Interesting use of “fricking”. Ford Frick was President of the National League at the time Jackie Robinson was entering the National League. When several of the St. Louis Cardinals played to boycott playing against Robinson, he ordered the players suspended without pay for every game they boycotted (none of them did).
I want the players in the Hall of Fame, but I do not feel the statistics deserve the same weight in the MLB record books. The seasons were short, the games often against spotty competition, and the record-keeping was inconsistent.
One way to look at it is the performance of those players as they entered the MLB. Some were good. Some were great. But even the great ones did NOT have out-sized statistics in the MLB compared to what they could do in the (their) Leagues. The competition in the MLB was simply superior. (The site’s algorithm won’t allow the word that properly describes them.)
Did the exclusion of Black players skew the performances of pre-integration White players? Perhaps. The 1930s were a big decade for offensive performance, for example, followed by WWII and then integration in rapid order. Personally, I’d be fine with a pre-integration and post-integration (and pre-Modern era—1900 and earlier) statistical records. You’d have to figure out a way to deal with those, like Ted Williams, who had careers that overlapped eras. But it could be figured out.
walkingmancomics about 1 month ago
yes indeed!
ncorgbl about 1 month ago
Yes it is.
pamela welch Premium Member about 1 month ago
Indeed it is!
tee929 about 1 month ago
Interesting use of “fricking”. Ford Frick was President of the National League at the time Jackie Robinson was entering the National League. When several of the St. Louis Cardinals played to boycott playing against Robinson, he ordered the players suspended without pay for every game they boycotted (none of them did).
Rich Douglas about 1 month ago
I want the players in the Hall of Fame, but I do not feel the statistics deserve the same weight in the MLB record books. The seasons were short, the games often against spotty competition, and the record-keeping was inconsistent.
One way to look at it is the performance of those players as they entered the MLB. Some were good. Some were great. But even the great ones did NOT have out-sized statistics in the MLB compared to what they could do in the (their) Leagues. The competition in the MLB was simply superior. (The site’s algorithm won’t allow the word that properly describes them.)
Did the exclusion of Black players skew the performances of pre-integration White players? Perhaps. The 1930s were a big decade for offensive performance, for example, followed by WWII and then integration in rapid order. Personally, I’d be fine with a pre-integration and post-integration (and pre-Modern era—1900 and earlier) statistical records. You’d have to figure out a way to deal with those, like Ted Williams, who had careers that overlapped eras. But it could be figured out.