MLB reclassifies Negro Leagues as major league
Major League Baseball has reclassified the Negro Leagues as a major league and will count the statistics and records of its 3,400 players as part of its history. Josh Gibson, the greatest of all Negro League sluggers, might just wind up with a major league record, too. The statistics and records of greats like Gibson, Paige and roughly 3,400 other players are set to join Major League Baseball's books after MLB announced Wednesday it is reclassifying the Negro Leagues as a major league. โWe couldnโt be more thrilled by this recognition of the significance of the Negro Leagues in Major League Baseball history,โ said Edward Schauder, legal representative for Gibsonโs estate and co-founder of the Negro Leagues Players Association. โGranting MLB status to the Negro Leagues a century after their founding is profoundly gratifying.โ___More AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
A Long-Overdue 'Tip of the Cap' to baseball's Black pioneers
Not long after, with many of its best players gradually following Robinsons path, the Negro Leagues ceased operations. President Clinton said he chose a Chicago Cubs cap in honor of Ernie Banks, the late Hall of Famer who got his start in the Negro Leagues. Long before that, the Negro Leagues made baseball better and America better.The celebration was moved online after a major league-wide tribute to baseballs Black pioneers scheduled for June 27 was shelved along with the games because of the coronavirus pandemic. So then I thought, How about a virtual tip of the cap?''' I always felt if there was going to be conversations about race in sports, the Negro Leagues should be at the center, because thats the story: They triumphed over adversity.