MLB mourns passing of 'Cuban Comet'

When Minnie Minoso became the first Cuban to play Major League Baseball in 1949, he was part of a wave of black players who changed the game forever.

By the time he played in his final game 35 years ago, he was a beloved figure with the Chicago White Sox.

It was one amazing ride for the seemingly ageless slugger, who died early on Sunday morning after helping clear the way for generations of minority ballplayers, including a long list of stars from his home country.

"I know we're all going to go at some time, but I had gotten to the point where I really thought Minnie was going to live forever," White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf said. "There has never been a better ambassador for the game or for the White Sox than Minnie."

Minoso - nicknamed 'The Cuban Comet' - made his major league debut just two years after Jackie Robinson and turned into the game's first black Latino star.

He died of natural causes, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office, who said he was 90.

Minoso's death comes on the heels of the loss of Chicago Cubs great Ernie Banks, who died on Jan 23 at age 83.

"For Minnie, everyday was a reason to smile, and he would want us all to remember him that way, smiling at a ballgame, "Minoso's family said in a statement released by the team." A she so often said, 'God bless you, my friends.'"

Minoso played 12 of his 17 seasons in Chicago, hitting.304 with 135 homers and 808 RBIs for the White Sox. The White Sox retired his No 9 in 1983 and there is a statue of Minoso at US Cellular Field.

For Minoso's many admirers, his absence from the Hall of Fame remains a sore spot. President Barack Obama, a longtime White Sox fan, praised Minoso for his speed, power and "resilient optimism "while helping integrate baseball in the 1950s.

"Minnie may have been passed over by the Baseball Hall of Fame during his lifetime, but for me and for generations of black and Latino young people, Minnie's quintessentially American story embodies far more than a plaque ever could," Obama said.

Minoso made his major league debut with Cleveland in 1949 and was dealt to the White Sox in a three-team trade two years later.

He became major league baseball's first black player in Chicago on May 1, 1951, and homered in his first plate appearance against Yankees right-hander Vic Raschi.

It was the dawn of a long relationship between the slugger and the White Sox.

Minoso, a Havana native who spent most of his career in left field, is one of only two players to appear in a major league game in five different decades.

He got his final hit in 1976 at age 53 and went 0 for 2 in two games in 1980 for the White Sox, who hired him as a team ambassador after his playing career and repeatedly lobbied for his inclusion in Coopers-town.