Quote:
Originally Posted by nat
* Acknowledging that they faced weaker competition since baseball was still segregated.
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Not just still segregated but also not international. However there are twice as many teams now as their were before.
I have always argued that integration and expansion have gradually cancelled each other out. We were preventing what was at the time about 10% of the population from participating. But we've over time added 100% to the available major league ball player slots. Even factoring in foreign born players I'd say it's closer to a wash than one might first expect.
Put another way Babe Ruth didn't have to hit against the Negro League greats of his time, but neither did he get to face Wily Peralta or Chad Bettis 30+ times a year.