In Memory

Orestes Arrieta

The website was recently informed of the passing of Orestes Arrieta on March 15, 2022.

This story appeared in the Chicago Tribune on March 25, 2022.  The link to this story is
immediately below.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/ct-orestes-minoso-obituary-20220325-gy4f76e5c5dnxcaplarxhxot2i-story.html

Orestes Arrieta, who played baseball in Mexico with his dad,
Minnie Miñoso, and worked as a translator in Kankakee County

By BOB GOLDSBOROUGH CHICAGO TRIBUNE |
MAR 25, 2022 AT 5:57 PM

Orestes Arrieta Miñoso Jr., right, with his father Chicago White Sox great Minnie Miñoso. 
(courtesy Minoso-Arrieta family)

Like his father, Chicago White Sox great Minnie Miñoso, Orestes Arrieta Miñoso Jr. who mostly went by the name Orestes Arrieta, distinguished himself in athletics and played professional baseball throughout the 1970s in the minor leagues and in Mexico.

Arrieta and his father, who in December was elected posthumously to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, played together in Mexico for a season in 1975.

Raised in Evanston, Arrieta went on to work as a Spanish-language interpreter and bilingual specialist for several local governments, including in the Kankakee County court system.

Arrieta, 69, died of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, on March 15 at Riverside Medical Center in Kankakee, IL said his brother, Charlie Rice-Miñoso. He was a resident of Manteno, IL.

Born in Havana, Arrieta was Minnie Miñoso’s oldest son. He moved in 1961 to the U.S., settling with family in Evanston. After arriving in the U.S., Arrieta sometimes traveled with his father during White Sox road trips.

Orestes Arrieta Miñoso Jr. in an undated photo. (Minoso-Arrieta family)

Arrieta played football, baseball and basketball at Evanston Township High School and was part of the 1968 team that defeated Galesburg High School to capture the Illinois state high school basketball title.

Upon graduating from high school in 1970, Arrieta was drafted by the Kansas City Royals and assigned to the team’s baseball academy. In 1971, he had arguably his best year in the U.S. minor leagues, batting .329 for the Gulf Coast Royals — a team based in Sarasota, Florida — in the Rookie League.

For the next three seasons, Arrieta played ball for Class A and Double-A teams in the Royals’ system, including in South Carolina, Key West, Jacksonville, Florida, and Waterloo, Iowa. After the 1974 season, however, Arrieta was “cast adrift” by the Royals, Tribune sports columnist David Condon wrote in February 1976.

Arrieta then played for a team in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, for which his father was a player-manager. In his memoir, “Just Call Me Minnie,” Minnie Miñoso recalled that he and his son hit back-to-back home runs in a game to send their team to the league championship series.

In 1976, Arrieta played for a team in Durango, Mexico, and the following year played for the White Sox Class A affiliate in Appleton, Wisconsin, before calling it a career after a season in the Dominican Republic.

Arrieta moved to Madison, Wisconsin, where he was a bilingual resource specialist at an elementary school and a high school and as a translator, his brother said. He later moved to the Kankakee area, where he worked as an interpreter for the Kankakee County Circuit Court system for more than a decade.

“I’d say Orestes simply exemplified the golden rule, because he treated everyone that he ever met with dignity and respect,” said retired Kankakee County Judge Michael Kick, who worked with Arrieta. “And there were some state agency colleagues who told me that Orestes was the finest interpreter they’d ever seen.”

Arrieta retired from the Kankakee County court system in early 2020.

In addition to his brother, Arrieta is survived by his wife of almost 20 years, Thuy Arrieta; and three sisters, Cecilia Stephens, Marilyn Arrieta and Maria Llerena.

Services will be private.

Goldsborough is a freelance reporter.

 

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/obituaries/ct-orestes-minoso-obituary-20220325-gy4f76e5c5dnxcaplarxhxot2i-story.html



 
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04/04/22 09:33 PM #1    

Joel Stevens

RIP, Orestes.  Thanks for the memories: Lazier Field, Beardsley gym and ETHS baseball fields


04/05/22 08:48 AM #2    

Jim Kinzer

Orestes was a Spanish/English/Spanish translator at the Kankakee County Courthouse.  Kankakee County is in the same Illinois judicial cricuit as Iroquois County and I was periodically assigned there from Iroquois County as a judge thoseto handle cases which the judges in Kankakee did not/could not handle.  I did traffic court there one morning (roughly 2010).  Orestes was translating and I got talking with him after the courtroom had emptied, eventually about ETHS class of 1970.  I mentioned that my lovely wife Meg Morris was a 1970-class graduate.  He remebered Meg (from a math class, I think) but did not remember me at all.  I saw him periodically at the courthouse in Kankakee over the next 8 years (I retired in 2018).  He was always a joyful, smiling sight at what was typically a joyless, frowning  venue.  He brightened those days and typically left me smiling to myself on my drives back home.

Jim Kinzer 


04/05/22 12:43 PM #3    

Randy Saks

Joel, thx for posting the obit. Jim, thanks for filling in details. I was saddened to hear of Orestes' passing.Brings back good memories. ALS, tough break. Orestes was a class act. His dad, Minnie Minoso, one of my favorite players as a Sox fan in those days. RIP "O".


04/05/22 02:09 PM #4    

Don Doberstein

I remember Orestes and while we were not close friends, my recollection is of a very nice and friendly person.  

I am very surprised to learn from the article that his dad was Minnie Minoso.  Because Orestes used Arrieta as his last name, I was totally unaware (like I said, we weren't close friends).  That fact really blows me away.

I'm very sad to here of his passing, especially from ALS ... that is such a difficult disease to tackle.

RIP, Orestes.


04/06/22 07:06 AM #5    

Patrick W. Henry

I played baseball at ETHS with Orestes Arrieta my freshman year. I remember we had a pretty good team and he was so fun to play with. He was always smiling and a great leader on the team.  I moved to Texas my sophomore year and really missed playing baseball with him. A real class act. God Rest In Peace my friend. 


04/06/22 08:10 PM #6    

Roger Pettinger

So sorry to hear the news of the passing of Orestes Arrieta!

Orestes Arrieta (Minnie Minoso) was one of the best all-around athletes and an even better person.  I played baseball with So So, as we called him, on a few very good baseball teams at ETHS. He was always smiling and had fun playing the game.  He practiced hard and played even harder. Never had to worry about any ball hit his way and he could hit with the best.  When I tell someone I played baseball, I had to say that one of the highlights of my playing career was winning the Suburban League with Minnie Minoso as one of my baseball teammates.

I, also, had the honor of sitting down with his father after a book signing session and talking to him about playing with his son.  I still have that signed book!.  What a thrill that was having met Minnie Minoso and discussing playing ball on the same high school team as his son!  Now they are reunited and playing baseball together again!

RIP, Orestes Arrieta (So So)

 

 


04/07/22 09:49 PM #7    

George Katsafanas

I played with Orestes in 7th and 8th grade in the Evanston Pony League Basketball League. We were in the same team both years. He was the best player on our team, we became friends. I played football with him freshman year. We stayed friends throughout high high school, but lost touch after he entered the Kansas City Royals Training Academy and I enlisted in the Air Force. One of the nicest guys I knew then and he was very helpful to all he came in contact with him. I'm very sorry to hear of his passing. RIP So So

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