I put this together some years ago, using Baseball Reference.com, meaning I was using Seamheads:
Some figures from Baseball Reference.com on famous Negro League hitters and some Major League players said to be comparable. For some reason the number of games played in the Negro Leagues was not kept track of but the plate appearances were computed so I used 648 plate appearances, (162 x 4) rather than 162 games for the comparisons.
(BP: Bases produced, Total bases + walks + steals RP: runs scored and batted in – home runs)
Josh Gibson
.350BA .401OBP .624SP 208H 52W 33D 13T 35HR 8SB 432BP 114RBI 148RS 227RP
Babe Ruth
.342BA .474OBP .648SP 175H 126W 31D 8T 44HR 8SB 488BP 135RBI 133RS 224RP
Comment: Ruth had the greatest raw power of anyone who ever played the game and got on base more than anyone except Ted Williams. But Gibson hit for a higher average, had more speed and scored an amazing number of runs. Obviously his teammates helped with that but Ruth had some pretty productive teammates, too.
Buck Leonard
.320BA .386OBP .519SP 184H 63W 29D 10T 22HR 10SB 372BP 97RBI 136RS 211RP
Lou Gehrig
.340BA .447OBP .632SP 182H 101W 36D 11T 33HR 7SB 447BP 134RBI 127RS 228RP
Comment: Leonard was very good but didn’t have nearly the power of Gehrig and Lou’s batting average and on base percentage are well above his. Once again, both Josh Gibson and Buck Leonard scored far more runs than they drove in while Ruth and Gehrig scored and drove in runs at about the same rate.
Cool Papa Bell
.316BA .363 OBP .420SP 188H 45W 27D 9T 6HR 23SB 319BP 37RBI 127RS 158RP
Ty Cobb
.366BA .433OBP .512SP 207H 62W 36D 15T 6HR 44SB 397BP 96RBI 111RS 201RP
Comment: Again, Bell was good but he wasn’t Cobb, who got a lot more extra base hits, even in the Dead Ball Era and drove in a lot more runs. But there seems to have been an incredible number of runs scored in the Negro leagues. The white major leagues tended to be very conservative with their baserunning once the “live ball” era began. I don’t think the Negro leagues ever stopped running, even when they started hitting home runs. They combined the virtues of the live ball era with those of the dead ball era and their own entertaining style.
Oscar Charleston
.339BA .401OBP .545SP 195H 59W 32D 13T 20HR 33SB 405BP 87RBI 127RS 194RP
Willie Mays
.302BA .384OBP .557SP 170H 76W 27D 7T 34HR 18SB 407BP 99RBI 107RS 172RP
Comment: Oscar didn’t have Willie’s power and didn’t drive in as many runs as a result but his other numbers are pretty much better across the board. Of course, Oscar never had to play at the Stick.
John Henry Lloyd
.337BA .384OBP .434SP 198H 44W 28D 8T 4HR 25SB 323BP 76RBI 100RS 172RP
Honus Wagner
.328BA .391OBP .467SP 189H 53W 35D 14T 6HR 40SB 323BP 96RBI 96RS 186RP
Comment: Lloyd had a higher batting average but Honus was better in everything else.
I also compared Satchel Paige to the top major league pitchers of the time. The Negro league stats don’t have “games pitched” but do have “games started” so this is per 40 starts. The numbers, of course, include those accumulated in relief appearances so they may be slightly inflated. The Negro Leagues didn’t calculate saves or earned runs, so they are not included here.
Satchel Paige
23 wins 11 losses 20CG 6SHO 295IP 226H 105R 266SKO 55W
Lefty Grove
26 wins 12 losses 26CG 3SHO 345IP 337H 140R 198SKO 104W
Carl Hubbell
23 wins 14 losses 24CG 3SHO 332IP 320H 127R 155SKO 67W
Dizzy Dean
26 wins 14 losses 27CG 5SHO 342IP 334H 135R 202SKO 79W
Bob Feller
22 wins 13 losses 23CG 4SHO 316IP 270H 129R 213SKO 79W
Comment: Pitching Satchel Paige didn’t mean an automatic victory by any means but it’s fascinating that he was a much better strike-out pitcher than either Grove or Feller and yet had more control than any of the four major league pitchers. He gave up far fewer hits and runs than they did- even though, per the stats on the above batters, a great many runs were being scored in the Negro Leagues. I suspect that it’s true that if he’d been able to pitch his full career in the major leagues he would have been regarded as the best pitcher of his era and probably of all time. But it’s interesting that he didn’t pitch as much as his contemporaries in the majors. He didn’t complete as many games, (even though he had more shut-outs), and didn’t pitch as many innings. It would seem that Negro League managers were ahead of their white counterparts in using the bullpen and realizing that you couldn’t use dead ball strategies in the Live Ball Era. If a guy was tiring, they took him out, even the great Satchel.
