The myth of Josh Gibson hitting a ball out of Yankee Stadium & being compared to Babe Ruth
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- čas přidán 7. 05. 2021
- Part two of our interview with Josh Gibson's great grandson, Sean Gibson.
Josh Gibson Foundation: www.joshgibson.org/
Guest Twitter: @JoshGibson_1911
Twitter: @Rojas_Media_ , @ashleemwoods - Sport
Roy Campenella always claimed that Josh Gibson was the greatest catcher he ever saw.Thats good enough for me.
And countless Major League players said Ruth was the greatest hitter they ever saw. So… lol That can go both ways. Also… hundreds of eye witnesses said Gibson supposed homer “Out of Yankee stadium” went far into the bleachers but never made it out.
Kinda of convenient there is no footage or radio recording of this homer.
@@jimclaus1576 bro you know how old Josh gibson Is lop
@John Bistis josh gilbson never face walter johnson 95 mph fastball : carl hubbell screwball ; both pitches wouldve put hole in josh gilson batt : bob feller 98mph fastball & curve r vs josh gilson ; ; handcuff josh gilson at the plate
Josh gilson wentup against weak pitching : ❤️ matchup bob feller 98mph plus fastball & curve vs josh giñson ;; three pitch strike
@@lloydkline1518 josh would hit anybody, my dad saw him and called him the greatest hitter ever!!!! and he saw some of the great ones. (nough said)
Well all I can say is, my dad saw Josh Gibson play in Puerto Rico, he told me Gibson was the greatest hitter he ever saw, saw hit Home runs with one hand could run like a cheetah and throw the ball like a lazer!
And your Dad was right.
Bob feller 98mph plus fastball & great curve against Josh Gilson
Bob feller fastball faster than speeding bullet
Josh Gibson was a beloved player during the time he played for the Santurce Crabbers in Puerto Rico. Anyone who knows the story of the Puerto Rican Winter league have heard about the legendary HR he smashed of the Sixto Escobar Stadium.
Yes!
It wasn't just Kenesaw Landis.
He came along in 1920. If someone had taken Cap Anson and stuck him in a trash can upside down, head first, we all could've enjoyed all the best players, all on the same field, at the same time. We all got jobbed. As fellow citizens and fellow fans!
Landis had nothing to do with the ban. Get some facts. Five years after Landis's death only 5 of the 16 teams had signed black players.
@@epm5433
RRRRRRACIST!
If the fans wanted it, the Negro league players would be earning more than MLB because the stadiums would sell out wanting to see this amazing HR's they claimed.
You mean the socially dominant culture went along to get along? No, you don't say. Yeah, keep trying to avoid adult responsibility _AND_ get things like this changed. Now go vote for your corporate employees to reform campaign finance like Good Sheeple.
@@epm5433
You apparently can't read.
Would have loved to see him play , sounds like he was a complete super star player. Keep his history alive forever
Ruth played 16 barnstorming games vs black all stars and batted .455 with 12 home runs…. These were against ALLSTARS.
Ruth dominated the black pitchers, but the bigger story was, the Babe enjoyed playing against Negro League players; he respected them as ballplayers and men. Ruth was so damn humble and decent. Came from very humble origins. Thats why Babe Ruth will always be the greatest baseball player ever.
Well the legendary Sixto Escobar have 485 feet in CF plus group of pines and Gibson hit a homerun over the pones a 500 ft blast,the pitcher was Freddie Thon .
Based on the research of historical accounts performed for the Special Committee on the Negro Leagues, Gibson hit 224 homers in 2,375 at-bats against top black teams, two in 56 at-bats against white major-league pitchers, and 44 in 450 at-bats in the Mexican League.
Bill Jenkinson has documented 16 exhibition games in which Ruth played against black pitchers. He also mentions 3 other games for which there isn't any contemporary primary sources. Below is a summary of how he performed in the documented games per Jenkinson:
AB - 55
1B - 11
2B - 2
3B - 0
HR - 12
BA - .455
SA - 1.145
This includes his 3 jacks in one game off "Cannonball" Dick Redding in 1927.
Bill Jenkinson is a fascinating read.
Babe was the man, no doubt
He still didn't play against the best. The league wasn't integrated so it's impossible to know. We do know Jackie Robinson dominated the MLB and he was no where near the best from the negro leagues. We also know satchel won rookie of the year in his forties. That's considering we don't truly know his age. He would've dominated those guys in his prime. This bullshit black vs white race shit you're hinting at goes both ways.
