Everyone knows that Satchel Paige is one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball history. But if you wanted to look up stats as to why he was so dominant and why he's enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, you'd find a 28-31 record. You'd find six seasons scattered throughout his 40s — and an outlier in 1965, when he was 58 years old — in which he recorded an impressive 3.29 ERA. You'd see two All-Star seasons, at ages 45 and 46, where he spent time as a closer and occasional starter for the St. Louis Browns.
But you wouldn't find the full story, or even a small fraction of the story, that defined Satchel Paige's career. And now, after decades of a "longtime oversight," in MLB's own words, that problem will be partially fixed.
As 2020 is the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues, many projects were launched in an attempt to celebrate the league, and MLB told The Ringer in August that they had "at last begun to study the case for a Major League designation" of Negro League stats and what would go into that process. Now, in December, that process is officially underway.
“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," commissioner Rob Manfred said in a statement. "We are now grateful to count the players of the Negro Leagues where they belong: as Major Leaguers within the official historical record."
Now, at least based on the Negro League stats that Baseball Reference has available, Paige's 28-31 career record would become 174-95. Josh Gibson, who never had a chance to play in the Major Leagues before passing away from a stroke he suffered in 1947 at age 35, will go from zero career Major League home runs to 113 home runs, according to stats available from the National Baseball Hall of Fame's official website. But, as I said before, the problem will only be partially fixed, and there's nothing that can be done to fully fix the statistical discrepancies. You can't completely go back and rewrite history.
"The perceived deficiencies of the Negro Leagues' structure and scheduling were born of MLB's exclusionary practices," MLB official historian John Thorn explained, "and denying them Major League status has been a double penalty, much like that exacted Hall of Fame candidates prior to Satchel Paige's induction in 1971."
For instance, while 113 home runs for Josh Gibson is certainly more than zero, it's certainly fewer than the rumored 800 to 1,000 home runs that Gibson slugged throughout his career. And those stats, accumulated through various leagues and exhibition games — in other words, where he was allowed to play — will probably never "count" as Major League stats. What would Gibson's numbers have looked like had he been allowed to spend his baseball career in the Majors from age 18 in 1930 to his final campaign in 1946? Would Roger Maris's 61-homer season have even broken a record? Would Barry Bonds be the home run leader? Does Gibson's incredible .486 batting average for the 1943 Homestead Grays in 181 at bats now surpass Ted Williams' .406 batting average in 1941 as the most recent campaign where that barrier was broken?
There are so many unanswered questions that remain, but it's an important step nonetheless. And for some players, more clarity will be given as to the full scope of their careers. Hank Aaron, for instance — who batted .366 for the 1952 Indianapolis Clowns en route to a Negro League World Series title — will see a well-deserved boost to his stats.
Still, Ben Lindbergh of The Ringer notes that this shouldn't be seen as a validation of these statistics — it's not as if Negro League stars doubted their production as "Major League" level.
“In all of my years of having known so many legendary Negro League players, I never heard them even questioning whether or not they would be viewed as ‘major league,’” Negro Leagues Baseball Museum president Bob Kendrick said. “They didn’t need the validation. They knew how good they were. They knew their league was as professional as any.
"But for history’s sake, this is significant. And I can’t help but think that the spirit of all of those who are now passed away, and the few remaining players, will take a great deed of gratitude by what many believe is a wrong being righted.”
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