Pioneering Cuban Baseball Player, Coach, Scout Dies
Cristobal "Minnie" Mendoza played only 16 major league games for the Minnesota Twins in 1970, a 35-year-old "rookie" in a game he'd played all his life.
By the time he debuted, Mendoza had toiled through 16 minor league seasons in the Twins' and Cincinnati Reds' farm systems through places like Portsmouth, Va.; Missoula, Montana; Vancouver, B.C.; and Evansville, Indiana — a far cry from home for the Cuban-born infielder.
The experiences informed Mendoza's second act in baseball as a coach and scout, where he touched many lives across the remaining decades of his life. Mendoza died Sept. 9 at age 89.
"Minnie was one of the nicest and good natured people I have ever met," San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt wrote on Mendoza's tribute wall at GoldfinchFuneralHome.com . "He was close to my Mom Lib and they stayed in touch well past their time together at Crockett Park. Some of my fondest memories growing up at the park was Minnie taking the time to throw me batting practice! God bless the Mendoza family during their loss."
Mark Wiley, the former pitching coach for the Kansas City Royals, then-Cleveland Indians, Miami Marlins, and Baltimore Orioles, called Mendoza a teammate in the Twins' system and a colleague at multiple stops during their coaching careers.
"He was a great friend and mentor to generations of players and coaches," Wiley wrote on Mendoza's tribute wall at GoldfinchFuneralHome.com . "I was very lucky to have been on the receiving end of both.
"He taught me about the game, how to barbecue soar orange chicken and get caught by the game warden fishing in the wrong place!! They let us off because we were in baseball."
Mendoza was a pioneer as one of only four players born in Cuba to make his debut during the 1970s — a direct result of the Fidel Castro regime's takeover in 1959 and the subsequent thawing of economic relations with the United States. Of course, Mendoza would have liked to debut much sooner after leaving Cuba for the U.S. at age 19.
Mendoza appeared in 1,871 minor league games from 1954-70. Primarily a shortstop, second baseman, and third baseman, Mendoza finally got his shot with the Twins in 1970. He went 3 for 16 with three singles, two RBIs, and two runs scored, and saw action at second base and third base.
In 1974-75, Mendoza embarked on his career as a minor league manager beginning in Mexico. He returned to organized baseball as a coach and scout for several teams, primarily the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians organizations. He served on the Orioles' major league coaching staff as their first-base coach in 1988.
Among his accomplishments with Cleveland, Mendoza is credited with scouting and signing a young Bartolo Colon, who went on to win 247 games and the 2005 American League Cy Young award.
"I felt nervousness when I met Minnie Mendoza and Johnny Gordo ... they were in the Dominican representing the Cleveland Indians," Colon recalled in a 2020 interview . "To us players down there, they're the big bosses — the ones who recommend players for contracts. The Kansas City Royals and Los Angeles Dodgers were the only other teams who scouted me. Minnie and Johnny had me pitch one day in Santiago in a bullpen.
"I threw 20 pitches, and even though I was nervous, I threw 18 strikes. But the hardest I threw was only 84 miles per hour. Still, they liked me, and three days later, they saw me in game action. The hardest I threw that day was 86 miles per hour. I heard some people say the Indians didn't want to sign me because they didn't think I threw hard enough. But Minnie and Johnny told them, 'Sign him because he's a baseball player.' "
