A .466 average? 1.01 ERA? The Negro Leagues stars behind baseball’s new record statistics
-
David Schoenfield, ESPN Senior Writer
When Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 and the slow integration of Black players into the American and National Leagues began — emphasis on slow, as the Phillies became the last NL team to integrate in 1957 and the Red Sox the last AL team in 1959 — the wave of talent coming out of the Negro Leagues was extraordinary.
Roy Campanella became Robinson’s teammate in 1948 and would win three NL MVP Awards. Don Newcombe joined Brooklyn in 1949 and would win an MVP and a Cy Young Award in 1955. Larry Doby became the first Black player in the American League in 1947. Minnie Minoso came up initially in 1949, Willie Mays in 1951, Ernie Banks in 1953, Henry Aaron in 1954. Eventually, teams bypassed the Negro League pipeline and signed young players themselves. By the end of the 1950s, Roberto Clemente, Frank Robinson, Orlando Cepeda, Willie McCovey, Billy Williams and Bob Gibson had reached the majors. This wave included several Hall of Famers and many of the game’s most legendary stars.
It stands to reason, then, that the Negro Leagues featured players of similar stature before Robinson arrived in ’47. As Bill James once wrote, referring to Robinson, Campanella, Mays, Banks and Aaron, “If those leagues could produce five players like that in seven years, what about the previous 40?”
That’s just one of the reasons it’s important to recognize the statistical accomplishments of the players who performed in the Negro Leagues as a permanent and official part of the MLB database — although it means new records and new names at the top of the all-time career and season leaderboards. This is not without some controversy; some view comparing statistics from different leagues as going a step too far to recognize those players who never had the opportunity to play in the integrated major leagues. (I point out that the National League and American League were separate leagues until 1997, other than meeting in the World Series.) Some will point out the fewer “official” games in a Negro League season create sample size issues when compared to numbers compiled over a longer season.
As MLB put it in its press release, “Negro League stats may be viewed separately
As the release stated, “New stars, and the stories behind them, will emerge.”
As I was scrolling through social media, I saw a poster write, “I had never heard of Josh Gibson.” Now he has.
Indeed, starting with Gibson, here are some all-time greats to know about with MLB’s Negro Leagues statistical update.
Josh Gibson
With a .372 batting average in Negro League competition, Gibson now tops Ty Cobb and his .367 average as the all-time career leader. (To clarify, the Negro Leagues Statistical Review Committee is considering results only from official league games and not the many barnstorming and unofficial games Negro League teams would play.) Gibson’s .466 average in 1943 also becomes the new single-season record. The previous record holder being replaced at the top? Hugh Duffy hit .440 in 1894 for the Boston team in the National League.
The interesting lesson here is that stories about Gibson always mention him as the greatest slugger in Negro League history. Feats of his prodigious power include legends about him being the only player to hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium or belting 600-foot home runs or the great Buck O’Neil saying he heard only three players produce a certain sound while hitting: Gibson, Babe Ruth and Bo Jackson.
Gibson was a tremendous home run hitter: In his 12 full seasons playing in the Negro Leagues, he led his league in home runs 11 times. But these records show he was also a great hitter for average, winning multiple batting titles. Gibson never got a chance to play in the integrated major leagues. He died of a stroke in January 1947 at age 35, just a few months before Robinson would break the color barrier. (Gibson had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1943, playing the final four seasons of his career with recurring headaches.) Gibson didn’t walk as often as Ruth, Ted Williams or Barry Bonds, but he’s up there with them (excepting his career length) and could be considered the greatest right-handed hitter of all time and the greatest catcher.
Oscar Charleston
Rogers Hornsby was considered the modern record holder for batting average in a single season, hitting .424 in 1924. Charleston now beats that at .434 in 1921 and .427 in 1925 while posting a career average of .363, third behind Gibson and Cobb. Charleston was never as famous as Gibson and Satchel Paige and once the Hall of Fame started electing Negro League players in the 1970s (Paige and Gibson were the first two elected), he was only the seventh one inducted. If you conducted a poll of Negro League experts, however, Charleston would be regarded as the best all-around player. He was a center fielder with speed and power, who led his league in home runs, batting average and stolen bases. O’Neil compared him to Willie Mays — only better.
