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Originally Posted by Seven
I have zero issue with recognizing the Negro League stats, as an avid fan of the various leagues before integration I think it's very important to recognize the history and the roll that these men played into getting the game integrated. There were some supremely talented players in that league. Charleston, Leonard, Gibson, Paige, Stearnes, etc I can go on and on.
All that being said though. It's a little disingenuous and it kind of feels like we're whitewashing history. It's important to recognize that yes it was equivalent to the major leagues in terms of talent level. It's also equally important to recognize that these players were put into this situation because of the racial attitudes of commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis. Separate Leaderboards encourages more of a discussion. We can discuss why they are separate. the racial climate of the sport back then and the struggles that so many of these men had to go through to become recognized.
Combining the leaderboard, in my opinion at least, kind of takes away from that. I think it's pandering at this point. Because the average Joe that's not interested in this history will just see Gibson's name up there and just accept that he's the All Time Leader. Seeing the men on separate leaderboards, would encourage more discussion and maybe encourage people to look into why the leagues were separated and what these men had to go though.
I might be doing a poor job of wording this, but I hope people understand what I am saying.
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I see your point, and I think it is a good point. I think that some people thought that unless Major Negro League data was integrated with MLB data, that little of that NL data would ever have been seen. I think it was about giving recognition, and you do that by putting the data in the same place where everyone is looking for it. Similarly, if you kept Negro Leaguers out of Cooperstown, they would have a lot less exposure.