Take Note, Ty Cobb Fans

[Hankphenom]

Originally Posted by Topnotchsy

If I understand you correctly, you are arguing as follows: Given the enormous size difference in the white and black populations, it seems highly unlikely that a black league would have had the depth that a white league had, even if the best in one league would have been on par or better than the best in other leagues. Am I understanding it correctly?
Here are my thoughts:
1) I don't think that as a starting point, there is anything wrong with raising this question. But it certainly is not a question that has no answer. To give one example... In low-income areas and among certain populations, a career in pro sports (or entertainment) is often viewed as one of the few options that children see as a way to escape their conditions, and therefore in these populations, the focus on sport is often far more widespread than in other communities. Such an approach shifts the math.
2) The arguments that the leagues were equal are from many different data points including black players who played afterwards, many, many barnstorming games, observers etc. While the question you raise does make one pause, once it is combined with empirical evidence, the question needs to change to, "given that black population was far smaller than the white population in the United States during that time, how is it that evidence points to the black baseball leagues being on par with white leagues?
3) The black leagues were a few teams smaller than the white leagues and so it is possible that the leagues in fact would not have had the depth, but because they were smaller, fewer Major League caliber players were needed.
4) I'm also not sure why you would assume that there is no statistical issue with saying that the best black team could stand up against the best white team. While it is not an identical question, it would seem that the smaller available pool would also impact the number of truly great players.
5) Whatever the reasons are, we see that the vast majority of elite athletes today are black. I don't know or care whether that is because they focus in this area more, if there are genetic components etc. but the question you asked could equally be asked about today's NBA and NFL. The fact that we find examples in modern times of a level of talent disprortionately coming from a black population means that some combination of factors makes this possible. I think that the disparity in the available pool of players raises a question, and there are indications that the leagues may

All good points, and I am reconsidering my positions. I'm also wondering if there could come a time when the game has become truly global and more and more Japanese, Latin, and other players have proven themselves the equals of MLB players, if a similar attempt might not be mounted to go back and assign some similar records to the great players of those leagues. I don't know why not. And I do appreciate this discussion for providing some very interesting grist for the endless mill of the "Hot Stove Leagues."