MLB records set for major shakeup as Negro Leagues stats set to be officially recognized: report

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Major League Baseball's record books will look a lot different later this week.

The league is reportedly set to officially recognize statistics from the Negro Leagues and incorporate them into its own data.

MLB elevated Negro League stats as "major league" in 2020, a move they said was "a longtime oversight in the game's history." 

Since then, MLB has been working with the Elias Sports Bureau in order to figure out a way to incorporate them into MLB’s history.

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Statue of former negro league catcher Josh Gibson outside of Nationals Park.  (Simon Bruty /Sports Illustrated/Getty Images)

One player in particular, one you may have never heard of, will now be considered one of MLB's all-time greats.

Josh Gibson has gone down in history as perhaps the best player to never suit up in an MLB game. He was known as the "Black Babe Ruth" during his playing career, with rumors speculating he had hit over 800 home runs in Negro and independent league play.

But now, the catcher will hold numerous MLB records, and he will now be in the GOAT conversation, without any intricacies.

Gibson's true statistics remain a mystery, but according to USA Today, come Wednesday, Gibson will now hold the records for highest career batting average (.372, surpassing Ty Cobb's .366), slugging percentage (.718, soon-to-be formerly held by Babe Ruth's .690) and OPS (1.177, beating Ruth's 1.164). He played in 602 Negro League games, according to Baseball-Reference.

A general view of the MLB logo on the on deck circle during the game between the Minnesota Twins and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on