- Marc Marquez quickest in Australian MotoGP practice
- 'Like Texas': Spain's arid south draws Western film shoots
- With record production, Moldova plum farmers hail EU integration
- Nigerians sacrifice cars as cost of living crisis worsens
- Liverpool face Chelsea title test, Ten Hag fights to avoid sack
- Dodgers roll while Guardians fry Yankees in MLB playoff thriller
- Top Texas court stays execution of autistic man in 'shaken baby' case
- China posts slowest growth in over a year as property woes drag
- Asian markets swing as China economic growth slows
- Pogba's shadow looms over Juve as revitalised Lazio come to town
- 'Unbelievable' Raphinha leading Barca into tricky triple-header
- In-form Marmoush and Frankfurt hope to tackle history at wounded Leverkusen
- Britain's Lammy in China to 'challenge' Beijing on Russia support
- Manila's car counters help address 'world's worst traffic'
- British racing attendances falling behind, says Qatar Racing's manager
- Rain forces cancellation of opening practice for Australian MotoGP
- Dupont 'beyond surprise' for Toulouse's Kinghorn
- Drought forces Big Tech to rethink thirsty LatAm data centers
- Countries under pressure to fork out for nature at UN conference
- Biden, allies in Berlin to renew Gaza truce call after Hamas leader killed
- Guardians rally to fry Yankees in 10 innings in MLB playoff thriller
- World Bank president focused on job creation ahead of annual meetings
- World Bank chief says lender's climate goals likely safe under Trump
- Japan's core inflation rate slows in September
- Israel PM says killing of Hamas chief 'beginning of the end' of Gaza war
- King Charles set to arrive in Australia for landmark tour
- Nadal defeated by 'animal' Alcaraz in Saudi Arabia as career nears end
- US Supreme Court denies stay of execution to Texas man in 'shaken baby' case
- US charges Indian agent over alleged plot to kill Sikh separatist
- Musk stumps for Trump in key US swing state
- TikTok, Facebook approve ads with US election disinformation, study says
- Purdy and 49ers face Chiefs in Super Bowl rematch
- Kenya deputy president ousted in historic impeachment
- Israel military says Sinwar killed in firefight while tracked by drone
- One Direction members 'devastated' by Liam Payne's death
- Norris shrugs off Red Bull 'trick' of the trade at US Grand Prix
- Global stocks climb as ECB cuts rates and tech rebounds
- Chelsea, Lyon ease to wins in Women's Champions League
- China expected to post slowing growth as economic woes drag
- Yamasaki brings keirin world title home as Japan takes two track golds
- Netflix adds millions of subscribers but growth slows
- 'Deeply misguided' to wall US off with tariffs: Yellen
- Biden farewell visit to Berlin focused on Ukraine, Mideast wars
- EU leaders urge new laws to speed up migrant returns
- Sinwar killing a blow to Hamas but impact on war uncertain
- Mitzi Gaynor, star of 'South Pacific,' dies aged 93
- Trump says Zelensky 'should never have let' Ukraine war start
- Harris woos undecided voters as Trump riles critics over Ukraine
- Hayes turns focus to US women's World Cup goal
- Zelensky seeks EU, NATO backing for 'victory plan'
SCS | 0.53% | 13.21 | $ | |
RBGPF | 0.69% | 60.92 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.52% | 25.02 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.52% | 24.79 | $ | |
NGG | -1.41% | 67.19 | $ | |
GSK | -0.64% | 38.96 | $ | |
RIO | -1.32% | 65.09 | $ | |
BTI | -1.22% | 35.37 | $ | |
BCC | -3.38% | 142.2 | $ | |
RELX | 0.91% | 48.59 | $ | |
AZN | -0.37% | 78.02 | $ | |
JRI | -0.15% | 13.15 | $ | |
BP | 1.25% | 31.32 | $ | |
VOD | -1.23% | 9.73 | $ | |
BCE | 0.03% | 33.49 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.68% | 7.4 | $ |
Records rewritten as baseball incorporates Negro Leagues stats
Major League Baseball formally adopted statistics from the racially segregated Negro Leagues into its official history on Wednesday, rewriting the record books at a stroke in a landmark move which confronts the sport's racist past.
MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement the decision gave long-overdue recognition to the achievement of African-American players in the league who deserve to be ranked alongside baseball's most iconic names.
"All of us who love baseball have long known that the Negro Leagues produced many of our game's best players, innovations and triumphs against a backdrop of injustice," Manfred said on the league's website.
"We are now grateful to count the players of the Negro Leagues where they belong: as Major Leaguers within the official historical record."
Black players were barred from competing in the major leagues due to racism and segregation laws until Jackie Robinson famously broke baseball's color barrier by debuting for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.
Instead, African-American players plied their trade in the Negro Leagues, which ran from 1920 to 1948.
However while the segregated league produced many players who would go onto forge dazzling careers in Major League Baseball, their statistical achievements from that era were never recognised.
In 2020 however, with the United States plunged into nationwide soul-searching over racial injusice following the death of George Floyd, MLB chiefs said it was time to finally grant "Major League" status to the Negro Leagues, in a move Manfred described as "correcting a longtime oversight" in the game's history.
A panel of Negro Leagues experts and historians subsequently pored over the record books to evaluate statistics from the era and determine how to incorporate them into MLB history.
Wednesday's move means that the likes of Negro Leagues stars such as Hall of Fame catcher Josh Gibson are now etched into baseball's official pantheon alongside iconic figures such as Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.
- Ruth records rewritten -
Gibson played his entire career in the Negro Leagues between 1930 and 1946, accumulating statistical benchmarks which are now acknowledged as surpassing some of the most longstanding records in the sport.
Gibson is now baseball's all-time leader in batting average, his career average of .372 eclipsing Ty Cobb's record of .366 -- a hitherto untouchable record which had stood since Cobb's retirement in 1928.
Gibson also takes over the records for single season batting average (.466), single season slugging percentage (.974) and single season OPS (on-base plus slugging).
In several categories, Gibson replaces Babe Ruth, regarded by many as the greatest player in baseball history. Gibson now betters Ruth's records for career slugging percentage (.718) and OPS (1.177).
"When you hear Josh Gibson's name now, it's not just that he was the greatest player in the Negro Leagues but one of the greatest of all time," Gibson's great-grandson Sean Gibson told USA Today ahead of Wednesday's announcement.
"These aren't just Negro League stats. They're Major League Baseball stats."
The integrated record books will also boost some of the existing records of Black players who competed in the Negro Leagues before going on to participate in Major League Baseball following Robinson's trailblazing move to the Dodgers in 1947.
Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige's wins total has increased to 124 from 28 after the inclusion of his Negro League stats, giving him the third best single season earned run average (ERA) in history at 1.01.
The New York Times meanwhile quoted Negro Leagues researcher Larry Lester, who acknowledged that the statistical shake-up was likely to stir up debate.
"People will be, I don't know if upset is the word, but they may be uncomfortable with some Negro League stars now on the leaderboards for career and seasons," Lester told the Times.
"Diehards may not accept the stats, but that's OK. I welcome the conversations at the bar or the barbershop or the pool hall. That's why we do what we do."
E.Schubert--BTB