What took so long? Negro Leagues statistics will officially take their place alongside and become part of Major League historical record on Wednesday. The move comes more than three years after Major League Baseball announced it would be elevating the Negro Leagues to major-league status.
The more than 2,300 players who played in the seven versions of the Negro Leagues from 1920-1948 will be integrated into MLB’s database. The Special Baseball Records Committee of 1969 voted to include the American League, National League, American Association, Union Association, Federal League and Players’ League but did not give the Negro Leagues major-league status.
“It’s a big day,” Negro League Museum president Bob Kendrick told Yahoo Sports on Tuesday. “The great thing about it is that we’ve been saying that quite a bit over recent days and weeks as it relates to the Negro Leagues. … This is the result of a lot of intensive effort by some incredible historians and researchers who have completely dedicated themselves to trying to do something that people thought probably wasn’t possible.”
USA Today’s national baseball writer Bob Nightengale first reported the news.
“We are proud that the official historical record now includes the players of the Negro Leagues,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. “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. 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.”
The Negro Leagues statistical review committee, which is made up of baseball historians, Negro League experts, former players, researchers and journalists, reviewed and combed over data, box scores, statistics and additional information uncovered by Seamheads, RetroSheet and the Elias Sports Bureau.
“We looked for historians, statisticians, and stakeholders who all could be expected to have concern that MLB would get the process and the product right,” John Thorn, MLB’s official historian and chairman of the Negro Leagues statistical review committee, told Yahoo Sports this week. “We were not looking for ‘like minds’ but instead potentially contentious ones.”
One of the burning questions baseball fans and spectators will likely have is how has MLB determined what statistics can be used. The Negro Leagues statistical review committee went through decades of box scores and data to find statistics from what was considered league play. The Negro Leagues’ schedule usually ran between 60-80 games with another 40-60 games coming in the form of exhibitions. Statistics from what was known as “barnstorming,” or exhibition games, will not be counted toward MLB record totals.
Similar to how MLB determines qualifiers for statistical leaders, a similar formula was used to decide which players qualified for MLB leaderboards.
Embed from Getty ImagesNegro Leagues legend and Baseball Hall of Famer Josh Gibson will become MLB’s single-season record holder in batting average (.466 in 1943), slugging percentage (.974 in 1937) and OPS (1.474 in 1937). Gibson, who played for the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays, also becomes MLB’s career leader in all three categories. The previous records for slugging and OPS in a season were both held by Barry Bonds. Gibson’s career batting average of .372 surpasses Ty Cobb for the all-time lead, while his career slugging percentage of .718 and OPS of 1.177 take over the previous leader in both categories, Babe Ruth.
It’s important to note that Gibson’s plaque at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York says he “hit almost 800 homers” in both league and independent ball. While the oral history of Gibson’s prolific power helps give context to the player he was, the committee did not include anecdotal evidence, with many of those home runs coming outside of what was deemed league play and was not accompanied by box scores.
So, while Gibson will have several of his accomplishments now counted as MLB records, he will not be the league leader in career home runs.
Former Negro Leagues players who transitioned over to the major leagues, including Willie Mays, Minnie Miñoso, Larry Doby, Jackie Robinson and numerous others will also have their Negro Leagues statistics integrated and updated. The statistics will continue to be reviewed and updated as more data and information is uncovered.
Among some of the stat updates:
Mayes’ hit total goes to 3,293, up 10 with stats from his 1948 season with the Birmingham Black Barons
Miñoso joins the 2,000-hit club, gaining 150 hits from his time with the New York Cubans
Jackie Robinson’s 49 hits with the Kansas City Monarchs raises his hit total to 1,567
Satchel Paige boosted his win total to 125 with his 28 Negro League victories
In accordance with the rules set by the SBRC in 1969 that states, “For all-time single-season records, there will be no asterisks or official signs shall be used to indicate the number of games scheduled.” New Negro Leagues record holders and additions on MLB leaderboards will not include an asterisk.
MLB will pay homage to the Negro Leagues on June 20 in a regular-season matchup between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama. Rickwood Field, which was the home of the Birmingham Black Barons, is considered the oldest professional ballpark in the U.S.
