Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
This year is the centennial celebration of the Negro Leagues, which were founded back in 1920 when African American ballplayers were still not welcome to play in Major League Baseball. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947, opening the door for many other players from the Negro Leagues like Roy Campanella, Satchel Paige and Don Newcombe to eventually play in MLB.
Still, the history of the Negro Leagues has too often been pushed to the side without honoring the legacy of some of the best ballplayers of that time. Now Major League Baseball is looking to rectify this, as they have announced that the Negro Leagues will be elevated to “Major League” status.
Commissioner Manfred announced today that @MLB is officially elevating the Negro Leagues to “Major League” status. Culminating the centennial celebration of the founding of the Negro Leagues, MLB is proud to highlight the contributions of the pioneers who played from 1920-1948. pic.twitter.com/hkStF1UC0H
— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) December 16, 2020
By elevating the status, Major League Baseball is classifying all of the games played in the Negro League as being played at a “Major League” level. This means that the stats accumulated in those leagues will now count the same in MLB history.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said the following in a statement announcing this change:
“All of us who love baseball have long known that the Negro Leagues produced many of our game’s best players, innovations and triumphs against a backdrop of injustice. We are now grateful to count the players of the Negro Leagues where they belong: as Major Leaguers within the official historical record.”
John Thorn, the Official Historian of Major League Baseball also commented on this landmark decision:
“The perceived deficiencies of the Negro Leagues’ structure and scheduling were born of MLB’s exclusionary practices, and denying them Major League status has been a double penalty, much like that exacted of Hall of Fame candidates prior to Satchel Paige’s induction in 1971. Granting MLB status to the Negro Leagues a century after their founding is profoundly gratifying.”
It is great to see the history of Major League Baseball continue to evolve over time, as they embrace their past so that future generations can appreciate what it took for the game to grow to where it is today. It will be interested to watch this change be put into action and how it will reflect itself in Cooperstown, amongst other places within the game.
