finally REALITY sinks in and is recognized as such

[ultracapper]

Paige was one of the best stories in baseball history. By his own account he;

pitched in over 2500 games
Won over 2000 of them
pitched for more than 250 teams
threw 250+ shutouts
50+ no-hitters
29 starts in a month
21 straight wins
62 consecutive scoreless innings (twice)
153 appearances in a year
and 3 wins in one day

It's unfortunate that a player of his caliber was unable to play in MLB until it was way too late. He was the 4th black player in MLB history in 1948.

No-hitters have been reported as low as 20, as many as 100, and probably most accurately by him "so many, I disremember how many". The Negro Leagues, and moreso even, the barnstorming circuit, were covered primarily by "Black" journalism, poorly funded newspapers dedicated to Negro related news. Probably 80% of the games he played in had zero coverage of any kind. The level of competition he faced could run from the best the Negro Leagues had to offer to hastily arraigned sandlot teams put together at the spur of the moment just because he was in town and was willing to play ball. Those 2 games may have even occurred on the same day many times. The guestimate of no-hitters he threw in what would be considered the highest echelon of Negro League Baseball is 10-15. Considering he threw that many against the very best, it's not inconceivable at all that he threw 40 more against some of the other competition he faced. You have to understand, the Negro Leagues had nothing comparable to the organization that MLB had, and being quite often paid by the game, the best of them spent a lot of time putting on any jersey handed to them to hustle a few more dollars.

[FakeNameChanged]

Originally Posted by ultracapper

Paige was one of the best stories in baseball history. By his own account he;

pitched in over 2500 games
Won over 2000 of them
pitched for more than 250 teams
threw 250+ shutouts
50+ no-hitters
29 starts in a month
21 straight wins
62 consecutive scoreless innings (twice)
153 appearances in a year
and 3 wins in one day

It's unfortunate that a player of his caliber was unable to play in MLB until it was way too late. He was the 4th black player in MLB history in 1948.

No-hitters have been reported as low as 20, as many as 100, and probably most accurately by him "so many, I disremember how many". The Negro Leagues, and moreso even, the barnstorming circuit, were covered primarily by "Black" journalism, poorly funded newspapers dedicated to Negro related news. Probably 80% of the games he played in had zero coverage of any kind. The level of competition he faced could run from the best the Negro Leagues had to offer to hastily arraigned sandlot teams put together at the spur of the moment just because he was in town and was willing to play ball. Those 2 games may have even occurred on the same day many times. The guestimate of no-hitters he threw in what would be considered the highest echelon of Negro League Baseball is 10-15. Considering he threw that many against the very best, it's not inconceivable at all that he threw 40 more against some of the other competition he faced. You have to understand, the Negro Leagues had nothing comparable to the organization that MLB had, and being quite often paid by the game, the best of them spent a lot of time putting on any jersey handed to them to hustle a few more dollars.

I saw an interview with Satchel one time and his approach to keeping his shoulder and arm healthy was not like anyone else's. He said he came to the park two hours before it was time to pitch and started warming up with real easy tossing, working up a good sweat gradually throwing a little harder until game time. When he took the ball to pitch, he often had two hours of throwing before the first pitch. It worked for him. His arm delivery and body reminded me a little of those inflatable Gumby's you see used for sales promotions.

[Robert Fischer]

Originally Posted by FakeNameChanged

I saw an interview with Satchel one time and his approach to keeping his shoulder and arm healthy was not like anyone else's. He said he came to the park two hours before it was time to pitch and started warming up with real easy tossing, working up a good sweat gradually throwing a little harder until game time. When he took the ball to pitch, he often had two hours of throwing before the first pitch. It worked for him. His arm delivery and body reminded me a little of those inflatable Gumby's you see used for sales promotions.

Kind of like w/ Ruth, Satchel Paige also was sentenced to reform school as a youth.

Baseball was a big thing at the school, and the negro leagues were starting to enter a decent level of popularity. Also like Ruth, Paige had a mentor at the reform school, and he was a standout talent.

Good natural 'rising fastball'. Had a number of variations/'moves' with his delivery. Get the feeling he really knew how to pitch. He had enough charisma and talent that he was a drawing card for the barnstorming type of tours. Pitched relatively well while past his prime w/ the MLB.

[Redboard]

Back in the 1930s-1940s , MLB occassionally played exhibition games with the Negro league. Guess who won most of those contests?

[Marshall Bennett]

Originally Posted by Redboard

Back in the 1930s-1940s , MLB occassionally played exhibition games with the Negro league. Guess who won most of those contests?

Probably not blacks if the umpires were white.

[ElKabong]

Originally Posted by Redboard

Back in the 1930s-1940s , MLB occassionally played exhibition games with the Negro league. Guess who won most of those contests?

If they were exhibition games, who cares?

I do find it unbelievable that any black player was denied a spot on a mlb team. The ignorance of that mentality is staggering. Deny a person employment based on race. Everybody loses, not just the person denied employment

[ultracapper]

Originally Posted by ElKabong

If they were exhibition games, who cares?

I do find it unbelievable that any black player was denied a spot on a mlb team. The ignorance of that mentality is staggering. Deny a person employment based on race. Everybody loses, not just the person denied employment

EXACTLY. Impossible to measure, but common sense tells you that there have been many failures that would have been successes, and many successes that would have been even greater, if only the best person was chosen for the endeavor, rather than just the best white man.

Unfortunately, in an effort to even the playing field, you now have white men being overlooked simply because they are white and male. Hopefully, one day, we will find that zone where everyone will be, as MLK, Jr said, ".....judged by his character, rather than the color of his skin".

[Redboard]

Originally Posted by ElKabong

If they were exhibition games, who cares?

.............

Mostly spring training games. But still it helped to smash any myth, which the MLB might try to spin, that the black players weren't good enough.