Baseball is described as America's pastime. From the outdoor stadiums to the tradition of the game, people love it. When it comes to the tradition associated with it, sometimes that can be as small as coaches wearing uniforms but unfortunately, it can also be as large as racism associated with the sport. African American players have always had a huge impact on baseball, but it was not always recognized. This blatant display of racism was often just chalked up to honoring tradition, or avoiding change. But how did they get away with this? And more importantly, how did this change come about?
Tradition in Baseball
Baseball is undoubtedly known as a sport with fans who do not want to promote change. Things like the pitch clock, pitching rules, and any sort of change drives the MLB fan base crazy. That being said, this revolt against change goes much deeper than this. Essentially, The Color Line, or Color Barrier, is a term used to describe the rule that excluded African American players from playing in the Major and Minor baseball leagues until 1947. Although this was not a witten rule, people referred to it as the “Gentlemen's Agreement” . This unspoken rule referred to teams just simply not picking up or drafting black players. That was their way of keeping them out of the league. In the early 20th century, a vote in the high minors came into effect that decided that new contracts with black players are prohibited.
The strong signal from this caused a trickle down pressure, affecting all the way down to the low minors, and soon there were hardly any African American players left in the minors. Because of the strong message of this act, black baseball clubs started to be established.
When DId It Change
In 1945, MLBS newest commissioner at the time, Happy Chandler, signed Jackie Robinson to a contract. This was with intent for him to play for the Dodgers. Robinson was a monster in the minors, and it did not take him long to get called up to the big stage of Major League Baseball. This did not come easy though. When news got out, Robinson received death threats, and received extreme pressure when he did not start off too hot. That being said, he ended up being rookie of the year, which is now an award named after him. Although Jackie Robinson’s introduction to the big leagues is what originally sparked change, there was a long way to go at this point. One major problem was that the amazing efforts of the black baseball leagues were not included in statistics and record books, or anything along those lines.
Statistics from the black baseball leagues inclusion
On May 29th 2024, Major League Baseball announced that they will include statistics of “more than 2,300 Negro League ballplayers from 1920 to 1948 have been officially incorporated into MLB’s historical records”. This is huge for inclusion in baseball because it is essentially recognizing the amazing things that these athletes did, all while they were being excluded. By allowing these statistics to count, it is validating the performances of these athletes. For example, Ty Cobb was previously recognized as the statistical batting average leader. After the inclusion of these statistics, it is now John Gibson. Gibson’s career batting average of .372 narrowly passes Cobb’s of .367
Although it does not take away from what happened in the past, it is a necessary step towards recognizing these men as athletes, and giving them the praise and recognition that they deserved at the time, even more than now. Another perspective is that this actually makes the records mean more even to the guys who are already in the record book. Whether somebody surpasses them after this change or not, it means that they were or are actually the best of ALL TIME, rather than just the best within their league excluding the black leagues. Additionally, the induction of these statistics will promote youth to learn about this era in baseball. There is immense talent from this era that some kids have no idea about because they would never have known by looking at the record books.
Overall, this transition is late, but extremely necessary. The induction of the statistics from the black leagues not only honors the African American players who deserve it immensely, but also all players by making the records more realistic. Although the MLB can not take back the past, this is a way to show that they honor the athletic talent of those who played in the black baseball clubs. Aditionally, MLB is celebrating Negro League this week with a night of celebrations for this historical league. These recent efforts by the MLB are going to make a difference in the future of baseball, and how all players of the league are not only tolerated, but appreciated and respected. Baseball would not be the same without its African American players, and the MLB is beginning to recognize that. Although there is still a ways to go, this is undoubtedly a step in a positive direction.
References
https://eji.org/news/major-league-baseball-seeks-to-repair-some-of-the-harms-of-racial-segregation/
https://www.mlb.com/news/josh-gibson-supplants-ty-cobb-atop-mlb-career-average-leaderboard