The 237 HRs is an accurate accounting of the Negro League stats, which were recorded pretty faithfully in the Negro Leagues long before Gibson arrived.. But that still impressive, because we’re talking about seasons with 35-40 games.. So, he was prolific..
The other figures you hear about his barnstorming days have a little bit of a hyperbolic feel to them.. Meaning, there’s some truth in there somewhere.. lol..
WE LOVE GIBSON IN PUERTO RICO. LEGEND
How many HRs did Josh Gibson hit off of farm boys and factory workers? Ruth hit his off of Major Leaguers.
Ruth hit of major leaguers that weren't throwing 90+mph fastballs every game. When the Negro League players played against Major Leaguers the Negro League players won the game. The Negro League players had the talent to play in the majors I feel they kept Blacks out cause of how good they were.
@@skylarunderwood2711
You stepped on your own crank, tiny as it is. All players, black and white, threw just as hard. You don't know jackshit.
@@skylarunderwood2711 negro league players vs major league baseball players, the best major league baseball player didn"t against negro league baseball , bob feller 98 mph fastball / curve ball wouldve put hile in josh gilson bat
@@loydbruceleewouldbescary2637 your crazy as hell if you think that. I know you guys hold on to your players like we hold on to ours. That's why the negro league players that went to the MLB broke records and are in the HOF. Bod fellers would have been taken deep by negro leaguers there was a reason they wouldn't let's blacks play. We play harder then the rest.
Josh Gibson hit homeruns offs batting practice pitchers ; bob feller faster than speeding bullet fastball would've strike out Josh gilbson on three pitches and put a hole 🕳 in Josh gilbson put
People will always exaggerate what doesn't need to be just to live vicariously or sound important.
Gibson could've hit a ball 550' and people will swear they were there and it went 700' (on the fly) or this person threw a 90-mph screw-knuckle-curve and struck out Babe Ruth five times during an exhibition game in Podunk, Iowa. They didn't turn pro because they were 35 and died in a corn-shucking accident a year later
Ain't none of us ever gonna know for sure. That's the tragedy here.
... it's sad, but there will always be "baseball arguments" and that's just part of baseball history. As for Josh Gibson and all the Negro Leaguers and blackball players before him, they deserve our Respect, Recognition and Remembrance.
It's a non-starter. No one knows how good Gibson, Paige, Dick Redding, Joe Williams, or Buck Leonard would have fared against Ruth, Grove & Walter Johnson. The Yankees were denied Willie Mays because of racist asshats. Which is why, in my mind, racist and asshat are interchangeable.
Good job!
My second fave player all time!! Being a full time athlete (plus record setting power hitter!) I heard about him and I knew about Sahuaro Oh in Japan when I was very young. I was a true fan of great players regardless of League or country.
Josh was truly God's gift to baseball.
If Mr Gibson indeed hit a ball out of yankee stadium, it would have been reported in the contemporary black press. Especially the Pittsburgh Courier, Amsterdam News, and Chicago defender.
Not necessarily.
That's a definite logical fallacy.
When Josh was asked about hitting a ball out of yankee stadium he answered he hit the ball into deep left bleachers it a player named Jack Marshall who swore the ball left the stadium.
Josh Gibson was only playing between about 40 and 70 games per season. That's how his stats appear in baseball.reference. Point being his batting averages were insane. .369, .389, .417, .402. So even if he couldn't keep that pace over 150 games as a catcher, hitting against Bob Feller and Lefty Grove, what? Shave 50 points off each year? Then he would have only been a lifetime .324 hitter instead of .374. Still a superstar.
HRs against Floyd the Barber and the Mayberry Mirthmakers don't count.
@@TheBatugan77 Read the part where I said take 50 points off his batting average.
@@dirtylemon3379
Floyd the Barber.
Goober Pyle.
Aunt Bea.
The Mayberry Mirthmakers don't count.
It's stated 'over 800' HR's for Gibson including barnstorming... Ok, how many dingers did Ruth hit while barnstorming?
Imo more importantly barnstorming was a money-grab, got no issues with that, however I believe it was more about entertainment, not winning. Possibly similar to a HR derby....
