Former Philadelphia Phillies slugger Ryan Howard and San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt announced their plans Thursday to join the Negro Leagues’ “Pitch for the Future” in bringing greater awareness to the legacy of the Negro Leagues with a museum expansion.

Fans came out to celebrate Willie Mays and other Negro Leaguers in several events and festivities around the historic Rickwood Field.

Baseball players and fans alike are learning more about the Negro Leagues after the statistics for more than 2,300 players — historic figures like Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Satchel Paige and Mule Suttles — were incorporated into the major league record book following a three-year research project.

Major League Baseball will stage a Negro Leagues tribute game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama, in June 2024 between the San Francisco Giants and the St. Louis Cardinals.

But arguably the greatest player in the history of the Negro Leagues, Josh Gibson, hit .466 in 1943 for the Homestead Grays. Career batting average. The three players with the best career batting averages are Ty Cobb (.367), Rogers Hornsby (.358) and Joe Jackson (.356). There 24 known no-hitters from the Negro Leagues, according to author Dirk Lammers, which would raise the all-time total from 305 to 329. Numerous players who played in both the Negro Leagues from 1920-48 and the Major Leagues will have their stats padded.

Major League Baseball has reclassified the Negro Leagues as a major league and will count the statistics and records of its 3,400 players as part of its history. Josh Gibson, the greatest of all Negro League sluggers, might just wind up with a major league record, too. The statistics and records of greats like Gibson, Paige and roughly 3,400 other players are set to join Major League Baseball's books after MLB announced Wednesday it is reclassifying the Negro Leagues as a major league. The Negro Leagues consisted of seven leagues, and MLB will include records from those circuits between 1920-48. Those leagues were excluded in 1969 when the Special Committee on Baseball Records identified six official “major leagues” dating to 1876.

Legacy for many Black baseball players in San Antonio in 1950s and 1960s began at Pittman-Sullivan ParkPublished: October 2, 2020, 6:36 pmPittman-Sullivan Park provided Black baseball players in San Antonio in 1950s and 1960s a place to hone their skills on the diamond.

It's the 100th anniversary of the Negro Leagues, and the milestone is getting some major recognition. "I couldn't think of a more fitting label for everyone who suited up," Obama shared. Ive been a baseball fan all of my life, and the Negro Leagues are an important part of the sports history. #tipyourcap2020 pic.twitter.com/2yaG84WBH4 TipYourCap2020 (@TipYourCap2020) June 29, 2020Here's a look at some of the other famous figures paying tribute to the Negro Leagues for its 100th anniversary. A tip of the cap to the Negro Leagues from ... do we even need to say his name?

Not long after, with many of its best players gradually following Robinsons path, the Negro Leagues ceased operations. President Clinton said he chose a Chicago Cubs cap in honor of Ernie Banks, the late Hall of Famer who got his start in the Negro Leagues. Long before that, the Negro Leagues made baseball better and America better.The celebration was moved online after a major league-wide tribute to baseballs Black pioneers scheduled for June 27 was shelved along with the games because of the coronavirus pandemic. So then I thought, How about a virtual tip of the cap?''' I always felt if there was going to be conversations about race in sports, the Negro Leagues should be at the center, because thats the story: They triumphed over adversity.