White Sox host “Minnie Minoso Hall of Fame Forum”

CHICAGO – Earlier today, the Chicago White Sox hosted the “Minnie Minoso Hall of Fame Forum” at U.S. Cellular Field to celebrate Minoso’s legendary career and support his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

The “Hall of Fame Forum” brought together experts from the media, baseball statistical community, historians and former major-league players to discuss and raise awareness for Minoso’s Hall of Fame candidacy.  ESPN’s Pedro Gomez served as the moderator of today’s forum, and Minoso also was in attendance to share memories and highlights from his five-decade Major League career.

“Minnie Minoso achieved nothing but excellence in baseball despite segregation and a host of extraordinarily difficult circumstances,” said author and University of Illinois professor, Adrian Burgos, Jr.

“The single, most important thing a batter can do is avoid making an out and get on base.  Minoso did just that on an unparalleled level,” said author and president of the Society of American Baseball Research (SABR), Vince Gennaro.

“In the Latino culture, especially Cuba, Minnie Minoso was the biggest thing in the sport,” said fellow Hall-of-Fame candidate Luis Tiant.  “I wanted to be just like him, and when I look at him now, I still want to be like him. I am so grateful for what he did for us.”

“I will never forget how honored I was when Minnie was in the same locker room as me when I was a younger player in Cuba,” said Hall-of-Famer Tony Perez.  “And the only thing that could be better is if his plaque was in the same room as mine in Cooperstown.”

In addition to the forum, the White Sox launched a website dedicated to chronicling Minoso’s 17-year baseball career.  The site, whitesox.com/minnie, includes testimonials, career highlights, archival audio and video clips, photographs, a biography and an interview with Minoso. 

Minoso was named a candidate for baseball’s Hall of Fame Class of 2012 and will be considered for enshrinement by the 16-member Golden Era Committee.  The committee will vote on the 10 candidates at the Winter Meetings in Dallas in December.  The Golden Era Committee’s 16 members consist of Hall of Famers, executives, historians and media representatives.  A candidate must receive 75% support (12 votes) for induction.