For real, does anyone actually believe an 18 year old girl/woman could strikeout Ruth and Gehrig?
Barnstorming was for entertainment. It wouldn't surprise me if Ruth routinely hit 5 HR's in a barnstorming game...come on, he had 70-some 2 HR's games in MLB...
From what I've read Gibson was great. Too bad we'll never know how great. Sadly most is unrecorded myth.
@John Ivey- Barnstorming was entertainment, however, it was played ferociously. The whites never wanted to lose to Blacks and vice versa. It was intense playoff type baseball.
HRs against Floyd the Barber don't count.
@@TheBatugan77 A teacher, painter, carpenter, you name it. A home run in barnstorming counts.
@@TheBatugan77 hahahahahahaha!!!!!! and floyd had a wicked deuce.
@@jusliving7977
Not quite. C'mon man. C'mon.
Head to head Ruth had the better stats
Josh Gibson would've been strike out by Bob feller faster than speeding bullet fastball 🚚 truckload of times
Lefty gomez & lefty Grove & dizzy dean would've lefty Josh Gibson Hitt less at the plate
@loydkline good joke you need to read more about the history of winter league baseball bro,they have a extraordinary pitchers and negro players love the Caribbean because people love and care.
@@loydklineHow do you know?
Leranfreeman, that's just it, we don't know and that's why this is woke, affirmative action BS. Josh Gibson never hit against MLB pitchers so how can you rate him against those that did every game???
I’m not much on cancel culture, but if anyone should not be in the hall of fame it’s Kennesaw Mountain Landis.
He should be there. Baseball reflected our society at that time. I'm not willing to toss anything and everything that happened before 1947 because of some neanderthals.
Cap Anson was an Asshat. But when I saw Tony Gwynn celebrate his 3000th hit, many living 3000 hit players either showed up to congratulate him, or sent video messages. Among the well wishers at the stadium was a descendant of Cap Anson. And I'm sure they didn't give a damn about Tony's skin tone.
They don't count babe Ruth's barnstorming home runs either
Correct. And when I point out that Ruth homered off of Satchel, they say 'A blind squirrel finds a nut once in awhile...'. For a guy who hit 659 HRs in 15 years, 300 in six, and went 94-46 on the mound.
That's a lot of nuts.
@@TheBatugan77 exactly. We really have no idea how good or even overrated a lot of negro league players were through no fault of their own. I'm sure just like tons of prospects, some would have been the best of the best and some would have been low level big leaguers. It's very hard to say what the level of competition was in any of those exhibition games
@@decker528great points. It occurred to me trust recently that Negro League was likely VERY limited in its pool of players. Blacks were never a big % of the population, so the pool that made it to the Negro were a much higher % of the black pop than whites that made it to the MLB/etc. likely that means many of them weren’t all that good. Better than I, for sure, but as far as “professional” level, likely not much.
@decker528
So when blacks integrated the national leauge, they won MVP after MVP or RBI totals: Jackie, Campanella, Frank Robinson, Mays, Banks, Monte Irvin, Aaron and others...the top players in the integrated NL were overwhelmingly black.
@@USMC-cv5sd still has nothing to do with how good negro league players were as a whole. We see top level pros from Korea, Japan, Cuba, etc and some can play in the majors and some struggle. I'm sure negro league players would have been the same. Some would have thrived, others wouldn't have
I would have loved to see Gosh Gibson play.
I am sure he was a great Player/Hitter. But the claims they make, I wouldn't hold much merit. As for his other records this guy is talking about, mediocre players going against him in a sub par league. put Ty Cobb or Ted Williams in that league, they would have batted 1,000.
Correct. They talk about what Gibson did in other leagues. Well Ted williams, Stan Musial, Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig HRs and slugging and batting avrge. could be a lot higher.
CRITERIA ARE CRITICAL
When you link to Baseball-Reference and bring up their leader galleries, you'll see a lot of black and brown faces now that the Negro League stats are being added. (it's an ongoing process)
Much more so on single-season and %-age stats than on lifetime and raw totals lists. That's because of the shorter Negro League seasons and fewer of them (1920 thru 1948 only).
For example, take Josh Gibson. He won't show up on single-season or all-time leaders lists in homeruns, RBI or extra-base hits (raw totals, short seasons, fewer of them (though all of Gibson's Negro League play is within the 1920-1948 window.).