Turkey Stearnes
It took Stearnes until 2000 to get elected to the Hall of Fame, but he ranks right up there with Gibson and Charleston as the best hitters in Negro League history with a .348 lifetime average and more home runs than Gibson (188 to 174 via the numbers at MLB.com, although Gibson homered more often per at-bat). Stearnes was a left-handed hitting center fielder, not a big man (listed at 5-foot-11, 175 pounds), but a clear five-tool player with many stories of long home runs. He was nicknamed Turkey either because of the way he flapped his arms while running or, according to a Stearnes interview, because he had a potbelly as a kid. His best years came with the Detroit Stars from 1923 to 1931, but the team never won a pennant, perhaps explaining why he faded away from memory and took so long to make the Hall of Fame.
Mule Suttles
A big, powerful first baseman/left fielder, Suttles is credited with 183 home runs and a .337 average on MLB.com, putting him alongside Gibson and Stearnes as the third great power hitter of the Negro Leagues. In his greatest season with the St. Louis Stars in 1926, he won the Triple Crown, hitting .425 with 32 home runs and 130 RBIs … in 94 games. According to Suttles’ SABR bio, research shows he played 126 games in the California Winter League from 1930 to 1940 — a strong league featuring active major leaguers and top minor leaguers. Playing on Black teams that played against white teams in the league, Suttles hit .378 with 64 home runs.
Buck Leonard
A first baseman, Leonard was called the “Black Lou Gehrig” — indeed, Leonard said he copied his swing after Gehrig’s — and finished with a lifetime average of .345, which places him eighth on the all-time list, a bit higher than Gehrig’s .340 mark. A graceful, respected player who was a gifted defensive first baseman, Leonard didn’t join the Homestead Grays — where he teamed with Gibson for a lethal one-two punch — until 1935, when he was 27 years old. He was still active when Robinson joined the Dodgers in 1947. Bill Veeck reportedly approached him about playing for the St. Louis Browns, but Leonard was in his 40s by then — too old, he said, to give it a try.
Satchel Paige
OK, hopefully you know about the great Satchel, regarded as the greatest pitcher in Negro League history. His 1.01 ERA for the Kansas City Monarchs in 16 starts in 1944 now ranks third on the all-time official list — behind Tim Keefe’s 0.86 for the 1880 Troy Trojans and Dutch Leonard’s 0.96 for the 1914 Red Sox. Of course, by then Paige was already 37 years old and probably past his fireballing peak of the late 1920s and early 1930s. How good was he? Well, Paige was the one Negro League legend who did a get chance to play after integration. In five seasons with the Cleveland Indians and Browns, pitching mostly in relief and relying more on junk and guile than his fastball, Paige posted a 3.31 ERA, good for an adjusted ERA+ of 124 — higher than Hall of Famers Juan Marichal, Mike Mussina, Bob Feller or Don Drysdale, to name a few.
This is just a starting point. Go look up Bullet Joe Rogan and John Henry “Pop” Lloyd and Cool Papa Bell and Martin Dihigo (maybe the best two-way player of all time before Shohei Ohtani) and Chino Smith (who hit .451 in 1929 but would die at age 30 after contracting yellow fever while playing in Cuba) and Willard Brown and Smokey Joe Williams and Willie Wells and so many others. These players are part of a rich, vital part of baseball history, of American history. Statistics and leaderboards and records are just a small part of that.
Week 4 is here as we dive into another weekend of college football madness.
The biggest story going into Saturday’s slate of games is if Arch Manning will get his first college start. After capturing the attention of fans, he’ll have a lot to live up to in the spotlight as Texas faces UL Monroe.
USC will be making an appearance at the Big House for the first time in over 60 years as its visit will kick off conference play for the Trojans. Elsewhere in the Big Ten, No. 24 Illinois visits No. 22 Nebraska where one Illinois receiver lives out a different version of a dream he once had.
Before all of this plays out, Appalachian State gets things started as it hosts South Alabama on Thursday.
Our college football experts give insight on players, sound and storylines going into Week 4.
