Are you like me and curious about who shares your birthday? November 29th is my day of the year. Thanksgiving can never be on that date. However, it is the birth date of two accomplished writers, Louisa May Alcott and C. S. Lewis. A fine actor and humanitarian, Don Cheadle. My former colleague on channel 4 in Los Angeles, newscaster Jess Marlow. Baseball is ably represented by two very successful pitchers, Pedro Martinez and Mariano Rivera. Not only did I share a broadcast booth with Vin Scully for 28 seasons, but we celebrate our birthdays on the same day. And, one more------Minnie Minoso. [caption id="attachment_4122" align="alignleft" width="267" caption="Minnie Minoso"][/caption] Saturino Orestes Armas Minoso Arrieta is his full name, but he is commonly referred to as Minnie Minoso. He was born 83 years and almost eight months ago in Havana, Cuba. Minoso was playing semi-pro baseball before he was 16, and was in Cuban professional winter ball three years later. Between 1945 and 1948, he played third base for the Negro League's New York Cubans. Minnie joined the Cleveland Indians in 1949, became a left fielder, had 13 full seasons in the big leagues and in four other years had a handful of at-bats. Only 5'10" and 175 pounds, Minoso went on to become a seven-time American League All-Star (1951-1954, 1957, 1959 & 1960) and a three-time Gold Glove winner (1957, 1959 & 1960). He enjoyed his best years with the Chicago White Sox, driving in 100 runs four times, leading the league in triples three seasons, and in stolen bases three years. On 10 occasions, Minnie led his league in hit by pitches. In 1951, he became the first black player to wear a White Sox uniform and his number 9 was eventually retired by the team. Longevity was a key to many of Minnie Minoso's achievements in baseball. His major league playing days began in 1949 and extended to 1963. Then after playing in the Mexican League where he was known as "The Black Cowboy," Minoso returned to the White Sox in 1976, played three games and late in the season got a single to become the second oldest player to collect a hit in a major league contest. He was 50. Four years later, in 1980, Minnie returned to play in two more games with the White Sox. He became the second oldest player ever to come to bat in big league competition at age 54. He grounded out to third. Minoso was the third-oldest player ever, after Satchel Paige, who pitched when he was 59 and Nick Altrock who pinch-hit in 1933 at the age of 57. Minnie and Altrock are the only two players in major league history to play in five separate decades. Minoso would have made an appearance in 1990 with the Miami Marlins and become the lone professional to play in six decades, but Major League Baseball would not allow it. However, the independent Northern League's St. Paul Saints let Minnie play a game in 1993 and again in 2003 when he drew a walk at age 77. That made him the only man to appear professionally in seven different decades. He was also the last major leaguer to have played in the 1940s to play a major league game. Minoso had a career batting average of .298 in the majors with almost 2,000 hits, over 1,000 RBI, nearly 200 home runs and a .389 on-base percentage. [caption id="attachment_4121" align="alignleft" width="220" caption="Minnie Minoso"][/caption] Minnie was inducted into the Hispanic Heritage Baseball Museum Hall of Fame in 2002, participated in the victory parade when the White Sox won the 2005 World Series, and was in attendance on opening day 2008 for the unveiling of the Ernie Banks statue at Wrigley Field. If you are ever at a White Sox home game, you can see a statue of Minnie Minoso that stands on the outfield concourse at U. S. Cellular Field. Minnie, let me be the first to wish you a happy 84th birthday on November 29th.