The year 2020 was a depressing time between protesting, racial injustice, and a global pandemic. This adjustment with the Negro Leagues was been long overdue. Commissioner Rob Manfred described the maneuver as “correcting a longtime oversight in the game’s history.”
The Negro Leagues existed due to necessity. The Negro Leagues was developed after the MLB’s racist and exclusionary practices that stopped Black players from competing in integrated leagues for more than 50 years.
Therefore, Major League Baseball will recognize the records and stats of approximately 3,400 players who played in the seven Negro Leagues between 1920–1948. Which will officially elevate the Negro Leagues to “Major League” status.
The MLB press released the names of the following leagues that are being elevated:
- The Negro National League (I) (1920-1931)
- The Eastern Colored League (1923-1928)
- The American Negro League (1929)
- The East-West League (1932)
- The Negro Southern League (1932)
- The Negro National League (II) (1933-1948)
- The Negro American League (1937-1948)
MLB celebrated the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues during the 2020 season, with a league wide celebration taking place on August 16th.
MLB elevates Negro Leagues to ‘Major League’ status, giving ‘overdue recognition’ to 3,400 Players was originally published on CBS Sports
