If you look only at the numbers that Minnie Minoso, who died Sunday, authored across his 17 big-league seasons, you'd come away with the impression that he was an excellent ballplayer. Indeed he was. He put up a career OPS+ of 130 and an OBP of .389. Three times he led his league in steals, and three times he did same in triples. Ten times he led his league in times hit by pitch. Minoso spent time at six different positions, and he was a three-time Gold Glover at his primary position of left field.

A peppery ballplayer, Minoso could and did do it all on the field. By all rights, his major-league career should have begun sooner -- and thus his raw numbers should be even more impressive -- but Minoso's skin color made that difficult. When allowed to play, though, he damn well played ... 

Little wonder, then, that the philosopher-king of the "Go-Go White Sox" was so beloved in Chicago.

He was the Sox's first black player, and he stood as a towering figure for Hispanic ballplayers in the post-Jackie Robinson era. That importance is still keenly felt, especially among the Cuban players that are becoming an increasing presence in MLB. "To talk about Minnie Minoso," White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez said to Sports On Earth in June 2014, "I need five to six hours to talk about what he means to us. He's an encyclopedia of knowledge. He opened the door for all of us. We always have him in our hearts, and we're always thinking about him." 

And what a sky-scraping example the Hispanic Jackie Robinson set. Pulled out of school as a young boy in order to work in the sugar cane fields and help support the family, Minoso, despite his already apparent gifts, seemed bound for a life of subsistence labor. When he discovered that the plantation for which he worked, unlike many others, didn't sponsor a baseball team, Minoso started his own (source: Mark Stewart, SABR). Such was his love for baseball, and such was his enterprising determination. By virtue of Minoso's dedication, better things were ahead. 

Too often, when we frame sports as a way out and up for the underclasses, we cast it as a reflection of that game's merits -- something native to baseball or basketball or soccer that serves as a lodestone for dreams. Really, though, that social phenomenon is made possible by the force of will of people like Minnie Minoso. Sport is just a vessel.

Put this baseball player, this man, in the Hall of Fame.

Here’s to you, Mr. Minoso. (Getty)
Here’s to you, Mr. Minoso. (Getty)