Who Were the Best Negro League Baseball Players? And, Does it Matter?

    Okay, yes it does matter. This is Black History Month; that is important. This is who we are. If we do not know and understand where we have come from, then we are doomed to be not only ignorant, but ungrateful for where we have been and where we are going.

    Baseball in the 21st century has now become an international part of many countries, a game celebrated not just in North America but in much of the Caribbean and Latin America, and a fine and proud tradition in much of East Asia. The game of baseball, also played in Australia, now covers some forty or more countries in multiple continents, and generates billions of dollars and brings millions of fan and workers to fields across the width and breadth of the United States and many other lands.

    Until the first integrated Black ball players came into the until then all white and non-Latino major leagues, baseball in the United States, mostly played in the northeast, had created some legendary names and huge legacies. Ty Cobb, Shoeless Joe, Honus Wagner, Walter Johnson, Cy Young, Babe Ruth. Many of them did not make killer money as the athletes do now, but their fame and acclaim were notable and left them as individuals and families with rich histories and notoriety. Not so much for many of the best and brightest Negro leaguers. They deserve some more credit and attention, going on one hundred plus years later.

Oscar Charleston OBP .449 (born 1896) # 5 all-time, compared to the Major leagues bigs, mostly played in the U.S. Northeast

Jud Wilson OBP .434 (born 1894) # 9 all-time, compared to the Major leagues bigs.

Turkey Stearnes OBP. 417 (born 1901) # 24 all-time compared to the earliest leagues, mostly white

 

Mule Settles OBP .410 (born 1901) # 37 all-time compared to the earliest white dominated major leagues

Jackie Robinson OBP .4098 (born in 1919) # 39 all-time in both the Negro Leagues and the Majors 

    The above five men were among the top forty in all-time on base percentage, although because they played almost exclusively in the Negro Leagues, except for the pioneer and honored hero Jackie Robinson, they played considerably less games, because it is presumed (for later corroboration) that the budgets and audiences were not as good. African-Americans have always had more economic barriers and struggles than the average white American, sadly this was reflected in the sport of baseball. 1947 was the beginning of the end of this unfair dichotomy in the United States. Since # 47 Jackie Robinson the more sensible and just integration of all the races into America's pastime, this part of our society has gotten more fair shakes at performing according to skills and merit. 

    But it was wrong and unfair for a long time.

    That is why, at least now, someone like me and anyone else who reads this can acknowledge better achievement among the greatest of the greats. Black history and system of redress and due credit demands it. Until only a few years ago, these players were not included in the overall baseball statistics. Purists, which there are a few and carry weight and authority, that these Negro Leaguers did not play as much, did not bat against the best pitchers, and not against the very white establishment that kept them out of the game.

    We are trying to give credit for the greatness that these men did accomplish. Like Jackie Robinson or other Black men who were great, we are sure that they would have been amazing players at the highest, best-known league. Perhaps there would have been extra cash flow for some of them, which could have helped out more people in the African-American community. Our country has had hard travails when it comes to race relations. Blacks have had it hard, as have the Native Americans, and others, like Latinos and Asians, Arabs or others. Even many whites have had some problems and issues over the years. No one has had it super easy. But we try to give people a better opportunity, a fairer chance to succeed and establish the "American dream." And what more emblematic and righter game to compete in as equals than baseball?

    Charleston was born in Indianapolis and died in Philadelphia at age 57, He played in the Negro Leagues from 1920 to 1941 at the age of 44. His teams were the Indianapolis ABCs, the St. Louis Giants, the Harrisburg Giants (capital of Pennsylvania), the Hilldale Club, the Pittsburgh Crawfords, and the Toledo Crawfords, and the Philadelphia Stars, but his last stint was only two games. It seems he retired there, maybe as a coach, because that is where he passed by the end of his life.

5th best on base percentage of all time.

    OBP deserves special praise, because some guys get a lot of hits, but they cannot walk very much and help the team move into run scoring position as much. Tony Gwynn, a prolific hitter of the 1980s and 1990s, had amazing stats for average, but my guy Tim Raines got so many walks that their OBP was about the same, and in effect they were en par as effective batters and runners. Of course, Raines was much faster, too.

    Of the men listed above, I would venture to say Jackie was the fastest, but that deserves further review. 

Maybe in a further installment? To be determined.

Blog it. Happy Black History Month.