Record books to be rewritten as MLB adopts Negro Leagues stats

Major League Baseball's record books are set to be rewritten as the sport formally incorporates statistics from the racially segregated Negro Leagues of 1920-1948 into its official history, reports said on Tuesday.

USA Today reported that MLB, which elevated the Negro Leagues to "Major League" status in 2020, is to announce the adoption of the African-American baseball league's records in an official announcement on Wednesday.

Black players unable to compete in MLB due to racism and segregation laws competed professionally in the Negro Leagues around the United States until Jackie Robinson broke baseball's color barrier when he debuted for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15, 1947.

Wednesday's pending announcement means that the likes of Negro Leagues stars such as Hall of Fame catcher Josh Gibson will now have their names etched into baseball's official pantheon alongside the likes of iconic figures such as Babe Ruth, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

Gibson played his entire career in the Negro Leagues between 1930 and 1946, accumulating statistical benchmarks that will now surpass some of the most longstanding records in the sport.

At a stroke, Gibson will become baseball's all-time leader in batting average, his career average of .372 eclipsing Ty Cobb's record of .366 -- a hitherto untouchable record which has stood since Cobb's retirement in 1928.

Gibson will also take over the records for single season batting average (.466), single season slugging percentage (.974) and single season OPS (on-base plus slugging).

Gibson will also annex records held by Babe Ruth, regarded by many as the greatest player in baseball history. Gibson will now set new records for career slugging percentage (.718) and OPS (1.177).

- Boosting records -

"When you hear Josh Gibson's name now, it's not just that he was the greatest player in the Negro Leagues but one of the greatest of all time," Gibson's great-grandson Sean Gibson was quoted by USA Today as saying. "These aren't just Negro League stats. They're Major League Baseball stats."

MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said in 2020 that the move to elevate the Negro Leagues to "Major League" status was "correcting a longtime oversight in the game's history."

"All of us who love baseball have long known that the Negro Leagues produced many of our game's best players, innovations and triumphs against a backdrop of injustice," Manfred said at the time.

Wednesday's announcement means that some 3,400 players who competed in the Negro Leagues will now form an official part of baseball history.

The integrated record books will also boost some of the existing records of Black players who competed in the Negro Leagues before going on to participate in Major League Baseball following Robinson's trailblazing move to the Dodgers in 1947.

Hall of Fame pitcher Satchel Paige's wins total has increased to 124 from 28 after the inclusion of his Negro League stats, giving him the third best single season earned run average (ERA) in history at 1.01.

The New York Times meanwhile quoted Negro Leagues researcher Larry Lester, who acknowledged that the statistical shake-up was likely to stir up debate.

"People will be, I don't know if upset is the word, but they may be uncomfortable with some Negro League stars now on the leaderboards for career and seasons," Lester told the Times.

"Diehards may not accept the stats, but that's OK. I welcome the conversations at the bar or the barbershop or the pool hall. That's why we do what we do."