Jump to a section:
Texas QB depth | Illinois’ Pat Bryant | Must needs to win
New conference enemy | Quotes of the week
Stacked QB rooms are nothing new at Texas
Todd Dodge has a unique vantage point to the hysteria around Arch Manning, who made a national splash in his first extensive playing time at Texas after starter and Heisman Trophy candidate Quinn Ewers sustained an oblique injury.
Dodge, a quarterback guru and legendary Texas high school coach with seven state championships — including three-peats at two different schools — lived in the burnt orange spotlight himself. As the first Texas high school quarterback to throw for more than 3,000 yards in a season in 1980, he was a star recruit for the Longhorns who started as a celebrity backup himself.
“The most popular guy in any college town is the No. 2 quarterback,” said Dodge, now the coach at Lovejoy High School in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. “I’ve been the No. 2 where I couldn’t buy my own dinner and everybody wanted to let me know how much they thought I ought to be playing. And I’ve been the No. 1 who’s played well, who was probably over-fawned-over and then I’ve been the No. 1 when the team lost and I didn’t play well and I’m the biggest bum in three counties.”
He said fans often assume a quarterback room is filled with jealousy or back-biting, but in his career, he has found it to be the opposite, which Steve Sarkisian reiterated Monday when he said nothing changes if Manning starts. The bond between Ewers and his backup is evident, Dodge said. And he is familiar with both players and their families, namely Ewers, because his son Riley, was Ewers’ head coach at Southlake Carroll.
“They’re very, very talented young men that both could be playing almost anywhere in the country, but the No. 2’s family [the Mannings] put tremendous value in development and patience,” he said. “To me, that takes a little bit of the angst off of me as the starter knowing that I don’t have a backup who’s out there just every waning minute trying to convince people that he ought to be the guy.”
Greg Davis, too, experienced the attention in his time in Austin. In 1998, Major Applewhite went 8-2 as the starter, was selected Big 12 Freshman of the Year, then Texas landed the No. 1 prospect in the country, Chris Simms, the well-pedigreed son of New York Giants legend Phil Simms. For the next three years, Simms and Applewhite both had their high points, and both served as co-starters. How do you manage that situation?
“Obviously you don’t live in a vacuum,” according to Davis, offensive coordinator under Mack Brown. “You’re aware of what they say in the grocery store.” Davis has ties to the Mannings himself. He recruited Eli alongside Simms, recruited Peyton at Arkansas and offered Arch’s dad, Cooper, when he was coaching at Tulane.
Davis said the pressure inside the building doesn’t come from attention or fans in the grocery store. It comes from picking the player who had the best chance to win. For Dodge, there’s no question, especially after seeing Ewers beat Oklahoma, then Alabama and Michigan in huge road victories.
“Gosh, all of us Texas fans are fired up about what Arch did the other day,” Dodge said. “But in the big picture, there’s a reason why Quinn Ewers is the starter. When you start having to face Georgia and people like that, well, it doesn’t mean that Arch Manning can’t have a bang-up game against a Georgia or an Alabama. It’s just that Quinn Ewers has already done it.” — Dave Wilson
Illinois’ Bryant dreams big after being molded through tragedy
Tattoos are filling up Pat Bryant’s body, memorializing those whose lives once ran parallel to his but diverged and ended far too soon.
Bryant, the star senior wide receiver for No. 24 Illinois, now has four tattoos honoring his friends from Jacksonville, Florida, who have died in recent years. One of the most painful came only two days after Bryant and the Illini played in the ReliaQuest Bowl in Tampa, when Bryant’s best friend, Alim Denson, nicknamed “Twin,” died while in prison.
“A lot of those guys, I grew up playing sports with, we all had the same dream,” Bryant said. “Being able to reach my dream, knowing they’re looking down on me, they’re very, very proud. Also, for the kids of the community, I want to show them that there’s more to life than gun violence, drugs. I just want to be a great role model for my community.”
Bryant, who leads Illinois with 235 receiving yards and four touchdowns this season, has contributed to a new community, far from home. He was named a team captain last month, as he prepared for his third season as a starter.
The 6-foot-3 Bryant received 33 scholarship offers in high school, including all the in-state schools, except the one he truly wanted, Florida, where both of his parents attended. Bryant committed to Illinois in June 2020, essentially sight unseen, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
But in mid-December, just before the end of a delayed and shortened season, Illinois fired coach Lovie Smith. The first high school signing day was just three days away. Wide receivers coach Andrew Hayes-Stoker called Bryant and encouraged him to sign anyway, which he did. Three days later, Illinois hired Bret Bielema to replace Smith.
