fowler will also be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Oliva and Kaat, both 83 years old and former teammates with the Minnesota Twins, are the only two new members still living.

The six new members will be enshrined in Cooperstown, a town in the northern part of New York State, on July 24, 2022, along with new members elected by the North American Baseball Writers Association.

The two selection committees awarded 14 votes to Miñoso, O'Neil received 13, while Hodges, Oliva, Kaat and Fowler each got 12.