But, Josh is 2nd highest in single-season batting average behind Tetelo Vargas of the '48 New York Cubans, #1 in single-season slugging % (plus 3 other places in the top 12) and #3 behind Barry Bonds (twice) in single-season OBP. BA, Slugging %, OBP and OPS deal in percentages and averages.
So in single-season OBS (on-base average + slugging %) you'd expect Josh Gibson to be peppering the leader's list, right? And he does: #1, #2, #11 and #17 in the Top 20, all Josh Gibson.
But CAREER OBS? Nowhere on the list. Same for OBP, OPS and Batting Average.
No anywhere on these career leaders lists.
How come?
That's because, for career records, a minimum of 3000 plate appearances (PA) is required.
Other Negro Leaguers make that 3000 Pa threshold (e.g. Mule Suttles, Turkey Stearnes, Oscar Charleston, Jud Wilson), but not Josh. Two good seasons (1931 and 1932) plus parts of a few others are not included because the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Homestead Grays were independent teams those years, not in any of the recognized Negro Leagues. And, of course, Gibson's 2 years in the Mexican Leagues ('40-'41) aren't counted.
I suspect that 3000-PA criterion has been in place since before December 16, 2020, when the Negro Leagues were designated as major leagues and their stats and records began to be folded into the major league database. (please correct me if that's not the case!)
If one lowered the PA minimum to 2500, Gibson would qualify (2511 PAs) and here's how his career numbers would place him:
Batting average: .374, #1
On-Base %age: .458, #4
Slugging %age: .720, #1
On-Base + Slugging %age: 1.178, #1
All this goes to show what you already know: Josh Gibson was one of the greatest players of all time.
But when you look at MLB records, leaders lists and even trivia questions, watch the fine print. The minimum requirements, the boundaries, timeframes and other criteria.
CRITERIA ARE CRITICAL.
Soul of the Game imo best movie, ( that i seen anyways) that portrays, Josh Gibson, Satchel Paige, and few others during the few years the MLB to start brining players in.
The Hammer is still the homerun king!
I'll like to see Aaron, Gibson and Ruth do a hr derby.
@@whitneywilliams317 Back in the day there was a tv show called Home Run Derby where the greats would face each other..............And the Hammer was a guest on the show...............Put Hank on steroids and he could hit one to the moon.
Steroids free:hank Aaron homerun king
@whitneywilliams317 forgot micky mantle
@@whitneywilliams317 Jimmy foxx : it real dream homerun derby Dave Kingman; Cecil fielder
They're always hollering about the 27' Yankees, but I'll put up the 31' Homestead Grays againdt them or anyone in the MLB.
Josh also invented the wheel ,the x-ray,and white out.
Josh split the atom and invented the internet but never received any credit. Poor guy.
A shame we don’t have too much video on him. People said he would’ve been one of the best mlb players of all time
as far as records, it's mixing apples and oranges...absolutely he belongs in the HOF...shamefully the wrong people ruled baseball in not allowing.. a massive stain on baseball and it's records and society in general...what were we thinking or not thinking?
People think he was better than Roy Campanella and Campanella was heck of a player
I think he would be neck and neck with Bench for best MLB catcher ever
I was going to mention the DC thing! The Washington Stadium was 400+ feet to the LF foul pole! Clark Griffith would have LOVED to sign Josh.
No he wouldn't have -- and he didn't. In 1946, Griffin, like the other owners voted against signing black players. He didn't sign a black player, Carlos Paula, until 1954. It wasn't Landis, it was the owners. Landis worked for the owners. When was the last time you went to the owner/president/CEO of your company and demanded he hire someone?
@@epm5433 just a little note: when the owners hired Judge Landis as commiss around the Black Sox scandal, they gave him carte blac (total control) of the league, his word was the last word, an agreement the owners regretted to his death, and yes the owners should share the blunt of the blame, but Landis definitely didn't encourage integration or help try to advance it. He also tried a case once against Boxer Jack Johnson I believe in the early 1920s; just a little side note.
@@jameswalton3930 I've read extensively about Landis and it amazes me how guys like you determine he did nothing to further integration -- there is no record positive or negative. When was the last time you went into your boss and demanded he higher some one -- on moral grounds? Since you like pointing out historical facts can you tell me which biographer of Pres. Franklin Roosevelt -- in office during Landis's time as commissioner -- claimed he was a racist for not hiring any blacks to a significant role in his administration? No cabinet members, no White House staff, and zero Federal judgeships. (hundreds of positions). Roosevelt had the authority to hire. Landis didn't.
