What happened to negro league players not good enough for the majors?

[4scuda]

I was watching pbs baseball series about the negro leagues and specifically the 1939 negro league World Series and saw thoughts came to mind. While integration into the majors was definitely the right and best thing to do it spelled the end for the negro leagues. According to the program there were 40000 people in the stands for the ws game. Got me thinking there must have been some money being made. Apparently negro league players made much less than major league players but much more than most other African Americans. Did the minor leagues integrate at the same time? The majority of players obviously didn’t make it to the majors and negro leagues dissolved I guess those players just got regular jobs and baseball was no longer an option. Maybe the negro leagues could have integrated and become minor league teams or was it just too bad for the good but not great players. It seems to me baseball actually shrank.

[Bored5000]

There actually were Negro League teams/barnstorming teams into the early 1960s, although the talent was obviously diminished as the best players suddenly had the MLB option. Even after Jackie Robinson broke the MLB color line, there was still an unwritten rule of not having more than two African-American players on an MLB team for a while. Even after Robinson's debut, it still took over a decade for every team in the major to integrate.

I just finished listening to Cam Perron's audiobook about his unlikely friendship with players from the Negro Leagues. I am not affiliated with the book or the author at all, but the book is awesome in detailing how a teenage white kid from Boston became friends with so many Negro League players in their 80s and 90s.

https://www.amazon.com/Comeback-Seas...s=books&sr=1-1

[Casey2296]

I would love to go back in time and attend a NLB game pre-integration, that sounds like a helluva good time.

[Jason19th]

A fairly large percentage of players in the higher level negro leagues made it to somewhere in “organized ball.” A lot of players who were past their prime went to play in Mexico or in the Provincial League in Canada. It is important that when most people talk about the Negro Leagues they are talking about the Top Level Leagues which were really high level and really only totaled about 200 players as we are talking about 15ish teams who had pretty small rosters. There was not a developed minors Leagues for the Negro Leagues. It compares to the 1910’s in MLB where there were the Majors and then a bunch of other totally independent leagues that varied widely in talent. The players in the Negro “majors” were all very good players who were able to move into some level of Organized ball if they wanted to.

[GeoPoto]

Raymond E. "Ray" Dandridge. "Hooks". "Squat". Third baseman in baseball's Negro leagues. 1987 inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. His career batting average in the Negro leagues was .355 while playing for four teams during 1933-1944. He was a 3-time All-Star. He also played in the Mexican League from 1940-1948.

Dandridge turned down a 1947 invitation from Bill Veeck to play in the Cleveland organization, which might have given him a chance to play in MLB. Viewed as one of the best fielding 3B in baseball history. He finished his career playing in the American Association (Triple-A minor league), where he was Rookie of the Year in 1949 and MVP in 1950. His last season as a player was 1955.

https://www.net54baseball.com/attach...1&d=1619374653

[timtass]

A number of players hooked on with semi pro teams. I know Fort Wayne semi pro teams in the 50's usually added two or three negro league players for tournaments. Most notably were Jim LaMarque and Pat Scantlebury. Some were too old to get signed to MLB teams.

[Exhibitman]

My limited understanding of the history is that quite a few got a short tryout in MLB and if they did not immediately rip the cover off the ball they were sent back down for good. Artie Wilson fits that bill. Last NLer to hit over .400, he got a short tryout with the Giants in 1951 then back down for good.

[moranbpc8]

In a broade sense I wonder if it is possible to apply some sabrmetrics to Negro, Minor and Foreign League players to determine their quality. As I understand it there is data lacking for very refined analysis. However, in a broade sense is it possible to get an indication of player xss who were overlooked. For example could one apply WAR to AAA leagues l like the PCL? When has enough data become available to do any meaningful analysis. This is just a thought. What does everyone think?

[moranbpc8]

Aw nuts! Sorry for mistypes. I meant broader in first sentence.

[BobC]

Originally Posted by moranbpc8

Aw nuts! Sorry for mistypes. I meant broader in first sentence.

You do know you could have just gone back to your original post to edit it and correct the spelling error, right? Just go back to your original post and look for the EDIT button at the bottom right hand corner of your post.

[mrreality68]

Originally Posted by bobc

you do know you could have just gone back to your original post to edit it and correct the spelling error, right? Just go back to your original post and look for the edit button at the bottom right hand corner of your post.

[bbcard1]

There's a local guy, Larry Legrande who caught Satchel Paige into the 1960s. He has some stories.

https://www.amazon.com/Found-Someone.../dp/B07BT4GSSJ

[Frankish]

Originally Posted by Jason19th

...It is important that when most people talk about the Negro Leagues they are talking about the Top Level Leagues which were really high level and really only totaled about 200 players as we are talking about 15ish teams who had pretty small rosters. There was not a developed minors Leagues for the Negro Leagues. It compares to the 1910’s in MLB where there were the Majors and then a bunch of other totally independent leagues that varied widely in talent. The players in the Negro “majors” were all very good players who were able to move into some level of Organized ball if they wanted to.

Very good point. Also, Robinson breaking the color line in 1947 didn't exactly open the flood gates. A disproportionate number of the Negro League players who joined the majors in the several years following went on to be stars. In all probability, there were many other players from the Negro "majors" who had the talent to play major league ball even if not among the elite players. Had they been white with their level of talent and experience, they would have been on rosters all over league, even if only as common cards (as it were).