When Bryant finally visited Champaign, there was some confusion.
“I flew in, thinking the University of Illinois was in Chicago,” Bryant said. “I get off the plane, we get in an Uber, they’re taking us to the dorm, and I’m just waiting to see the big skyline. And I see corn field after corn field. I was like, ‘There’s no way,’ but I adapted to where I was. Great college town.”
Bryant has built a strong connection to Champaign. Earlier this month, he and two teammates pooled their NIL earnings to donate backpacks and school supplies to local children. Bryant’s desire to give back stems in part from his father, Patrick, the athletic director of the Police Athletic League of Jacksonville, which places officers to help with youth sports programs around the city. Pat Jr. played basketball and flag football in the league.
“He’s been nothing but a class example of everything we believe in here,” Bielema said.
After seven touchdown catches in 2023, Bryant is on pace for a breakout season, which continues Friday night at No. 22 Nebraska. Bielema has received good reviews from NFL scouts on Bryant, who also excels with run blocking. Bryant’s path reminds Bielema of the Atlanta Falcons’ Casey Washington.
At a morning meeting after Illinois’ second win, Bielema recognized Bryant as the team’s top overall performer.
“He lives a routine every day that gives him an advantage,” Bielema said. “We talked about how he’s in the building by 5:15 a.m., he doesn’t have to be checked in by 6:30. It’s just an awesome thing to witness. He knows where he’s at, he knows how to take care of himself. Unfortunately, he’s had some tragedy in his life and it helps motivate him for the future.”
Bryant plays for Denson and the other friends he has lost, but he’s also focused on his current teammates.
“I feel like I have a powerful voice, I can relate to everyone on the team,” he said. “I feel people respect me, not only because of my game but because of the kind of person I am.” — Adam Rittenberg
What teams need to capitalize on to win
Utah: Any sort of analysis about this game for the Utes has to begin with the status of quarterback Cam Rising. There hasn’t been an official update about whether he will play, but it’s hard not to interpret the fact that he spoke to reporters this week about the game as an indicator he will be available — unless it’s an elaborate form of gamesmanship, which cannot be ruled out. After falling behind 14-3 to Utah State last week, the Utes were able to come back and win comfortably, but it’s important the Utes don’t follow that script again. Independent of whether Rising plays, the Utes are at their best when the running game does the heavy lifting, and it does not suit their strengths to go into catch-up mode. This is especially true against an explosive offense like Oklahoma State. The best-case scenario here for the Utes is if Rising plays, they establish Micah Bernard early and neutralize Ollie Gordon II to a reasonable degree. — Kyle Bonagura
Oklahoma State: With back-to-back games against Utah and Kansas State to begin the 2024 Big 12 slate, Oklahoma State is about to enter a season-defining stretch. What better way for the Cowboys to make a statement in the Big 12 title hunt than by figuring out the running game and unleashing reigning Doak Walker Award winner Gordon in Week 4?
Coach Mike Gundy says he’s “not concerned” about Oklahoma State’s start on the ground this seasos. But through Week 3, the Cowboys rank 105th in rushing among FBS offenses and Gordon is averaging 3.5 yards per carry, down from 6.1 in 2023 when Gordon finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting. Oklahoma State leaned on its passing game to storm past Tulsa last Saturday when Gordon carried 17 times for just 41 yards. Relying so heavily on quarterback Alan Bowman won’t be as easy this weekend against Utah’s 26th-ranked pass defense. The Cowboys’ broader College Football Playoff aspirations probably hinge on finding a way to get Gordon and the run game going. Saturday against Utah is a good place for them to start. — Eli Lederman
Get to know your new conference enemy
With so much anticipation heading into this season about the new West Coast additions of the Big Ten playing matchups like this one, it’s hard to believe how much USC and Michigan have already switched roles.
The defending national champion has not looked the part after losing its head coach in Jim Harbaugh, but also plenty of talent on the field such as quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Blake Corum, among several others. After losing 31-12 to Texas at home and struggling on offense last week against Arkansas State, this isn’t exactly looking like the encore Wolverines fans envisioned.