@@epm5433
We're all getting sick of your shit. Knock it off. And I mean now, mistah!
@@epm5433
The CEO, in this case, was Landis. Landis demanded, and got, absolute authority. Once he died, no commissioner ever got that authority again.
Know virtually nothing about the Negro League, but from what I've seen and read he's the greatest homerun hitter of all time. It would have been a privilege to see him play!
You gotta remember they played across seas and stats were lost over time. They played all yr round. Probably 2 weeks off. He's the best power hitter ever..
Lol! No. He’s not. Ruth did it against the best pitching in the world at the time. Bottom Line. Gibson was good… for the competition he faced. Major League Baseball was the PREMIER league back then.
Also fun fact… Mickey Mantle hit a ball completely out of Washington Griffith Stadium in 1953. Gibson played there hundreds of times and NEVER accomplished that ;)
THE HELL WITH THE BEST CATCHER EVER... JOSH IS THE G.O.A.T OF BASEBALL. THE BEST TO EVER DO IT.
The best not named "Babe."
The Batugan 77s comment is so 👌 spot on. Fans everywhere got jobbed by not getting a chance to see these glorious athletes. Take Cap Anson, Kennesaw Mountain Landis, and every other white supremacist SOB and stick them on a giant raft. Then torpedo it!! Everybody deserves their chance based on merit. Not skin tone. Josh Gibson would have been the greatest player that ever lived had he been allowed in the Major Leagues. I have no doubt!! What the Negro Leaguers did under the conditions they competed under was astonishing. Think of what Jackie Robinson did, under abuse no athlete ever endured. These athletes in most cases were better than their white counterparts. No doubt.
True, Donald. 👍
Bob Gibson, one of my all-time favorite pitchers, said that the reason people think blacks are better players is racism. A black player won't stick unless he is very good, whereas white players can get by with being mediocre... getting three, four, and five chances, where a black player might get one. I agree. Look at all the white managers and coaches... Mostly mediocre players. Most of the black managers and coaches (not that many) were/are good to great... Frank Robinson, Dave Roberts, Dusty Baker... no Charlie Lau's, Dave McKays, Tony LaRussas or Earl Weavers.
Segregation robbed us(those of us who watch old baseball games) the opportunity to see Gibson play...
It breaks my heart to know segregation the rule before Jackie Robinson. It is interesting it happened shortly after Gibson's untimely death from a brain tumor.
I do appreciate the X-files episode that was a tribute to him.
In the Caribbean they have the luck to see not only Gibson,Buster Clarkson,Bob Thurman,Willard Brown,Roy Partlow,etc,etc.
NO...SMDH YOU CANT LEAVE THE HOME RUNS OUT SMH. THE BROTHER HIT OVER 800 HOMERS. HE SHOULD DEFINITELY GET CREDIT FOR IT.
No one will ever know for sure about how many legit homers Gibson. However there have been plenty of prominent baseball people - both black and white - who saw Gibson play and claim he's the greatest hitter they've ever seen. I don't think it's a stretch to suggest that had he played his entire career in the majors, he would have hit 500-600 career home runs - far more than any catcher in history.
This homerun is a vaild as any legendary homerun.
Oh yeah, the great one that never was. All through history there is some giant that didn’t get his due.
Plus there have been too many credible baseball people - John McGraw included - who apparently stated that black players were every bit as good as the white major leaguers. According to McGraw (and others), Negro Leaguer Oscar Charleston was the greatest position player that ever lived.
More than a few white big league players said cool papa Bell was faster than any big leaguer of his day
John McGraw tried to sneak black players into his roster.
A story.
No proof of anything.he was great ball player but he would never be as good as baby ruth
Lots of folks overlook what an outstanding pitcher. Babe was. Won 95games in 5 seasons and held the WS record for consecutive scoreless IP for over 40yrs
To tell you how good Josh Gibson was, multiple NL MVP and MLB Hall of Fame Catcher Roy Campanella said that he didnt even have the talent Josh Gibson had!!!!
Campanella hit 40 points lower in the major leagues than he did in the negro leagues.
