Josh Gibson, Ty Cobb and Rethinking Baseball Statistics

The recognition by MLB of the statistical accomplishments of Negro League players, forces us to reeexamine our understanding of baseball statistics.

Major League Baseball recently changed its official records so that Negro League players and Negro League statistics count towards official, whatever that means, MLB records. The particularly case that has drawn the most attention is that Josh Gibson, the great Negro League slugger, is now is the all-time batting leader as his .373 lifetime batting aver…