Some of the greatest Black baseball players of all time have been officially given their flowers.
According to ESPN and CBS, former Negro League players’ stats have finally been added to the current record books of their white and Latino counterparts. Major League Baseball announced this decision Tuesday.
This is considered a milestone decision decades in the making, as the records will now incorporate stats of Negro Leagues from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.
“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.
No Black players were competing in the MLB before 1947, as Black players were barred, and this was the year (1947) Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Just 13 years later (1960), the Negro Leagues ended play.
“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 Robison’s 1947 Dodger debut,” Manfred said.
How did this all come about? Well, back in 2020 in the wake of the George Floyd racial injustice, the MLB announced that it was going to “elevate” seven Negro Leagues that operated from 1920 to 1948 to “major league” status. This meant that approximately 3,44 players in those leagues would finally be recognized by the MLB for their on-field heroics.
With this new development, one of baseball’s greatest players, Josh Gibson will triumph over current records held by notable names like Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth, according to CBS Sports. Gibson will now be the all-time leader in career batting average of .372, surpassing Cobb’s mark of .366. Gibson’s career .718 slugging percentage will also be the all-time record, which surpasses Ruth’s previous record of .690, while also being the career leader in on-base plus slugging percentage with a 1.177, passing Ruth’s record of 1.164.
“When you hear Josh Gibson’s name now, it’s not just that he was the greatest in the Nego Leagues, but one of the greatest of all time,” Sean Gibson, Gibson’s great-grandson said to USA Today. “These aren’t just Negro League stats. They’re Major League Baseball stats.”
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