Here's an update as I've conducted further research:
It is well documented that Aaron hit 10 HRs in the Negro Leagues in 1952 (5 in the regular season before he was sold to the Boston Braves and 5 more in the Negro World Series - I contend that the Negro World Series HRs should count because Negro League regular seasons were much shorter than MLB seasons). The 10 extra HRs move Aaron 3 ahead of Barry Bonds 765 to 762.
Let's say you go ahead and also count Bonds 4 HRs in the 2002 World Series. That would move Bonds back up by 1 at 766 to 765. But then you would have to count Aaron's 3 HRs in the 1957 World Series. And Aaron would again move ahead 768 to 766.
I know there is also the issue that MLB is only counting Negro League stats through 1948. But that's discriminatory and arbitrary and will likely ultimately need to be modified. Only 6 of the 16 MLB teams had a Black player in 1952. So Aaron and others were still very much excluded from the MLB due to an unspoken quota system that was still in place. Why would MLB adopt a policy in 2024 that perpetuates that discrimination? It seems to defeat the whole spirit of including Negro League stats.
Hi Len, interesting article! If we are bringing World Series and playoff home runs into account and with the 10 for Hank, looks like both players are tied at 771. Maybe that’s the best situation anyway
Ben, Thanks for your comment and for reading The Sports Time Traveler. I would say that you can't count all Bonds HRs in divisional playoffs since most of Aaron's career was prior to divisional playoffs. That's why I limited it to World Series HRs. And I'm the first to recognize that baseball has never counted World Series stats alongside regular season stats. So I then go back to my article where I found evidence that Aaron may have hit 8 HRs in the 1952 Negro Leagues regular season putting him at 763 to Bonds 762.
Aaron as great as he was was not ready for the major leagues in 1952. He was a skinny 18 year old kid playing class C ball in Eau Claire, Wisconsin *after* he briefly played in the Negro Leauges. So a lot of players were absolutely kept out of MLB for too long, but Aaron was not one of them. Adding Home runs to Aaron‘s total as a just turned 18 year old would be controversial, because he clearly was not ready for the big leagues at that age.
Thanks for your comments Len. But it’s a stretch at best to think he would have done anything close to that in the MLB in 1952. That’s why almost every player in modern MLB history spent some time in the minor Leagues. Especially 18 year olds, and one who was extremely shy. I would bet you a steak dinner that if we asked Hank, he’d say no way he was ready 1952. He will tell you that even Eau Claire was a huge adjustment. Btw, an interesting side note, I was a 12 year old boy in July 1976 and was in County Stadium that day when Hank hit #755. Little did anyone know at the time he’d never hit another. I have the ticket and program framed. I love Hank.
Jim, I'm not suggesting Aaron could have hit over .300 in the MLB in 1952. I was merely pointing out that he likely could have performed at a major league level. Maybe he would have hit .240. So its not fair to just completely discount his Negro League home runs.
Here's an update as I've conducted further research:
It is well documented that Aaron hit 10 HRs in the Negro Leagues in 1952 (5 in the regular season before he was sold to the Boston Braves and 5 more in the Negro World Series - I contend that the Negro World Series HRs should count because Negro League regular seasons were much shorter than MLB seasons). The 10 extra HRs move Aaron 3 ahead of Barry Bonds 765 to 762.
Let's say you go ahead and also count Bonds 4 HRs in the 2002 World Series. That would move Bonds back up by 1 at 766 to 765. But then you would have to count Aaron's 3 HRs in the 1957 World Series. And Aaron would again move ahead 768 to 766.
I know there is also the issue that MLB is only counting Negro League stats through 1948. But that's discriminatory and arbitrary and will likely ultimately need to be modified. Only 6 of the 16 MLB teams had a Black player in 1952. So Aaron and others were still very much excluded from the MLB due to an unspoken quota system that was still in place. Why would MLB adopt a policy in 2024 that perpetuates that discrimination? It seems to defeat the whole spirit of including Negro League stats.
Hi Len, interesting article! If we are bringing World Series and playoff home runs into account and with the 10 for Hank, looks like both players are tied at 771. Maybe that’s the best situation anyway
Ben, Thanks for your comment and for reading The Sports Time Traveler. I would say that you can't count all Bonds HRs in divisional playoffs since most of Aaron's career was prior to divisional playoffs. That's why I limited it to World Series HRs. And I'm the first to recognize that baseball has never counted World Series stats alongside regular season stats. So I then go back to my article where I found evidence that Aaron may have hit 8 HRs in the 1952 Negro Leagues regular season putting him at 763 to Bonds 762.
Aaron as great as he was was not ready for the major leagues in 1952. He was a skinny 18 year old kid playing class C ball in Eau Claire, Wisconsin *after* he briefly played in the Negro Leauges. So a lot of players were absolutely kept out of MLB for too long, but Aaron was not one of them. Adding Home runs to Aaron‘s total as a just turned 18 year old would be controversial, because he clearly was not ready for the big leagues at that age.
Jim,
Thanks for your comment. However, I respectfully disagree that Aaron wasn't MLB ready in 1952.
In Eau Claire he batted .336 for the season.
He drove in 61 runs and stole 25 bases in just 87 games.
And this from a kid who'd never been out of the deep South before. That's pretty remarkable.
In the Negro Leagues, depending on which source you believe, he was batting in the mid .400s.
Everyone was saying he was the next Willie Mays in the newspapers in the summer of 1952.
Thanks for your comments Len. But it’s a stretch at best to think he would have done anything close to that in the MLB in 1952. That’s why almost every player in modern MLB history spent some time in the minor Leagues. Especially 18 year olds, and one who was extremely shy. I would bet you a steak dinner that if we asked Hank, he’d say no way he was ready 1952. He will tell you that even Eau Claire was a huge adjustment. Btw, an interesting side note, I was a 12 year old boy in July 1976 and was in County Stadium that day when Hank hit #755. Little did anyone know at the time he’d never hit another. I have the ticket and program framed. I love Hank.
Jim, I'm not suggesting Aaron could have hit over .300 in the MLB in 1952. I was merely pointing out that he likely could have performed at a major league level. Maybe he would have hit .240. So its not fair to just completely discount his Negro League home runs.