@@mikegrebe536 If Campanella hit 40 points lower in the MLB than Negro Leagues and still won multiple MVP's in MLB, that fact alone tells you how good Negro League Baseball was. For example, Judy Johnson a Negro League star with the Hilldale Daisies in the 1920's and Hall of Famer said Hilldale played the Philadelphia A's with Jimmy Foxx, Al Simmons and other MLB Hall of Famers on the A's team in the 1920's. Hilldale won 5 out of 6 games and the A's refused to play them anymore. Negro League teams defeated MLB teams a majority of the time when they play each other. By the way, Buck Leonard (Hall of Famer, who played with the Homestead Grays, said during an interview that Griffith, the owner of the Washington Senators had a meeting with him and Josh Gibson in the 1930's wanting both players on his team but the other MLB owners were not wanting blacks to play in MLB. The Grays played half their home games in Washington DC. Griffith knew how good Negro League players were. I got way more facts for Negro League greatness against MLB. Their are more than enough books to verify this fact.
Ron Swoboda's first MLB HR may have gone out of Yankee Stadium were it hit there.
Longest I've personally ever seen was late 19990s I think. Glenn Allen Hill, then with the Cubs, hit a ball onto the roof of the apartment across the street, the one where they sell seats now.Never heard an estimate how far that one went, A 500-550 ft bomb would so reasonable
The Babe hit one to the corner behind the CF bleachers at Tiger Stadium... the bleachers were single-decked back then. Estimates are 550-575 feet. I visited that corner, and it's a credible estimate.
That is as valid as any unsubstantiated claim.
It went over the back fence at Shea Stadium. It's a safe bet it would have reached the left centerfield bleachers at Yankee Stadium.
I think he deserves to be acclaimed to be recognized per his accomplishments. He was by so many different peoples accounts as good as they ALL say. Give the man his justification!
Josh Gibson was built like Bo Jackson.
I think it sucks that the Negro League Players didn’t get to play in MLB
Wanna the negro league baseball players against major league baseball players 1920/ 1930s ;
Get over it. It was 80 freaking years ago.
When satchel Paige said that it would be a thousand years or something before we saw another Josh Gibson he was not kidding.
It took 100 years for a baseball player to replicate with babe Ruth did. Ohtani is doing better than babe Ruth at both hitting and pitching, but that took over a hundred years.
His 2021 season came exactly 102 years after babe Ruth's 1919 season. It just isn't done.
Ohtani isn't doing better than Babe Ruth at anything.
Cut the crap.
Shohei ohtani hasn't hit 59 & 60 homerun yet & never will ; laugh; laugh : Bob feller faster than speeding bullet fastball would've strike out Shohei ohtani on three pitches & put a hole 🕳 in shohei ohtani bat; shohei ohtani would've complain I didn't see the pitches it was invisible : Bob feller would've said wanna see my un hittable curve ball shohei ohtani would've said no seen enough
@TheBatugan77 what shohei ohtani battingaverage under .300 like .275 babe Ruth would've hit .275 sleep walking
is shohei ohtani pitching this week; ?? Next week?? He injured?? Out for rest of year ;; laugh laugh teenager Bob feller faster than speeding bullet fastball would've strike out Shohei ohtani on three pitches ; put a 🕳 hole in shohei ohtani bat
Never hit a ball out of Yankee Stadium. If so when? Ever notice the liars that claim that can never give a date. How come all the thousands of fans at the game never saw it? It is complete bullshit but no-one will challenge it for obvious reasons.
I was there, son. He did it. Mind your tongue.
He was also robbed about at least a decade cause he died so young! A truly great player!!
He was 36 when he passed
Josh never said he hit a ball out of yankee stadium he did say he hit it deep into the blechers
I went on a yankee Stadium tour when I was 12. the tour guide pointed to where Gibson hit the ball in the upper deck. Seemed like a total bomb to me at 12 but it was within the upper deck.
When i was 10 or so i read about baseball in the 20s 30s now i dont regard it.... you disallowed men because of pigment... i cant get through that. So to me i could care about that era.... satchell and josh shoulda been playin in the bigs... redneks ruled...
It's a damn shame that the greats like Josh Gibson and his peers didn't play in MLB. Then we wouldn't have to have all of these stupid debates and everyone would know that Josh Gibson was the greatest baseball player of his day. Shoot, the only ones that comes close are Babe Ruth and Barry Bonds. Just know that those who actually care and take the time to do their homework know that Josh Gibson is the greatest player.
