Baseball

[Brooklyn]

Cleveland may soon drop the name "Indians". Details to follow soon. Heck, mebbe they'll go back to being the Spiders which is a good name, after all.

[JoeMauer89]

Cleveland may soon drop the name "Indians". Details to follow soon. Heck, mebbe they'll go back to being the Spiders which is a good name, after all.

Worst professional sports team of all time??

Joe

[Brooklyn]

Worst professional sports team of all time??

Joe

I checked but couldn't find data on some winless minor league teams or teams that played for one season but had to move twice or three times in that same season. This in the 1800s when leagues disappeared overnight. IIRC there was at least one team that couldn't meet its payroll at all and resorted to filling out the roster with a handful of high school kids.

Funny times for baseball in dem days.

[Nigel]

No name change until 2022 season according to owner Dolan.

Dolan told the Associated Press that it could be some time before the club decides on a new name, but it will not be “Tribe” or any Native American-related choice. Dolan added that “Cleveland Baseball Team” or any similar stand-in will not be used on an interim basis. The earliest a new name could debut is the 2022 season. The team will remain “Indians” until the switch is made.

[RedFromMI]

Baseball Rights a Wrong by Adding Negro Leagues to Official Records

More than 3,400 players from seven leagues that operated from 1920 to 1948 will now be considered major leaguers in a move that will shake up the record books.

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/16/spor ... e=Homepage

If baseball somehow reflects America, as romanticists like to believe, then it also shares in its blemishes. The National and American leagues were segregated until 1947, and the decades since have been marked by a halting kind of reckoning.

On Wednesday, Major League Baseball took one of its biggest steps to redress past racial wrongs: It formally recognized several of the Negro leagues as on par with the American and National leagues, a distinction that will alter the official record books to acknowledge a quality of competition that the long-excluded players never doubted.

With the change, more than 3,400 players from seven distinct Negro leagues that operated between 1920 and 1948 will be recognized as major leaguers. And the statistical records will be updated.

“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,” Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, 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.”

The adjustments to the statistics will almost assuredly result in a new single-season record for batting average. But the impact on other records will be fairly small as a result of the shorter schedules played in the Negro leagues, most of which played only 80 to 100 games, as compared to the 154 per season that was standard in the other major leagues of the era.

Records for some of the game’s biggest stars will receive at least mild adjustments. The Hall of Famer Willie Mays, for example, is likely to be credited with 17 more hits, though no home runs, from his time with the Birmingham Black Barons in 1948. That would bring his career total, including hits from his time with the Giants and the Mets, to 3,300. The actual adjustments will be made after a review of available data by the Elias Sports Bureau, keeper of Major League Baseball’s official statistics.

[DMac]

Glad to see this, should've happened long ago, better late than never though.

[Brooklyn]

Glad to see this, should've happened long ago, better late than never though.

Yes! I have Ted "Double Duty" Radcliffe's autographs and am so glad to see this. My dad was pals with Duty's friend Josh Gibson. I bet all three are having a great time playing baseball in the Elysian Fields in the Sky.


Duty:





Josh:

[JoeMauer89]

Glad to see this, should've happened long ago, better late than never though.

Does Josh Gibson become the all-time HR king now? And lest we not forget James "Cool" Papa Bell? He was SO FAST legend has it he could TURN THE LIGHT OFF and BE IN BED BEFORE IT WENT OUT! The OG Ricky Henderson!

Joe

[njbill]

One of the articles I read said “no.” Apparently, there isn’t nearly enough proof to establish that he hit the 800 or so home runs legend has it that he hit. The article said he will fall somewhere in the 200s.

The article also said that if all Negro league records were counted, and weren’t cut off in 1948, Hank Aaron would be the all-time home run leader because he would have enough to overtake Bonds.

These are just people speculating. It will be interesting to see how Elias ultimately “rules.”

