Could A New Home Run King Be Crowned?

Is Barry Bonds losing sleep these days, thinking about a player who, despite being dead for 73 years, could take his record away from him?

Major League Baseball's home run leader with 762 -- unless, like me, you still feel Henry Aaron, with 755, is the TRUE king -- Bonds may be dropped to second place now that the Negro Leagues have been recognized as a "major league" in the eyes of MLB.

Guys like Willie Mays, Monte Irvin and Satchel Paige could see their hits or win totals increased thanks to this decision, and many would say it's about time the Negro Leagues and their players were recognized as such.

The player who stands most to benefit is Josh Gibson, a star in the Negro Leagues who was called "the Black Babe Ruth" for his prodigious home runs and power. While some have estimated that Gibson slammed over 800 home runs during his 16 Negro League seasons, it's unlikely that enough accurate box scores, newspaper accounts and witnesses exist to have him pass Bonds.

But Gibson will be credited with one notable record, a stellar .441 batting average posted in less than 80 games in the 1943 season. That's enough to edge Hugh Duffy's .440 posted in 1894. Gibson was just 36 years old when he died in 1947.

All this does, however, help bring credit to the 3,400 or so of deserving Black ballplayers who played in the Negro Leagues. During their hey day from 1920 to 1948, these players often played two or three games a day, seven days a week. 

The Negro Leagues Museum is located in Kansas City, Missouri. It's a great little museum and worth the time to anyone traveling through. (So is the National World War I museum in the same city!)