MLB Records That Will (and Won't) Change with Negro Leagues Earning "Major League" Status
With the Negro Leagues finally being given "major-league status," some aspects of the record books will change. Others we wish would change will actually stay the same. Negro League statistics between 1920-1948 will count toward major-league career totals. So, here is a look at what will and won't change based on this historic and long-overdue move by Major League Baseball.
Hank Aaron reclaiming the MLB home run crown: depending on where you look, the former home run king of baseball hit eight or nine long balls in the Negro Leagues. Even the lower number of eight would help him reclaim MLB's home run crown, 763 compared to Barry Bonds' 762. Unfortunately, Hammering Hank played in the Negro Leagues after 1948 when MLB says the league was reduced to minor-league level talent with the best players flocking to MLB. Therefore, Bonds remains the home run king to the chagrin of many.
Ted Williams no longer has the most recent .400 season: everyone has heard the legend of Teddy Ballgame, when he played in both games of a doubleheader in the 1941 season finale and went 6-for-8 to push his final season average to .406. In the 80 years since nobody in MLB has hit .400. That is until Josh Gibson's 1943 season earned official status as far as MLB stats are concerned. Gibson hit an eye-opening .441 that season, but notably in many fewer plate appearances -- 342 compared to Ted Williams' 616 in 1941.
Officially, still no woman has played in a major-league game: some had hope that three women -- Mamie "Peanut" Johnson, Syd Pollock, and Connie Morgan -- would be credited as having played in the major leagues. However, like Hank Aaron, these talented women didn't break into the league until the 1950s. Despite playing the sport at a high level, as far as the MLB record book is concerned, we will have to wait to see the first woman to crack a big-league roster.
Satchel Paige's career numbers will look more like a traditional Hall of Famer: Of course, Satchel Paige's career MLB numbers fell well short of the average Hall of Fame pitcher given he didn't pitch in a major-league game until he was 41 years old. He appeared in his final game at 58 (!) But with the Negro Leagues' inclusion in major-league status, his overall numbers will look better, albeit not by as much as you may think given that the Negro Leagues played fewer than half the number of games of their MLB counterparts. Still, if currently listed statistics are confirmed, he will add 115 wins and 1,524 strikeouts to his official career totals.
Willie Mays' iconic 660 career home runs may increase to 661:if statistics are confirmed, Willie Mays will be credited with one additional career home run, increasing his long-standing mark of 660 to 661. The greatest all-around player in the history of the game will also get a boost in career hits among other stats, but it will take quite some time before any of the Negro Leagues' listed statistics can be confirmed and given official status.