Quote:
Originally Posted by cgjackson222
I think the fact that the Negro Leagues were in the United States and there is more continuity with players that played in both the Negro Leagues and MLB is a main reason to consider them as part of the MLB. Can't say that for leagues in Japan, etc.
As you point out, there were Asian and Latin players that were capable of playing in MLB but didn't have the opprtunity at the time. But that seems to bolster the argument that an all-white league was less talented than it would have been, and stats may been artificially inflated compared to what they would have been with more competition.
The relative lack of black MLB players today may be more a function of the relative popularity of other sports like football and basketball rather than a sign that Negro League players would not have performed well in the MLB
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NO!
You're saying there was more continuity with blacks that played in the Negro Leagues and then in MLB, so that's why it makes sense to include their Negro League stats as MLB stats? Okay, but then why include the stats of ALL Negro League players that never made it into the majors, or were done playing before MLB was integrated?
I can use the same argument for someone like Ichiro. He played in the Japanese leagues before joining MLB. So why shouldn't his Japanese League stats count as major league stats as well then? Or are you saying that black athletes are so much better athletes/ballplayers than Japanese ballplayers that those blacks playing in the Negro Leagues were all playing at a major league level and therefore deserve to have their stats listed right beside those of MLB, but the Japanese leagues aren't that good and don't play at a major league level, let alone the same level as the blacks in the Negro Leagues, and therefore their stats don't get counted as major league stats? And the same goes for all the Latin American players that played in other leagues before joining MLB as well.
MLB stats should solely be for play that was in what was defined as the major leagues, period! They do not by definition include stats in other or the minor leagues. The way I see it, the Negro Leagues were basically nothing more than a minor league that eventually fed players to MLB. Just like the PCL, which was basically the West coast version of MLB, till the Giants and Dodgers moved out there in '57. Yet you don't see or hear anyone pushing to have PCL stats included as MLB stats either. So again, why just add the Negro League stats to MLB stats, but no stats from any other leagues?
In the end, it probably all comes down to MLB being politically correct and kissing ass in light of the political and racial climate of today, and looking to appease a portion of their customer base. At the end of the day, it always seems to just be about the money!