Baseball is all about believing the false myth or story. If Ruth called his shot, then Gibson hit one outside the old Yankee Stadium. Ruth never called that shot and Gibson never hit one outside of Yankees Stadium, yet I believe both.
Negro league players get mythology around them and legend status, the reality is Paige and Robinson didn't do anything special once they got to MLB. They were good, but we never saw anything like Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Bonds, Clemens, etc. Hank Aaron played MLB after integration was over 6 years in, but did play in Negro league games; so he's the best Negro league player and was the career HR champ for a long time. Jose Canseco can get the same legend status because some of his career was taken away, while more obvious steroid users like Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi (not to mention A-Rod) all continued to play and had massive success (A-Rod had the highest career salary in MLB history I believe.) Jose played in independent league in 2018, if allowed; he could probably still do what Babe Ruth did in 1935 and coach with occasional play (he'd want 38 HR's, what if he only played when pitchers were predictable or he felt amazing? 3 years to pull it off, that comeback would make him HOF material by any standard.) To do that, does MLB allow prescribed TRT or ban even that like the Olympics does? I suspect his knees might not be all there, but his power was there last I heard and still has good hand-eye coordination (despite a reattached finger.) I'd suggest stem cell therapy, HGH and herbs to restore natural testicular function (especially if TRT isn't allowed, I wonder if he ever tried to kickstart with Clomid or HCG?)
You don't think Jackie Robinson did anything special, Bob? Stick to Hogan's Heroes. You don't know jackshit about baseball. You think it was a coincidence that the Dodgers won 6 pennants, a world series, and outdrew everyone between 1947-56?
This fixation people have on Landis is irrational and wrong. Landis worked for the owners. The 16 owners agreed to not sign black players several years before they hired Landis. Branch Rickey signed Robinson after Landis died. The owners took a vote after Robinson was signed. It was 14 of the 15 present at the meeting voted against signing black players (with one abstention) and by 1950, fewer than half the teams had signed black players.
You again?
Put a sock in it, son.
@@TheBatugan77 As long as you and other racist flat earthers try to perpetuate this fraud, I'll be calling you out with facts.
Landis may have been hired by the owners, but he controlled them, not the other way around. Don't forget, he kicked eight of the Chicago White Sox players, including Joe Jackson out of baseball for life even though they were acquitted in court (yes the ruling was a farce).
After the 1933 season none other than Babe Ruth himself went to Yankees owner Colonel Jake Rupert and asked him to sign a Young catcher Babe referred to as the best power hitter he'd ever seen, himself included. When racist commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis got wind of Rupert negotiating with Gibson, he sent a warning to Rupert threatening to strip him of the team's ownership. Since Landis authority was unchallenged due to how he dealt with the Black Sox scandal, Rupert backed off. Gibson did sign with the Bosox in 1946 but died during the off-season at age 36
What's your source?
There was a gentleman's agreement among the owner's not to sign any black players, in which case Landis would never have even dealt with any of it. I doubt that Rupert would have broken that agreement. Please list your source,
Unfortunately ,the Yankees and other teams didn't listen. The Yankee organization was actually the fourth to last team to fully integrate - a historical truth the organization completely avoids at all costs.
It 's on record that Babe hit several home runs completely out of Yankee stadium during batting practice and Josh himself said he never hit a ball completely out of Yankee Stadium so whatever is the truth we might never know but it's a fun debate.
Babe hit one in the 1926 series that went over the Cf screen that left the stadium. Its estimated distance was 625ft. Longest ive heard of
@@sukhastings4200 Suk thanks for the information didn't know that.
@@sukhastings4200 No batted ball has ever been hit out of Yankee Stadium during a game. Ever. The HR you're referring to was in St. Louis during the Series. Please check your facts before posting.
It's a slippery slope when you start comparing numbers between leagues, unfortunately. I have no doubt that Gibson was among the greatest hitters of his generation, but comparing his 43 numbers to Ty Cobb doesn't really work. Same with comparing his amount of HRs to Ruth. Ruth did a ton of barnstorming as well, for instance. By all accounts, Gibson was an incredible talent, and that's enough for me.
