After a century of ghosting the records of black players in the segregated Negro Leagues, Major League Baseball will now recognize the statistics of that league's players. Many of the league's greats like catcher Josh Gibson, who played mostly for the Homestead Grays, will now have their names at the top of MLB's official statistics. From CBS News:
"In a milestone decision decades in the making, Major League Baseball announced Tuesday that it is now incorporating statistics of Negro Leagues that operated in the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s into its record books.
'This initiative is focused on ensuring that future generations of fans have access to the statistics and milestones of all those who made the Negro Leagues possible,' MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement provided to The Associated Press.
Black players were barred from MLB until Jackie Robinson broke the league's color barrier in 1947 when he joined the Brooklyn Dodgers. That breakthrough ultimately led to the Negro Leagues ending play in 1960.
'Their accomplishments on the field will be a gateway to broader learning about this triumph in American history and the path that led to Jackie Robinson's 1947 Dodger debut,' Manfred said in his statement."
The move came after three years of study and decades after the MLB's Special Committee on Baseball Records declined in 1969 to include the Negro Leagues' records, after recognizing several other baseball leagues' player statistics. There's no doubt that many white players knew that the quality of play and athleticism of Negro Leagues players was superior to theirs. Jackie Robinson was proof of that when he joined the majors in 1947 and made an immediate impact. One of the wonderful outcomes is that Gibson will replace vicious, racist player Ty Cobb as the career batting average leader, with his .372 average over Cobb's .366. Some stories of the Negro Leagues' exploits are here.
(photo: Josh Gibson, right, with pitcher Satchel Paige. Getty Images)
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