“His name should not be displayed on a plaque or honorary award, especially on that day and time,” Barry Larkin, MVP of the National League in 1995, told the Associated Press.
Landis has long been accused of pulling his feet at the eradication of baseball’s color line. The commissioner said publicly that major league teams are free to sign African American players. However, he was accused of upholding an unspoken ban and refusing to push for integration.
“Landis is who he is. He was who he was, “John Thorn, MLB’s official baseball historian, told the AP. “I absolutely support the movement to remove Confederate monuments, and Landis was damn close to the Confederates.”
In Landis ’24 years at the top, not a single black player joined the major leagues. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier for the Brooklyn Dodgers three years later.
“If you want to expose people in baseball history who promote racism by continuing to close baseball doors for men with color, Kenesaw Landis would be a candidate,” three-time NL-MVP Mike Schmidt told the AP.
Landis took over as commissioner at a time when baseball was struggling with gambling problems. Formerly federal judge, he was described as an “autocratic” leader. One of his first and most notable actions was the ban on Chicago White Sox star “Shoeless” Joe Jackson and seven others from their role in throwing the 1919 World Series.
“Landis is part of the story, even though it was a dark story,” Dusty Baker, manager of Houston Astros, told the AP.
Landis had been the one who decided that the Baseball Writers’ Association of America would vote and decide on the MVP. In 1944, shortly before Landis’ death, the group voted to put his name on the award.
Landis, hardly a household name even for baseball fans, is not widely associated with the trophy, and the BBWAA said it has heard no complaints about the name yet.
But at a time when institutions across the country are anticipating their ties to certain historical figures, the BBWAA could do what some see as a simple solution.
“I’ve always thought about it: why is that still there?” 1991 NL MVP Terry Pendleton told the AP. “Without a doubt, MVP stands on its own. It doesn’t need a name. “
