MLB now includes Negro League Stats

About dam time!!!!!

 

Good, don’t see the argument against it. Like JJ Redick said Bob Cousy played plumbers and fireman, these stats are as legitimate as any other stats from that time.

 

Good for their families.

Unrelated....put Barry in the HOF

 

No baseball stats matter till Bonds is in the HOF.

 

I would not go to this extreme but understand. I feel the same about Joe Jackson.

I would say that an independent committee needs to identify a specific begin and end of the "steroid era".

MLB all but handed out syringes and vials. They watched and did nothing. They profited from it. And most importantly, it was so rampant that it simply must be considered part of that era and not cheating that time people did and therefore should be kept out.

Anyone who was disciplined due to or linked to steroids during those years gets a complete free pass. Steroid use can not be used against them for election.

Then identify all players from that era who meet certain requirements. Make it 400 HR and/or 2000 hits, 200 Wins and/or 300 Saves or 50 WAR. Whatever the committee decides.

Anyone who meets the requirements and has not been elected on the regular ballot goes to a special vote, just like the other committees.

 

Partial seasons, I don't care what the cause, should not count among the single season records. If you didn't get 500 PA then you didn't play a full season.

Not that anybody really cares, all of the stats from pre WW2 are skewed anyway.

 

There's so many caveats to MLB stats already (live/dead ball, high/low mound, astroturf era, rampant doctoring of the ball by pitchers, amphetamines, steroids, etc...) that I have no problem with this

 

They have been integrated on Baseball Reference already.
I think it's like with anything else. You see the stats and perhaps some context goes into it.
We have guys from the 1800s I have never heard of that are top ten in wins all time.
Three or four guys from the 1800s that scored more career runs than Mickey Mantle.
It's good to have all the information and just put whatever context is needed as you review them.

 

He ain't gettin in, and unfortunately neither is Altuve

As long as the writers control the HOF, it ain't happening

It would be like putting Angel Hernandez in charge of sportsmanship awards

 

Agree

It's impossible to really compare players across different eras, no way to know how Babe Ruth would fare in today's game, although we can conger up a guess

So there is no reason to hold back the stats from the negro leagues either. It was all professional baseball

 

They will both get in, deservedly so.

One thing I do love about this is that the unrepentant racist Ty Cobb has been replaced as MLB's batting leader by a black guy (Josh Gibson)

Also, one HUGE caveat I forgot to mention earlier is the widespread inclusion of Latin players.

 

Well done, sir. This is the first and likely only time Hank Conger has been mentioned in the same sentence as Babe Ruth

 

I don't understand how a 60 game season can compare with a 150+ game season in any form, unless you're able to take the best 60 game stretch of a season and include them in records as well. Imagine if the 2020 season a batter hit over .400. Almost everyone would be begging for an * to be placed on it (Especially if it was a Dodger or Cub that did it).

The NBA has records with ABA and without. MLB could've easily done this as well.

I wonder though which is better: keeping the records separate or combining them but putting an * next to the shortened season stats. Either way it doesn't legitimize the record only makes MLB look progressive when nobody would've chastised them for not doing so.

 

Win for humanity... athletes are athletes, stud baseball players are just that. Should've never been a distinction/qualifier.

@Houstunna props for bringing notice/awareness to this....

 

Fully agree with the second and third parts

And I REALLY hope you are right about the first. I just don't see the writers allowing that to happen

Barry is the best baseball player I ever saw. He was a HOF caliber player before he started taking steroids. With the gained strength, even against pitchers doing the same thing, the dude was incredible. Only player i've ever seen get an intentional walk with the bases loaded, and for the most part everyone agreed with the decision

As for Altuve, you could legitimately make a case as the best 2B of all time. Obviously Joe Morgan (one of two great Astros from Bonham, ,Texas) and Jackie Robinson have a case. Rogers Hornsby has the numbers, but it's hard to just compare raw stats across eras and Hornsby played in a huge scoring era. When you add in what Jose has done in the playoffs, it's possible to make the case for him

But will the writers ever swallow their pride and let either in? I have my doubts

 

But that argument doesn't make sense. Are you stating that because blacks were discriminated against that Negro League stats mean more than the ABA stats? In this scenario you're painting you seem to feel that these players should be in the record books by default (almost like an "excuse us, we're sorry" approach).

Correct, career #s are not effected (except for the few crossovers that had huge careers), but single season stats do matter.

Right now, Lyman Bostock is credited with having the 3rd best batting average in a season at .465 despite only having 84 ABs.