MLB adds Negro Leagues to official records

[Vandal]

From MLB.com:
Major League Baseball has long celebrated the legacy of the Negro Leagues. But for the first time, MLB is officially recognizing that the quality of the segregation-era circuits was comparable to its own product from that time period.

Addressing what MLB described as a “long overdue recognition,” Commissioner Rob Manfred on Wednesday bestowed Major League status upon seven professional Negro Leagues that operated between 1920 and 1948. The decision means that the approximately 3,400 players of the Negro Leagues during this time period are officially considered Major Leaguers, with their stats and records becoming a part of Major League history.
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Only Negro League stats from league games from 1920-48 will be taken into account. The reason for the starting point is that attempts to develop Negro Leagues prior to 1920 were ultimately unsuccessful and lacked a league structure. And 1948 was deemed to be a reasonable end point because it was the last year of the Negro National League and the segregated World Series. After that point, the Negro League teams and leagues that had endured were stripped of much of their talent.

Statistics from barnstorming and exhibition games will also not be included. It is for that reason that Gibson’s official home run total might seem low, relative to the legend of him possibly challenging Aaron and Barry Bonds for the all-time record. Similarly, the home runs that Aaron hit in his brief Negro Leagues stint came after 1948, so they will not be counted and his career home run total will not change. Willie Mays, however, will see his hit total and career batting average change ever so slightly due to the time he spent with the Birmingham Barons in 1948.

https://www.mlb.com/news/negro-leagues- ... ords-stats

[Vandal]

Josh Gibson is now the last MLB player to hit .400.

Less clear at this stage, pending the discussions between MLB and Elias, is how rate statistics such as batting average or slugging percentage will be classified. For instance, Gibson (.365), Jud Wilson (.359), Charleston (.350) and Turkey Stearnes (.348) all had at least 3,000 career plate appearances and batting averages that would rank in the top 10 all-time, according to the Seamheads database. Their inclusion on that particular list would push the legendary likes of Ted Williams (.344) and Babe Ruth (.342) out of the top 10.

[Ritterskoop]

We had a story that this was in the works a couple of weeks ago. I have several pages of lyrics-based headlines saved from back when I actually got to write headlines, and was able to use one of them from "Everything's Coming Up Roses" in the kicker headline here.

Now's their inning:

MLB ponders including Negro Leagues stats [or whatever the boring small headline said]

I didn't read every word of the story, but the people they quoted have been working on this for DECADES, so it's not some spur-of-the-moment thing. They've given it a lot of thought, knowing some of the fans' favorites would move down oN the lists.

[Ritterskoop]

Non-baseball-related - I also got to use "Everything's better with rock" on a story about a public park that's being rebuilt with a stone water feature.

Small pleasures, these days.