Minnie Minoso’s Hall of Fame bid falls short

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Updated: January 7, 2012 8:16AM

DALLAS — While there was joy in Cubville, chairman Jerry Reinsdorf could not hide his disappointment that White Sox great Minnie Minoso fell three votes short of being elected to the Hall of Fame.

As the announcement of Ron Santo’s election to the Hall was made at the winter meetings, the results of the Golden Era Ballot showed Minoso with nine votes, three shy of the 12 needed (75 percent) to get in.

From 1951 to ’61 Minoso ranked second in the American League in hits, runs, triples, extra-base hits and total bases. He was the first black player in franchise history and is generally regarded as the Latin American Jackie Robinson.

Most baseball people saw Minoso as a moderate long shot to get in, but Reinsdorf said he was “stunned” that Minoso did not.

“I really thought he’d get 16 votes,’’ Reinsdorf said of the 16-member Golden Era committee. “His numbers jump off the page at you.”