Negro Leagues Recognized As Major

[packs]

I'm sure if you thought about it you will see there are no similarities between the Japanese League and the Negro League. And I think if you delved further into the reasoning behind the inclusion you will find further differences between the two.

[Seven]

Originally Posted by packs

I'm sure if you thought about it you will see there are no similarities between the Japanese League and the Negro League. And I think if you delved further into the reasoning behind the inclusion you will find further differences between the two.

I admit that comment was a bit pedantic, but It's just to bring up a point. As someone that has read and researched an awful lot about the Negro Leagues I'm glad they're finally getting their recognition, some extremely talented men played in that league that would have done well in baseball. They deserve to be recognized. We don't get Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays or Hank Aaron if guys like Josh Gibson or Oscar Charleston didn't set the table.

But the entire face lift the leaderboards has gotten is ridiculous. I'm sorry if this is an unpopular opinion. Artie Wilson is labelled as the 6th highest single season batting average in a season that he had 95 At Bats. Josh Gibson is now considered to have the single season record for Slugging % in a season where he had 163 at bats. He dethrones Bonds' 811%. Eugene Bremmer is the single season ERA leader in a season where he threw 6 games. It's apples and oranges, the Negro League seasons were noticeably shorter than the MLB ones, there should be some sort of distinction. They played professionally, it's part of baseballs history but there needs to be a separating marker.

Do I wish there was a way to reverse time, and make it so there was never a color barrier and that all of these men had an opportunity to play in the MLB? Of course I do, but that's impossible. The Negro Leagues were different than the Majors, though, I'm not talking about from a talent perspective, but strictly speaking the amount of games being played.

[packs]

I understand what you're saying about the stats but I don't think they should be viewed in a vacuum. Jake Chesbro won 41 games in 1904 and almost no one knows his name. But if you win 30 games in 2021 you'd be a legend. There's an understanding of how the game has changed and numbers mean more or less depending on that understanding.