Here’s some more per 648 plate appearance numbers from Baseball Referecne.com on selected Negro league players who are either in the Hall of Fame or in Bill James’ “New Historical Baseball Abstract”, (see the section on the Negro Leagues, p180-192) or Bill Jenkinson’s “Baseball’s Ultimate Power”, (see pages 65-79)
Newt Allen “a graceful, slick-fielding second baseman with a shortstop’s arm”- James
.291BA .336OBP .378SP 173H 7W 26D 8T 3HR 22SB 253BP 32RBI 95RS 124RP
Sam Bankhead “shortstop on the Pittsburgh Crawfords and the Homestead Grays” -James
.289BA .329OBP .366SP 174H 36W 21D 8T 3HR 19SB 275BP 54RBI 96RS 147RP
John Beckwith 3B ”a brute…(with) frightening physical capabilities” -Jenkinson
.347BA .384OBP .582SP 209H 36W 40D 10T 27HR 11SB 397BP 96RBI 118RS 187RP
Gene Benson LF “Bob Feller called him ‘cousin’ because he couldn’t get him out.”- James
.295BA .317OBP .377SP 184H 20W 19D 8T 6HR 6SB 263BP 82RBI 100RS 176RP
Charles Blackwell LF “A star in the early days of the league…often under the influence of alcohol” -James
.311BA .379OBP .475SP 179H 62W 28D 14T 13HR 22SB 358BP 52RBI 95RS 134RP
Willard Brown RF “Tremendous right-handed power hitter” -James
.337BA .359OBP .539SP 211H 22W 29D 17T 21HR 29SB 388BP 97RBI 119RS 195RP
Roy Campanella C Started in the Negro National League in 1937 at age 15
NNL: .314BA .346OBP .481SP 193H 30W 30D 9T 18HR 6SB 331BP 140RBI 106RS 228RP
NL: .276BA .360OBP .500SP 156H 72W 24D 2T 33HR 3SB 358BP 115RBI 84RS 166RP
Pelayo Chacon SS “defensive wizard, slap hitter” - James
.250BA .315OBP .309SP 144H 54W 15D 7T 2HR 27SB 260BP 44RBI 91RS 133RP
Jimmy Crutchfield “small man, left handed singles hitter, good defensive center fielder” -James
.263BA .298OBP .329SP 161H 31W 15D 11T 1HR 14SB 246BP 22RBI 75RS 96RP
Ray Dandridge3b “Did everything exceptionally well except he wasn’t a power hitter.” - James
.310BA .329OBP .391SP 194H 18W 25D 10T 2HR 12SB 275BP 35RBI 93RS 126RP
Bingo DeMoss 2b “The best bunter in Negro League baseball” -James
.227BA .301OBP .278SP 128H 59W 18D 4T 1HR 33SB 249BP 31RBI 93RS 124RP
Martin Dihigo “The only guy I ever saw who could play all nine positions, manage run and switch-hit” – Johnny Mize
.304BA .354OBP .499SP 181H 46W 25D 7T 25HR 14SB 355BP 83RBI 122RS 180RP
Rap Dixon RF “On a tour of Japan in 1927, he raced around the bases in 14.5 seconds and then amazed the Japanese by standing at home plate and throwing several balls over the outfield fence, 328 feet away.” – James
.317BA .376 OBP .493SP 183H 55W 30D 11T 17HR 25SB 366BP 59RBI 127RS 169RP
Larry Doby CF “Doby was one of those rare five-tool players: he did everything well- If you scored Doby on hitting for average, hitting for power, speed, defense throwing, strike zone judgment, probably his lowest score would be hitting for average- yet he hit as high as .326.” – James “The man was genuinely powerful but he was also intense, honest and principled.” - Jenkinson
NNL .304BA .342OBP .468SP 185H 35W 22D 17T 15HR 15SB 336BP 111RBI 114RS 210RP
AL .283BA .386OBP .490SP 156H 90W 25D 5T 26HR 5SB 364BP 100RBI 99RS 173RP
Frank Duncan C “A great competitor, wonderful sense of balance, quick and blessed with a strong arm” – James
.247BA .308OBP .322SP 142H 50W 23D 6T 2HR 12SB 245BP 32RBI 78RS 108RP
Eddie Dwight CF “Almost as fast as Cool Papa Bell…played a spectacular center field” – James
.248BA .300OBP .298SP 145H 44W 9D 7T 2HR 60SB 278BP 13RBI 99RS 110RP
Luke Easter 1b “”If you could clone him and bring him back, you’d have the greatest power hitter in baseball today” – James
NNL .270BA .339OBP .522SP 158H 61W 31D 20T 26HR 5SB 373BP 133RBI 117RS 224RP
NL .274BA .350OBP .481SP 158H 58W 18D 4T 31HR 0SB 335BP 114RBI 86RS 169RP
Silvio Garcia SS “Marty Marion couldn’t carry his glove” – Leo Durocher
.325BA .374OBP .513SP 195H 47W 31D 13T 19HR 25SB 381BP 116RBI 104RS 201RP
George Giles 1B “A hustling, aggressive first baseman who played way off the line and raced hitters to the bag.” – James
.294BA .334OBP .378SP 176H 35W 25D 9T 2HR 20SB 280BP 20RBI 107RS 127RP
Joe Greene C “A right-handed power hitter, had a strong arm and solid defensive skills”
.218BA .285OBP .352SP 129H 55W 19D 16T 9HR 7SB 269BP 82RBI 99RS 172RP
