Negro Leagues Recognized As Major

[Topnotchsy]

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

Forgive me, but this only proves that the MLB clubs picked the freshest, best cream off the top of the Negro League milk bottle. That's neither fresh news nor relevant to the conversation, and purely coincidental that the award happened to be won by black players.



Sadly, that number can only ever be a guess. There will never be definitive proof of this; it can only be speculated. Also, does this not fly in the face of what you already wrote about the majority of Negro Leaguers only being of AAA caliber? Even with our better understanding and appreciation of overlooked Negro League stars who were finally inducted after so long, statistically, we're nowhere near 50%. Even after years of scrupulous study of (hopefully) rediscovered box scores, will Cooperstown be opening the floodgates to that many players to even come close to that figure? Highly doubtful.

Since Integration, we have 70 years where black players have been roughly half of the all-time greats. I can't say definitively that before that era the players would have been equally good, but it's reasonable to speculate. The elite talent has been sustained for 70 years since, and includes players that crossed over leagues (Jackie, Campanella, Aaron, Mays etc all played in the Negro Leagues.)

When you talk about picking the "cream of the crop" that's likely at least somewhat true. But in winning the ROY, these players were finishing on top of all the white players who were rookies (and subsequently the many MVP's won by Mays, Aaron, Frank Robinson, Campanella etc which means they were literally viewed as the best.)

Regarding my two comments, they are consistent. Research has shown that the elite of the Negro Leagues were on par with the elite in the Majors, but that the teams were overall thinner in talent.

Even if the number of stars missing from pre-integration was 30%-40% and not fully 50%, you are looking at the leagues missing large groups of the best players.

In my mind, if you don't count the Negro Leagues as a Major League because it didn't quite live up to the AL and NL (top to bottom), it's hard to compare stats from pre-integration with post-integration.

All that said, I know not everyone will agree (though I think most will disagree with less nuance than you have) and I appreciate the dialogue around this.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Topnotchsy

Since Integration, we have 70 years where black players have been roughly half of the all-time greats. I can't say definitively that before that era the players would have been equally good, but it's reasonable to speculate. The elite talent has been sustained for 70 years since, and includes players that crossed over leagues (Jackie, Campanella, Aaron, Mays etc all played in the Negro Leagues.)

I think it's also pertinent to mention the huge upswing in Latin American talent that represents your post-integration demographic. It gives this discussion more points to consider. While there were certainly black Latinos playing in the Negro Leagues, it was statistically far from what's transpired in the integrated era. The great players of the last 30+ years with (at least some) African ancestry have more often than not been Latino.

And while there are a handful of black Latino HOFers from the Negro Leagues, there was never a Latino superstar who made it into pre-integration MLB.

[Topnotchsy]

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

I think it's also pertinent to mention the huge upswing in Latin American talent that represents your post-integration demographic. It gives this discussion more points to consider. While there were certainly black Latinos playing in the Negro Leagues, it was statistically far from what's transpired in the integrated era. The great players of the last 30+ years with (at least some) African ancestry have more often than not been Latino.

And while there are a handful of black Latino HOFers from the Negro Leagues, there was never a Latino superstar who made it into pre-integration MLB.

That's a point I hadn't considered, but I'm not sure I agree for a couple of reasons.

1) All the players I mentioned were black except for Clemente, and I don't believe any were Latino. I didn't even mention Pujols, Arod etc.

2) There were many great players who because they couldn't play in the MLB, chose to play in Cuba, Puerto Rico and Mexico. Players like Alejandro Oms, Pedro (Perucho) Cepeda etc. Had those players had the chance to play in the MLB, with the increased salaries and opportunities, many if not all would have taken that opportunity. (Some players were explicit about not playing in the US because of the color barrier)

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

And while there are a handful of black Latino HOFers from the Negro Leagues, there was never a Latino superstar who made it into pre-integration MLB.

Ted Williams says hello.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Tabe

Ted Williams says hello.

Touche! You got me there, Chris.

(Although Ted's roots were definitely covered more than once and way back when, it still was not something most people were privy to. I think this would still be news to the majority of the population. The case of Teddy completely slipped my mind, as I was thinking of those who actually came from Latin American countries when I wrote what I did. It's a shame he wished to hide an entire half of his genes and to an extent, his family.)

[clydepepper]

Look- if nobody has any opinions on this subject, perhaps the OP should just ask Leon to close the thread.

LOL

- why so serious?


.

[todeen]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

Look- if nobody has any opinions on this subject, perhaps the OP should just ask Leon to close the thread.



LOL



- why so serious?





.

Lol +1

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[Peter_Spaeth]

According to the "official" stats Josh Gibson hit 113 HR. I wonder how many he really hit.

[riggs336]

Originally Posted by clydepepper

Look- if nobody has any opinions on this subject, perhaps the OP should just ask Leon to close the thread.

LOL

- why so serious?


.

I'm the OP but all I did was state the fact in the thread title. Little did I suspect that people on Net54 would have opinions.

[Exhibitman]

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

Touche! You got me there, Chris.

(Although Ted's roots were definitely covered more than once and way back when, it still was not something most people were privy to. I think this would still be news to the majority of the population. The case of Teddy completely slipped my mind, as I was thinking of those who actually came from Latin American countries when I wrote what I did. It's a shame he wished to hide an entire half of his genes and to an extent, his family.)

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

Touche! You got me there, Chris.

(Although Ted's roots were definitely covered more than once and way back when, it still was not something most people were privy to. I think this would still be news to the majority of the population. The case of Teddy completely slipped my mind, as I was thinking of those who actually came from Latin American countries when I wrote what I did. It's a shame he wished to hide an entire half of his genes and to an extent, his family.)

To be fair, counting Ted is kinda cheating. He hid his roots and, for lack of a better way to put it, didn't "look the part". He certainly wasn't an open Latino during his career or, really, his whole life.

[BillyCoxDodgers3B]

Originally Posted by Tabe

To be fair, counting Ted is kinda cheating. He hid his roots and, for lack of a better way to put it, didn't "look the part". He certainly wasn't an open Latino during his career or, really, his whole life.

Exactly why it slipped my mind in the first place. Thanks to your correction, though, I'm never likely to forget about it again!

[Tabe]

Originally Posted by BillyCox3

Exactly why it slipped my mind in the first place. Thanks to your correction, though, I'm never likely to forget about it again!

Don't worry, if you do, I'll be here to berate you endlessly.