On Wednesday, MLB finally righted a wrong when it added Negro League statistics to its record books, a move that was celebrated by most but hated by a few.
The most immediate change was the ascension of Negro League legend, Josh Gibson in the ranks of hitting greats. Gibson’s greatness was finally acknowledged as he’s now MLB’s all-time leading hitter in both a career and a single season with batting averages of .372 and .466, respectively.
While most applauded the addition of Negro League players and the statistical re-positioning it resulted in, some were upset and ridiculed MLB’s decision to right a long-time wrong. The critics feel that Negro League players were barnstorming entertainers who weren’t at the level of players they either leapfrogged over or now appear next to. This includes players like Ty Cobb, a noted racist, whose top position was taken by Gibson.
The most unsurprising response was that MLB “went woke.”
In this case, MLB did wake up, but in the right way, for the league finally acknowledged the greatness of players that former MLB leaders once refused to allow in the game while indirectly admitting the racist practices of its past.
This wasn’t a simple process where Commissioner Rob Manfred agreed to add Negro League statistics and say “our bad.”
This was a fight decades in the making by fans, journalists, historians and families who fought tirelessly for deserving players to be counted and, more importantly, given the proper respect by the biggest professional baseball league in the world.
This historic decision comes four years after the 2020 announcement that seven different Negro Leagues between 1920-1948 would be recognized as Major Leagues. After years of gathering information and tracking down stats, the independent Negro League Statistical Review Committee made the recommendation to include Negro Leagues numbers into “the official historical record.”
“We are proud that the official historical record now includes the players of the Negro Leagues,” said Commissioner Rob Manfred. “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.”
In current-day America, history is being denied, hidden, and, when it comes to Black history, whitewashed and eradicated.
The move by MLB does just the opposite, for it allows everyone to not only learn about the Negro Leagues and its wealth of talent, but it also cements the accomplishments of 2,300 players and 7 leagues in the official history books where it can no longer be overlooked.
The list of players includes stars like Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Turkey Stearns, Bill Foster, and James “Biz” Mackey.
The seven leagues are Negro National League (I) (1920–1931), Eastern Colored League (1923–1928), American Negro League (1929), East-West League (1932), Negro Southern League (1932), Negro National League (II) (1933–1948) and the Negro American League (1937–1948).
To be clear, being included in MLB’s record books does not suddenly validate the Negro Leagues or its players. They didn’t need inclusion to be known as great players. And this is not assimilation or purging of history like MLB did when it plucked players from the Negro Leagues without compensation, which led to the League’s eventual demise.
This effort was a fight for what’s right.
A fight for the world to see that these players belonged and deserved the chance to play against white players.
A fight to show that being Black was not a crime or an indication of inferiority.
MLB’s move righted a wrong done for decades to people who deserved a chance. To some, Black players weren’t good enough. To others, Black players were that good, some being better than white players, and that scared them into barring them from playing.
This is an opportunity to learn about history, to give credit to players who deserved it and to celebrate the efforts of those who refused to let the rich and storied history of the Negro Leagues and its players be forgotten.