Vic Harris LF “Known as ‘Vicious Vic’ for his use of his fists and his spikes” – James
.288BA .336OBP .399SP 172H 43W 25D 10T 8HR 6SB 290BP 48RBI 107RS 147RP
Pete Hill LF “Captain of Rube Foster’s Chicago American Giants...often compared to Ty Cobb as a player but probably more comparable to Sam Crawford.” – James
.297BA .383OBP .429SP 163H 77W 21D 12T 9HR 32SB 344BP 73RBI 109RS 173RP
Highpockets Hudspeth 1b “A Willie McCovey-type player… but wasn’t greatly respected in the Negro leagues where there was more emphasis on defense at first base.” – James
.301BA .333OBP .449SP 183H 29W 26D 8T 16HR 3SB 305BP 61RBI 80RS 125RP
Sammy “Jeep” Hughes 2B “A smart player who did everything well” – James
.294BA .342OBP .416SP 174H 43W 32D 9T 7HR 7SB 252BP 55RBI 116RS 171RP
Monte Irvin LF “Second half of career in majors” – James
NNL .354BA .393OBP .532SP 214H 38W 29D 7T 21HR 18SB 376BP 143RBI 124RS 245RP
NL .293BA .383OBP .475SP 164H 79W 22D 7T 22HR 6SB 351BP 99RBI 82RS 159RP
Fats Jenkins CF “Not fat at all: in the basketball Hall of Fame; captain of the Renaissance team” – James
.318BA .370OBP .385SP 188H 49W 21D 4T 4HR 26SB 304BP 26RBI 133RS 155RP
Heavy Johnson LF “He was immense, a 250 pound right-handed hitter who could hit the ball out of any park. No fielder and didn’t have a long career.” – James
.357BA .397OBP .568SP 213H 40W 38D 15T 20HR 16SB 381TB 91RBI 106RS 177RP
Judy Johnson 3b “A right-handed hitter, clean, smooth third baseman, powerful arm- but small, thin, a high-average hitter with little power. – James
.293BA .320OBP .390SP 180H 25W 25D 9T 5HR 12SB 275BP 59RBI 96RS 150RP
Newt Joseph 3b “a left handed hitter, faster and with more power than Judy Johnson but not a .300 hitter and not as smooth in the field.” – James
.285BA .342OBP .403SP 165H 50W 30D 9T 6HR 19SB 300BP 45RBI 89RS 128RP
Dick Lundy “A spectacular shortstop and showman” – James
.305BA .341OBP .412SP 185H 33W 21D 8T 9HR 14SB 296BP 58RBI 108RS 157RP
Jimmy Lyons “one of the fastest men ever to wear a baseball uniform…without a lot of power but an expert drag bunter”
.291BA .349OBP .401SP 169H 51W 20D 10T 7HR 51SB 332BP 54RBI 101RS 148RP
Biz Mackey “A dangerous switch hitter and regarded as the finest defensive catcher in the Negro Leagues“ – James
.328BA .364OBP .449SP 197H 34W 27D 8T 10HR 12SB 316BP 70RBI 94RS 154RP
Dave Malarcher 3b “A quiet, classy dignified man, much respected..a small switch-hitter: most of his value was in his glove but he could hit OK” – James
.264BA .335OBP .317SP 150H 60W 18D 3T 2HR 26SB 266BP 46RBI 94RS 138RP
Oliver Marcell(e) 3b “not as good a hitter as Dandridge or Johnson but equal to them or more in the field.” – James
.294BA .335OBP .361SP 174H 36W 17D 6T 4HR 13SB 264BP 39RBI 98RS 133BP
Hurley McNair LF “Reputed to be the best two-strike hitter in the Negro Leagues” - James
.318BA .371OBP .459SP 187H 49W 26D 14T 9HR 21SB 338BP 50RBI 100RS 141RP
Bill Monroe 2b “Batted clean-up for Rube Foster’s Chicago American Giants in 1911…in the opinion of some, the greatest team of all time.” – James
.276BA .320OBP .325SP 162H 38W 7D 5T 4HR 26SB 255BP 88RBI 91RS 175RP
Dobie Moore SS ”Career ended prematurely when he was shot by his girlfriend while jumping out the window of a whorehouse.” – James (His girlfriend ran the place)
.347BA .380OBP .520SP 209H 32W 37D 17T 11HR 18SB 363BP 60RBI 98RS 147RP
Dink Mothel 2b “Kind of a sixth man star, played everywhere on the field”- James
.274BA .344OBP .381SP 156H 52W 28D 10T 4HR 20SB 288BP 29RBI 101RS 126RP
Alejandro Oms RF “A natural entertainer: if the game wasn’t close he would clown around in the outfield, catching the ball behind his back and doing 720 degree spins before throwing the ball back to the infield.”- James
.324BA .377OBP .488SP 188H 50W 34D 6T 16HR 8SB 340BP 75RBI 114RS 173RP
Buck O’Neill 1b “The Great Soul of Negro league Baseball- a line drive hitter and Gold Glove first baseman, very graceful, good baserunner, excellent arm.” – Bill James
.283BA .317OBP .382SP 173H 30W 23D 10T 6HR 25SB 289BP 84RBI 99RS 177RP
Bruce Petway C “Most famous as a defensive catcher…once threw Ty Cobb out three times in one game.” – James (Interesting that Cobb played against Negro League teams.)
