December 17, 2020
The year 2020 has not been filled with good news as far as baseball is concerned, but on Wednesday, some arrived. After lengthy study, Major League Baseball announced that it will officially recognize seven professional Negro Leagues that operated between 1920 and 1948 as major leagues. For as overdue as the decision is, it’s first and foremost an official acknowledgement as if one was needed that the baseball played in those leagues at a time when MLB’s shameful color line was in effect was of comparable quality.
“In the minds of baseball fans worldwide, this serves as historical validation for those who had been shunned from the Major Leagues and had the foresight and courage to create their own league that helped change the game and our country too,” said Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City, via MLB’s press release. “This acknowledgement is a meritorious nod to the courageous owners and players who he
MLB Elevates Negro Leagues to Major League Status, Admits it s Overdue
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Major League Baseball officially elevated the Negro Leagues to Major League status in an announcement on Wednesday (December 16).
Commissioner Rob Manfred says that the move is correcting a longtime oversight in the game s history. A statement released also admits that the recognition is long-overdue. The full MLB statement is as follows: This long-overdue recognition is the product of evaluation throughout this year, which included consideration of: discussions with the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum and other baseball entities; the previous and ongoing studies of baseball authors and researchers; the 2006 study by the National Baseball Hall of Fame (the Negro League Researchers and Authors Group); and an overall historical record that has expanded in recent years. In particular, MLB commends the work of Gary Ashwill, Scott Simkus, Mike Lynch, and K