Minnie Minoso Belongs in the Hall of Fame

Growing up every kid has his favorite ball player. Mine was Carlton Fisk. I don’t think that it is a secret that he was my favorite baseball player in much the same way I looked up to Joe Montana and Michael Jordan. For my dad that player was Minnie Minoso. Minnie was part of a groundbreaking movement in the late 40’s in Major League Baseball. He was part of the tip of the spear that made the game we know today. This was not an international game in the 40’s. All of the players looked very similar. Maybe because my father was a huge fan of Minnie my opinion is biased, but there are a few omissions to the Hall of Fame that I think are glaring. You have record holders like Pete Rose, ambassadors like Buck O’Neil, and groundbreakers like Minnie Minoso that should be in the Hall.

This afternoon the Hall of Fame announced the results of their Golden Era Committee voting. They selected a group of individuals to look at for possible inclusion into the Hall. Of course they found nobody worthy enough. Why have the committee if nobody is worthy enough? How does the Hall of Fame still leave out a groundbreaker like Minoso, or a man like Buck O’Neil? You will never know just how good the numbers would have been for both players as they were not allowed to play in the Majors when they started their careers. I don’t think that stats are the key things to look at here. Of course in an age of Moneyball stats are the only thing that people look at.

Billy Pierce Is Left Out of the Hall of Fame

Another player that I was watching during this Golden Era ballot was Billy Pierce. Billy is one of the all-time great pitchers in White Sox history. If he had played for the Yankees he would already have been included in the Hall of Fame. For some reason though he has been overlooked. I think that he will stand alongside Mark Buehrle as great White Sox pitchers who will have a statue at U.S. Cellular field, but will not be in the Hall of Fame.