This is a very odd photo choice for Dell Sports' 1961 Baseball
Stars Magazine. This photo ran on Minnie Minoso's page,
who was chosen as one of the top 10 batters in the majors
at that time. Did the editor make a creative and original photo choice or was this choice wacky and silly? You decide!
1960 would turn out to be Minoso's last all-star
year and 1961 would be his last year as a regular.
He had a nightmarish 1962 season with the Cardinals where he had a fractured skull from running into a fence trying to make a catch and was out for 10 weeks (mid-May to late July). Minnie also sustained
a serious wrist injury and missed more time. Having averaged about 170 hits per year between 1951 and 1961, Minoso had just 19 hits in '62. He'd
retire (for the first time) after the 1964 season. if Minnie had been healthy and approached his normal numbers in '62 he'd have finished his career with about 2,100 hits, but with his injury-plagued '62 season his final hit total was just 1,963 (still excellent considering his late start in the majors due to the racial barrier).
Despite his sudden decline he's still my top choice for the Hall Of Fame in this coming December's
Veterans Committee Golden Era (1947-1972) election for the HOF Class of 2015.
