36 years in the making...

F&V adjunct faculty member Tom Weinberg's Baseball's Been Very, Very Good to Me, the first ever portrait of legendary Minnie Miñoso, is ready for prime time after 36 years in the making.

The documentary will premiere on WTTW-11 in Chicago at 10:00 pm on Tuesday December 11 and will be re-broadcast twice on December 12, 2012. Also, Minnie gets his moment...in the Chicago Tribune.

Weinberg, who has been producing acclaimed documentaries and television for more than 40 years developed the collaborative project as a result of a unique relationship between Miñoso and Weinberg spanning four decades. "I have been interviewing and hanging out with Minnie Miñoso for nearly 40 years. We love and respect each other. Minnie overcame huge odds to reach enormous success as a player, a role model, and as a great human being," Weinberg said.

The documentary features Hall of Famer Tony Perez, baseball commissioner Bud Selig, Mayor Richard M. Daley, Professor Adrian Burgos, Madison, WI Mayor Paul Soglin, baseball blogger Roger Wallenstein among others, and literally dozens of fans who still love him, 61 years after his Rookie of the Year season with the White Sox.

Saturnino Orestes Armas Miñoso Arietta (“Minnie”), a 29-year-old Sporting News “Rookie of the Year” in 1951, has been compared with Jackie Robinson and is recognized as the first Black Latin American star in the major leagues. He was the first black player in Chicago, and was subject to racial and personal prejudice.
 
The only player ever in professional ball to play in seven different decades, in Cuba, the Negro Leagues, the Majors, in Mexico, and in the Minors. He was a nine-time All Star, and had a lifetime .298 average. He missed being elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame by three votes in December, 2011.