Take Note, Ty Cobb Fans

[JustinD]

Is it unquestionable revisionist history... of course. Any argument to the contrary (I will preface with "in my logic") is delusional. I think also those stating Asian or South American baseball is not as strong as Negro Leagues as talent have been hiding for decades. The WBC has shown that numerous other leagues are more competitive currently than the Negro Leagues ever were. Yes some of these players are in the league, but I would be happy to place Non-MLB Dominican, Korean, and Japanese All-stars against the MLB any day.

However, I really can't see this having the slightest effect to pricing and if so it would be decades into the future. The records are poorly researched, supported and suspect, the comparison of competition (in most games) is suspect, and the intention is suspect. Any current historian of sport would say the same and the greats will continue to hold the pure records in the minds of fans.

On the flip side, the youth and the future youth will see these records with
a fresher eye and research. The players will be likely better known in the future than now and that is a win in my book. Beyond small circles would Josh Gibson effect pricing even then? Never, as there are so few issues to collect...how would that pricing creep even begin?

I see it as a double sided sword, in the short term it will be ignored and disliked by many as another rewrite of history. In the long run it will bring more knowledge to these players and a time in history. As an impact on records...I see the shadow of these records on MLB stats having a similar effect as Sadaharu Oh did on Aaron. So negligible.

This will be a big blip on the sports channels for the next 6 months as an item of interest (we all know that ESPN will jump all over it), I see that fading after the season so I really will reserve my final judgment on lasting impact for a bit.

In summary, seems like there were likely better ways to do this but it is what it is.