[JoeMauer89]

One of the articles I read said “no.” Apparently, there isn’t nearly enough proof to establish that he hit the 800 or so home runs legend has it that he hit. The article said he will fall somewhere in the 200s.

The article also said that if all Negro league records were counted, and weren’t cut off in 1948, Hank Aaron would be the all-time home run leader because he would have enough to overtake Bonds.

These are just people speculating. It will be interesting to see how Elias ultimately “rules.”

Agreed, not an easy task!!

Joe

[DMac]

Glad to see this, should've happened long ago, better late than never though.

Does Josh Gibson become the all-time HR king now? And lest we not forget James "Cool" Papa Bell? He was SO FAST legend has it he could TURN THE LIGHT OFF and BE IN BED BEFORE IT WENT OUT! The OG Ricky Henderson!

Joe

Yup, that's just legend.
With Ali it's true.

[JoeMauer89]

Glad to see this, should've happened long ago, better late than never though.

Does Josh Gibson become the all-time HR king now? And lest we not forget James "Cool" Papa Bell? He was SO FAST legend has it he could TURN THE LIGHT OFF and BE IN BED BEFORE IT WENT OUT! The OG Ricky Henderson!

Joe

Yup, that's just legend.
With Ali it's true.

Now that I believe, Ali could dodge a ghost! Wish I was alive to see him fight!

Joe

[DMac]

From the horse's mouth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LSewbS5eQI
He was somethin' else.

[JoeMauer89]

From the horse's mouth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LSewbS5eQI
He was somethin' else.

That's amazing!

I'm a show you how great am I!!

Joe

[Brooklyn]

From the horse's mouth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LSewbS5eQI
He was somethin' else.

That's amazing!

I'm a show you how great am I!!

Joe

The GREATEST!

Watched several of his fights because they were broadcasted live on TV in those days. He was amazing.



As for some of those stars from the Negro Leagues, you have to wonder if this news will mean entry into the Hall of Fame for certain players. For example, Minnie Min̄oso comes to mind. It was said years ago that he was ready for the Majors Leagues as an 18 year old. If MLB had been integrated in 1945 his career would have been at least 3 to 4 years longer and his career stats would have qualified him for the HOF. He got about 1900 career hit - if he had played 4 more years he likely would have reached 2,500 hits. That may have been enough to qualify him.

[SCLaxAttack]

From the horse's mouth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LSewbS5eQI
He was somethin' else.

Terrific clip, Dmac. Show's much of what was so great about him. Boxing knowledge. Student of the sport. World's first rap artist. Such a shame Parkinson's prevented him from showing the world his wit and humor for so many years.

[6x6]

I had a chance to spend some time with Buck O’Neil, what a gentleman. And then there was Satchel Paige. Yogi had some great lines but so did Satchel. One of my favorites, according to the story when asked about his age by reporter after playing for the Indians at age 42, he said “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” So true, you’re as old as you feel right?

[RedFromMI]

I had a chance to spend some time with Buck O’Neil, what a gentleman. And then there was Satchel Paige. Yogi had some great lines but so did Satchel. One of my favorites, according to the story when asked about his age by reporter after playing for the Indians at age 42, he said “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?” So true, you’re as old as you feel right?

My favorite one from Satchel was: "Don't look back - something might be gaining on you."

[Nigel]

Glad to see this, should've happened long ago, better late than never though.

Does Josh Gibson become the all-time HR king now? And lest we not forget James "Cool" Papa Bell? He was SO FAST legend has it he could TURN THE LIGHT OFF and BE IN BED BEFORE IT WENT OUT! The OG Ricky Henderson!

Joe

Nobody was better than Rickey Henderson. Game changer, entertainer, complete ball player. Nobody was better than Rickey Henderson.
https://www.mlb.com/news/school-of-rick ... c211876974

[Nigel]

Update on Cleveland Indians name change,




https://babylonbee.com/news/cleveland-i ... -team-name