Now, USC comes to town for its first marquee Big Ten game, looking far removed from the bitter end it had to the Caleb Williams era last year. After firing defensive coordinator Alex Grinch, Lincoln Riley revamped the defensive staff with former UCLA coordinator D’Anton Lynn, and after a statement win over LSU in the opener and a shutout of Utah State at home, the Trojans are coming off a bye week and look to be on the way up.
Despite any momentum USC might have, the concept of playing — and winning — a road game in the Big House looms large on any opponent, especially one that hasn’t been there since 1958. Though USC players keep harping on their improved physicality in the trenches being the deciding factor in this game, Riley has remained adamant over the past week that despite its struggles, Michigan is a really good team with NFL-caliber players. You can see how much he is trying to will his team to not view itself as the favorites, even if the odds say so.
“Everybody wants to write the story after a couple of games in the season for everyone,” Riley said this week. “And it’s a long season, man. That’s a good football team that we have a lot of respect for. To have anything less would be a mistake on our part.” — Paolo Uggetti
Quotes of the week
-
“Yeah, there’s an old quarterback from Muleshoe, Texas that’s going to come out of retirement, can see if his legs still got it,” Lincoln Riley, smiling, when asked if USC has someone on the scout team that can replicate what Michigan QB Alex Orji does on the ground. “No, we got a couple of guys that we’re trying to use a little bit. But he’s a really good athlete. I told people last night I was familiar with him. We recruited him a little bit coming out of high school, remember, I have a lot of respect for him as a player and an athlete.”
-
“I thought that they were trying to make it hard on us, to be honest with you,” Mike Gundy said Monday with Oklahoma State staring down back-to-back meetings against conference favorites Utah and Kansas State to open Big 12 play. “Commissioner [Brett Yormark] is my buddy, but he doesn’t do the scheduling. So, I’ve sent the wrong guy pecans for Christmas. I should’ve sent the scheduling guy pecans for Christmas.”
NEW YORK — Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies clinched their third consecutive playoff appearance Friday night with a 12-2 victory over the New York Mets.
Assured at least a National League wild card, the Phillies can secure their first NL East title since 2011 with one more win this weekend against the second-place Mets at Citi Field.
With the division crown so close, Philadelphia planned a mellow celebration following Friday night’s game — hoping to let loose soon with a boozy clubhouse bash after locking up first place.
Seeking their third World Series championship, the Phillies overtook Atlanta for the division lead on May 3 and haven’t trailed since. Their victory coupled with the Braves’ 4-3 loss in Miami eliminated Atlanta from contention for the NL East crown — ending its six-year reign atop the division.
Alec Bohm had four hits and four RBIs, including a three-run homer, in Friday night’s blowout. Nick Castellanos had three hits and two RBIs, J.T. Realmuto added a two-run homer and the Phillies extended their NL East lead to seven games over the second-place Mets (85-69) with eight to play.
Philadelphia stole five bases — four in a six-run fourth inning capped by Bohm’s homer off reliever Adam Ottavino. Johan Rojas had a two-run double off starter David Peterson (9-3), who was pulled after just 64 pitches and 3 2/3 innings — his shortest start of the season.
Cristopher Sanchez (11-9) overcame a shaky start and five walks in five innings for the win. Philadelphia outhit the Mets 17-4.
Philadelphia (92-62) has the best record in the major leagues and is on track for a first-round bye in the playoffs. It’s the third time the Phillies have reached the postseason three years in a row (1976-78 and 2007-11).
Philadelphia won five straight NL East titles from 2007-11, then went 10 years without making the playoffs. A wild-card entry each of the past two postseasons, the Phillies put together consecutive October runs that ended in heartbreak.
They reached the 2022 World Series, losing to Houston in six games, and dropped a seven-game NL Championship Series to Arizona last year after leading the underdog Diamondbacks 2-0 and 3-2.
So this time, the Phillies are looking to go all the way and finally finish the job.
Philadelphia’s only World Series championships came in 1980 and 2008.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports6 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports11 months agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Environment1 year agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Environment1 year agoTesla advances Powerwall pilot project with German electric company