Basically, baseball is a numbers game, characterized by the familiar phrase, “You are what the back of your baseball card says you are.” “
For nearly three decades, black baseball players competed on identical fields under the same rules as their white counterparts, but were considered inferior – even though their style of play and level of competition said otherwise.
Last December, Major League Baseball took a giant step towards correcting this by officially elevating the Black Leagues to major league status.
The transformation takes another step on Tuesday with Black League stats now listed alongside American League and National League stats on Baseball-Reference.com.
“This is an opportunity for America to learn more about some of the greatest baseball players who have ever played football. They just had a darker complexion, ”says Larry Lester, co-founder of the Negro Leagues Museum in Kansas City.
While the website has been showing statistics for Negro League players for at least a decade, the most visible changes can be seen among the official season and career record rankings – with great Negro Leaguers such as Josh Gibson ( which reached 0.466 in 1943) and Satchel Paige (who had an ERA of 0.72 in 1944) featured prominently.
With the help of the Society for American Baseball Research, Seamheads.com and the families of former Negro League players, the project has now become a reality, although it is far from over.
“There is still a lot to do,” said Sean Forman, president of Sports Reference. “The statistics on our site will change as new information is discovered. “
With charismatic players and an exciting style of play, the history of the Negro Leagues has long been celebrated in baseball tradition. But the actual statistics have been difficult to find.
“For many years we have heard these great stories. Part of folklore and part of embellished truth. These truths have long been a staple of Black League statistics and narrative, ”Lester said. “While these stories can be entertaining, a dialogue can now include quantified and qualified statistics to support the genuine greatness of such great athletes like Josh Gibson.
“The beauty of the statistics is that they now humanize these popular heroes. These statistics legitimize their achievements.
However, the numbers cannot tell the whole story. For starters, the Black Leagues have played far fewer games in a season than the major leagues. But by using stats that adjust for league averages and stages, it’s easier to compare players from different eras.
For example, the OPS + career ranking (adjusted based on the slugging percentage) looks like this:
1. Babe Ruth 206
2. Ted Williams 191
3. Oscar Charleston 184
4. Mike Truite 183
5. Obligations Barry 182
Yes, he is the star of Negro Leagues Charleston (1920-41) behind only the Sultan of Swat and the Splendid Splinter. The other Negro Leaguers Turkey Stearnes (177) and Mule Suttles (172) also rank in the top 10.
Lester says there’s even more information about the great Negro Leaguers just waiting to be verified by official records.
“I’m so frustrated that we weren’t able to find a box score in 1938 when Josh Gibson hit four home runs,” Lester said. “We have three log counts of him hitting four home runs in Zanesville, Ohio, but those four home runs weren’t included in the final stats because we needed to have a full score so that the data could be balanced. “
That’s part of why Gibson won’t be on the career home run list. His official total of 165 is well below the “nearly 800 circuits” listed on his Hall of Fame plaque. But his rate of one homer per 13 at bat compares favorably with that of legendary hitters Ruth and Bonds.
And that’s the point.
“There were several conversations I still had on black and white. It was like Josh Gibson was one of black baseball’s greatest players, ”Gibson’s great-grandson Sean Gibson said. “Now we can say that Josh Gibson is considered one of the greatest baseball players ever. players all time. “
Follow Gardner on Twitter @SteveAGardner