MLB OFFICIALLY INCORPORATES STATISTICS OF FORMER NIGRO LEAGUES PLAYERS

USA TODAY Sports 

 Major League Baseball has officially incorporated statistics of former Negro Leagues players from 1920-1948 into its historical records on Wednesday in a move that saw all-time greats like Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb replaced atop some categories.

Because of the changes several MLB records, including career leader in batting average, are now held by Hall of Famer Josh Gibson while the career totals of players like Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson will also reflect their Negro Leagues totals.

"We are proud that the official historical record now includes the players of the Negro Leagues," MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred said in a news release.

"This initiative is focused on ensuring that future generations of fans have access to the statistics and milestones of all those who made the Negro Leagues possible.

"Their accomplishments on the field will be a gateway to broader learning about this triumph in American history and the path that led to Jackie Robinson's 1947 Dodger debut."

Given the changes, Gibson now holds the all-time lead with a .372 batting average, surpassing Hall of Famer Cobb's career .367 batting average. Gibson also replaced Hall of Famer Ruth atop the career slugging percentage list with a .718 total.

Gibson is now MLB's all-time career leader in batting average, slugging percentage and on-base plus slugging percentage, and holds the all-time single-season records in each of the categories.

The statistics of more than 2,300 Negro Leagues ballplayers from 1920-1948 launched on Wednesday in a newly integrated database on MLB's website.

According to the news release, it is estimated that the available Negro Leagues records between 1920-1948 are nearly 75% complete and future findings may result in additional changes to the game's all-time leaderboards.

MLB announced in 2020 that it would correct "a longtime oversight" and incorporate the statistics of the Negro Leagues, in which Black players competed after being forced out of MLB competition due to racism and segregation laws.

The changes to many long-held records follow an evaluation by the independent Negro Leagues Statistical Review Committee, which was chaired by John Thorn, the Official Historian of Major League Baseball.

"Shortened Negro League schedules, interspersed with revenue-raising exhibition games, were born of MLB’s exclusionary practices," Thorn said in the MLB release.

"To deny the best Black players of the era their rightful place among all-time leaders would be a double penalty."

- Reuters