MLB Takes Records Away from Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb Overnight by Incorporating Negro Leagues Stats
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
While segregation in America was certainly a mistake, it can’t be undone.
No amount of modern liberal revisionism can cover up history. Instead, it’ll simply muddy what happened, bringing confusion without undoing the wrongs that have occurred.
Major League Baseball has decided to ignore that, however, announcing on May 28 that they would be incorporating Negro League records into MLB’s records, according to ESPN.
This change has resulted in major shakeups for record holders, dethroning previous batting average record-holder Ty Cobb and slugging king Babe Ruth.
Cobb managed to maintain a .366 batting average after an insane 11,440 times at bat.
Babe Ruth held the record for slugging percentage at .690 after 8,399 at-bats.
And immediately the issue became present as Josh Gibson, the new record holder from the Negro League, had a high batting average at .373, but after only 2,168 at-bats, roughly a fifth of Cobb’s.
According to the new reckoning, Gibson also now beats Ruth in slugging with a .718.
These two baseball leagues were massively different, not just in the color of the players’ skin, but in who they played, how often they played, and the overall funding behind them.
Because of that, it makes comparing their statistics side-by-side massively flawed.
While Gibson was undoubtedly a fantastic player, could he have maintained that average after as many times on the plate as Cobb?
Baseball record-keeping is already messy to begin with. What’s counted as a hit, a steal, and many more aspects of the game have changed over time.
Adding a whole other league to the mix is only further muddying the waters of the situation.
But that probably isn’t a concern. Instead, the main concern seems to be what the modern left has made everything about: social justice.
The decision from the MLB likely has very little to do with honoring the players in the Negro League and much more covering their butts for having segregated leagues in the past.
MLB has gone full woke
Acknowledging stats from another entirely different league is like the NFL acknowledging stats from the CFL or XFL
Sheer stupidity and virtue signaling trying to make up for racist past https://t.co/COfLVtWkYb— Paisano (@Paisano) May 28, 2024
There were many other, better ways that they could have handled this situation, but they chose the most heavy-handed method.
But even some of the people this was meant to appease aren’t pleased with it. Some fans said that they’d prefer to see respect for the history of baseball over short-term publicity.
“As a black person, who loves the game of baseball and respects the Negro Leagues, this makes zero sense,” one user tweeted.
I’d be more akin to look at MLB history as Pre & Post Integration than this. This feels like a bandage over the fact the numbers of black players are at 6%, and the lack of black members on coaching staffs, front offices, and in the league office.
— Moses Massena (@MosesMassena16) May 28, 2024
He even suggested an alternative, dividing the history of the game into “Pre & Post integration,” giving way to both eras of the game.
“‘Fixing’ history is easier, safer, and a lot less meaningful than building a future for the next generation … I supported putting Negro League stars in the Hall of Fame. They earned it,” sports columnist Jason Whitlock wrote on X. “They never played in the Majors. Their stats don’t belong there.”
“Fixing” history is easier, safer, and a lot less meaningful than building a future for the next generation…. I supported putting Negro League stars in the Hall of Fame. They earned it. They never played in the Majors. Their stats don’t belong there. https://t.co/2d2xvjRgJo
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) May 28, 2024
The Negro League undoubtedly had fantastic players like Josh Gibson, who made their mark on baseball, but that doesn’t mean the MLB can rewrite history.
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