Black teams played Major League teams in 438 exhibition games - and won 309 of them. Yes it's hard to gauge how many homers Gibson actually hit, but it seems that black players were at least at par with white big leaguers.
Sorry those numbers are against teams that had some major leaguers playing for them. They had a losing record when they played teams with 9 major league starters.
He did not hit a ball outta old yankee stadium...people be lying...lolol
I went on a Yankee stadium tour in summer camp. The tour guide pointed out the section Josh Gibson hit the ball in the upper deck.
Josh not only hit the ball out of Yankee Stadium, he hit the ball clear out of the Bronx! Learn some history you racist! LOL
They say that Babe Ruth was the White Josh Gibson.
No. They don't.
@@TheBatugan77 irony
@@prschuster
Irony can be pretty ironic.
Gibson was the right handed Babe Ruth.
They do? I never heard that.
Never happened.
Prove it
@@theshift1130 There's no REAL proof that he did. Maybe a very long home run, but not out of the park. Josh himself never said he did this, nor other players at the park that day said this. It was not ever printed in the black newspapers of the day that this happened!
Mantle hit balls out of Yankee stadium during batting practice. That is documented in the book "Explosion". Mantle supposedly hit a ball during a game that hit the very last seat in the 3rd deck in LEFT field. The ball could not have been coming down because the facade would have blocked it. So don't tell me Gibson hit the furthest HR ever hit in Yankee stadium.
Mantle never hit a ball out of Yankee stadium. They said the ball would have traveled 500 ft. And I don't believe that, sorry I just don't.
@@skylarunderwood2711 HE DID HIT SOME OUT DURING BATTING PRACTICE. Once again "Explosion" by Mark Gallagher talks about all his HRs and verifies that he did hit some out during batting practice.
Home runs still count even when they only go 260 ft like Bobby Thompson in 1951. Get over the distance
@@skylarunderwood2711
GivesAShit what you believe?
Hey SkidMarc...
Gibson hit the furthest HR ever in Yankee Stadium.
You can praise Mr. Gibson's talents all day long. It won't change anything. He wasn't allowed to play the game he was so good at in the league where he clearly belonged. You didn't have to be black necessarily for this kind of thing to happen to you. You just had to not have the opportunity arise when you tried your best to show them that you belonged. Plenty of talented players never get a chance to shine.
JOSH WAS WAAAAAAAAAAY BETTER THAN RUTH. IF ANYTHING, RUTH WOULD BE COMPARED TO JOSH GIBSON.
Maybe we should say Babe Ruth is the White Josh Gibson,
@M D do you believe Gibson would have surpassed Ruth if they give him a shot the majors?
@M D possibility, and Gibson hits 1000.
@@whitneywilliams317
Sure. Because Gibson was black, he has to have been better. You know racism goes both ways, right, Whitless?
Ruth came first. You don't name someone after someone who came later. Personally, i feel neither guy needs to be named for the other. They both stand tall on their own merits.
@@whitneywilliams317 Josh Gibson against Bob feller & his faster than speeding bullet fastball would've put a hole 🕳 in Josh Gibson bat
Josh Gibson was the goat 🐐
The myth of Josh Gibson being the greatest hitter of all time is exactly that. A myth.
Sorry ur great white hopes of baseball would be just that hoping they could be as good as the colored players. That's why they didn't want us playing.
@@skylarunderwood2711 The greatest ballplayer of all time was a white player. His name was Babe Ruth. Get over it.
@@whiteandright1958 Keep lying to yourself
@@skylarunderwood2711 Ruth hit off of Major Leaguers, Josh and the Negro League teams took on all comers, the Plumbers all Stars, the factory teams, big difference. Get over it, Ruth is the GOAT.
@@mikegrebe536 Yeah Ruth played against white good players. If blacks were able to play in the major leagues it would have been a different story. Get over it.
He was better than babe ruth. Even white MLB pro players that saw him play agreed
Josh gibson vs bob feller 98mph fast& curve , josh gilbson holes in batt
Josh Gibson more overrated than derek jeter.
Ruth was as over-rated as he was grossly overweight. Ruth never faced a Greg Maddox or Roger Clemens. Id bet Randy Johnson K's him in 3 pitches, not even a foul ball!!
How about the myth that he was “grossly overweight”?
Yeah, Walter Johnson sucked.
That artwork sucks