Major League Baseball record books are about to change dramatically.
Negro league statistics will become part of MLB’s official record Wednesday, three years after it announced it was promoting the old leagues to the major leagues. USA Today first reported the news on Tuesday..
Hall of Fame catcher Josh Gibson becomes MLB’s single-season record holder in a variety of categories as 2,300 players who played in seven different leagues between 1920 and 1948 are added to MLB’s database and record book.
Gibson passed Ty Cobb for the all-time lead in batting average (.372) and surpassed Babe Ruth in slugging percentage (.718) and OPS (1.177).
The legendary catcher holds the single-season records for batting average (.466), slugging percentage (.974) and OPS (1.474), with the OPS being higher than Barry Bonds’ 2004 season (1.421 OPS).
Gibson played his entire 14-year career in the Negro Leagues.
“We are proud to now include Negro League players in the official historical record,” Commissioner Rob Manfred said. He told Yahoo Sports “This effort is focused on ensuring that the statistics and milestones of all those who helped make the Negro Leagues possible are available to future generations of fans. Their accomplishments on the field will serve as a gateway to learning more broadly about this triumph in American history and the path that led to Jackie Robinson’s Dodgers debut in 1947,” the statement said.
Gibson’s family said the change is about more than just her iconic influence.
“This not only means a lot to Josh Gibson’s family, but also to the 2,300 players in the Negro Leagues who never got a chance to play. [in the Major Leagues]”Gibson’s great-grandson, Shawn Gibson, told USA Today.
Official MLB Historian John Thorn He first spoke to USA Today in February. The league anticipates “sharing a robust representation of the unified MLB database with fans in 2024.”
According to Yahoo Sports, Thorn serves as chairman of baseball’s Negro Leagues Statistical Review Committee, which is made up of baseball historians, Negro Leagues experts, former players, researchers and journalists.
Shawn Gibson is one of the committee’s 15 members.
The committee reviewed box scores, statistics and other data from Seamheads, RetroSheet and the Elias Sports Bureau.
MLB will pay tribute to the Negro Leagues on June 20 with a regular-season game between the Giants and Cardinals at Rickwood Field in Alabama (historic home of the Birmingham Black Barons and occasional home of the Double-A Birmingham Barons).
With the record-breaking update on the horizon, Sean Gibson said he hopes the Baseball Writers’ Association of America will rename the MVP award to honor his great-grandfather.
The award was previously named after former MLB commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis, but his name was removed in 2020 after past MVP winners expressed discomfort with Landis’ history of integration in baseball.
Baseball did not integrate until after Landis’ death in 1944.
“It’s ironic that Josh Gibson would be chosen to replace the man who denied over 2,300 players the opportunity to play in the major leagues,” Sean Gibson told USA Today. “I’m hopeful that this statistic will lead to a change to the Josh Gibson MVP award.”
“These statistics make an excellent case for why this building should be named in his honor.”
