By Miguel Rapetti
May 29, 2024, 00:35 AM EDT
The Major Leagues are ready to add all Negro League numbers to their baseball statistics registry starting this Wednesday, in an attempt by commissioner Rob Manfred to give the recognition they deserve to African Americans who could not be part of the MLB circuit. due to racial segregation that existed until 1948.
With this decision, the Major Leagues fulfill the mission that they had started towards the end of 2020 and that they had resumed two months ago, to recognize the contributions made to baseball, during the operation of the Negro Leagues, between the years of 1920 to 1948.
The decision will be officially announced this Wednesday, according to sources from portals such as USA Today Sports or The New York Times.
“We are now grateful to count Negro Leagues players where they belong: as Major League players within the official all-time record,” MLB commissioner Rob Manfred said at the time.
Following this decision by the MLB commissioner’s office, some 3,400 players will be added to the historical records managed by the MLB.
Star names such as Satchel Paige, Josh Gibson, Cool Papa Bell, Willie Mays or Jackie Robinson, who ended the racial barrier in the Major Leagues, made history in the Negro League teams and paved the way for new generations.
The importance of recognizing the contributions of the Negro Leagues has been highlighted by Ryan Howard, former Philadelphia Phillies player, who was honored as the most outstanding of the Negro Legends Game, held in Cooperstown, New York, as part of the weekend celebration of African American baseball history.
“Being able to recognize how important black baseball is to the game of baseball and being able to showcase it here in Cooperstown, I think is very important,” said the 2006 National League Most Valuable Player.
“To be able to come out here and continue to showcase the guys that came before me… …Those guys that didn’t get a chance to play in the big leagues. For me, it’s just continuing to pay tribute to those who paved the way for people like me,” Howard said.
In addition to the fact that the Negro Leagues prepared the entry of African-American players to the highest level of the MLB, it was also the springboard that many Latin players used to show their talent, among them the Cubans Martín Dihigo, José Méndez, Minnie Miñoso and Cristóbal Torriente, the Dominican Juan Esteban “Tetelo” Vargas or the historic Puerto Rican Roberto Clemente.
The Negro Leagues consisted of seven leagues and the Majors will include records from those circuits from between 1920 and 1948.
The Negro Leagues began to disband a year after Jackie Robinson became the first black player to play in the Major Leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947.
Those leagues were excluded in 1969 when the Special Committee on Baseball Records identified six official “major leagues” dating back to 1876.
“The Majors are of the opinion that the omission of the 1969 Negro Leagues Committee was an error that necessitates today’s designation,” the league said in a statement.
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