This is a layered discussion, so I’ll start with my conclusion.
MLB was wrong to merge Negro League stats because it masks baseball’s ugly history.
Hopefully somebody learns something from this dissertation.
That universal gap is a near-promise.
2.Major League Baseball excluded black players for decades on the express grounds of institutional racism.
That is a simple fact and very important to remember.
3.A tremendous present day source on the Negro Leagues is Joe Posnaski.
Hes written, in-depth, about the measures taken against black players deep into the 20th century.
you might disagree with his sentiment (I guess?
), but you cant deny the research and presentation behind his arguments while rearranging your ruffled feathers.
4.Specifically - Posnaski included Oscar Charleston as the 5th best player of all time.
He listed Satchel Paige 10th, Josh Gibson 15th and Pop Lloyd 25th.
In total, he named 14 Negro League players to his Top 100 baseball players all-time.
They have 1,415 combined home runs that would have never existed if they were both born 10 years sooner.
6.Theres a number of light bulb realizations that went off in my head while reading Posnaskis Top 100.
It’s an outstanding view of baseball history.
8.Let’s turn to an important distinction: Are you good because you play in the Major Leagues?
Or are you in the Major Leagues because youre good?
Do you think less of Trevor Bauers talent or ability to dominate an MLB lineup?
I don’t particularly like Trevor Bauer and it’s painful to use him as an example.
Obviously for different reasons than why black players were excluded for decades.
However redundant that may be, its critical to everything else.
12.The quality of the Negro Leagues is easily evident.
That would be the most credible source to the depth of talent in my opinion.
But keep going a little further and consider Jackie Robinsons immediate dominance.
13.So then how good was Satchel Paige in that previous lifetime of baseball?
And how much would you trust his personal opinion that other Negro League pitchers were even better?
14.Bob Feller was on the same staff as Satchel Paige in 1948-49.
Bob Feller is widely considered one of the greatest pitchers ever and earned 93.5% of the HOF vote.
15.Maybe Satchel levels out over more innings.
And then maybe Bobs numbers would be better in relief.
Those are natural considerations, but so is the fact that Satchel was THIRTEEN years older than Bob Feller.
That certainly says something.
16.So does the success of black players that immediately followed Jackie Robinson.
He won MVP in 1949.
Roy Campanella followed in 1951, 53 and 55.
Willie Mays won his first in 1954.
Hank Aaron had his 1st in 1957 followed by Ernie Bankss back-to-back MVPs in 58 and 59.
Are you following me?
Statistics are of course the prevailing source in identifying good baseball players.
But wed still know the best of the best in a world without statistics.
You’d still recognize Nolan Ryans fastball and Babe Ruths power and Ted Williamss discipline.
Wed know Joe Dimaggio raked and Mickey Mantle was a maimed freak of nature.
The numbers wouldn’t change the nature of the stories or how often they got told.
19.So then extend that same basic logic to the Negro Leagues.
Could you honestly discount Josh Gibsons legend if MLBs best are the ones who spoke of it?
And doesnt it matter that baseballs elite players pointed to Oscar Charleston before anyone else in their day?
If you saw them play, you would know just as easily, allegedly.
That’s what they said.
20.I wasn’t around, but the logic checks out.
Theres decades upon decades of talented players that would have dominated MLB.
And it should bother real baseball fans on some level that well never know to what extent.
We can only hypothesize and even then, its a futile exercise.
21.Thats the nature of history.
You cant know a different past any more than you could change one.
Because it didnt exist.
It’s that simple.
Building a new world that reflects upon the Negro Leagues in the same context as MLB is complete bullshit.
Whatever the benefit, it’s a wild and dangerous cost to incur on baseball’s history.
Hank Aaron tells a story about going to a diner on the road while playing in the Negro Leagues.
It’s 1951 and four years after Jackie Robinson’s MLB debut.
I hope we can all agree thats so completely fucked up.
25.But alas - I dont have an alternative path to honoring the accomplishments and history of the Negro Leagues.
I’ll concede the stat merger intends to honor that goal.
But at what cost to the reality of baseball history?
And how does it even make sense to anyone?
26.Someone smarter can answer.
PS - One more time.