.214BA .282OBP .282SP 121H 54W 12D 3T 3HR 26SB 228BP 42RBI 64RS 103BP
Spotswood Poles CF “Extremely fast, switch-hitting singles hitter who hit .610 in exhibitions against major league players” – James
.320BA .388OBP .398SP 182H 63W 22D 9T 2HR 49SB 340BP 54RBI 118RS 170RP
Alex Radcliffe 3b “Had a good arm, was a good fielder, ran well, hit close to .300 with some power.” – James
.283BA .306OBP .388SP 175H 20W 30D 7T 7HR 11SB 271BP 44RBI 85RS 122RP
Double Duty Radcliffe C “Both a fine pitcher and a fine catcher.” – James (But not at the same time.)
.273BA .292OBP .3699SP 170H 17W 19D 6T 10HR 8SB 256BP 42RBI 72RS 104RP
Wilson “Frog” Redus LF “5-5 right handed batter who played beside Cool Papa Bell in St. Louis…with surprising power” – James
.293BA .338OBP .456SP 175H 41W 29W 8T 17HR 5SB 317BP 47RBI 91RS 121RP
Ed Rile 1B “Big switch-hiiter…hit around .350 with power in a short career.” – James (Also pitched)
.320BA .370OBP .498SP 188H 47W 37D 12T 15HR 11SB 352BP 44RBI 86RS 115RP
Jackie Robinson (only had 63 at bats in the Negro leagues)
NAL .414BA .460OBP .569SP 247H 51W 41D 10T 10HR 21SB 410BP 165RBI 133RS 288RP
NL .311BA .409OBP .474SP 169H 83W 30D 6T 15HR 22SB 361BP 82RBI 105RS 172RP
Nat Rogers RF “Good, left-handed line drive hitter: adequate fielder, ordinary base runner.” – James
.293BA .327OBP .391SP 178H 31W 28D 8T 5HR 11SB 279BP 35R BI 82RS 112RP
Louis Santop C “A huge left-handed power hitter who was a superstar in the Walter Johnson era.” –James “One of baseball’s mightiest performers as well as one of its finest ambassadors” – Jenkinson
.330BA .377OBP .461SP 195H 45W 32D 11T 8HR 17SB 335BP 102RBI 96RS 190RP
Dick Seay 2b “A tiny, jitterbug-type player” -James
.204BA .242OBP .252SP 124H 31W 11D 1T 5HR 9SB 192BP 31RBI 67RS 93RP
Bonnie Serrell 2b Per Bill James, “left Kansas City Monarchs because he was tired of racism and married a woman in Mexico and the Monarchs signed Jackie Robinson, who was considered an inferior player, to replace him.” I suspect that he is the inspiration for the Richard Pryor character in “The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings”
.324BA .338 OBP .463SP 202H 14W 21D 23T 7HR 11SB 315BP 85RBI 117RS 202RP
George Scales 2b “A right-handed hitter with power, he tended to put on weight.” – James. Maybe he should have stepped on the scales?
.319BA .386OBP .511SP 184H 62W 40D 9T 18HR 13SB 371BP 88RBI 113RS 183RP
Chino Smith RF Died of Yellow Fever at age 29. Had hit .465 and .429 his last two seasons.
.398BA .472OBP .692SP 222H 79W 44D 13T 31HR 24SBN 488BP 106RBI 167RS 242RP
Could he have kept this rate of production up? We’ll never know.
Turkey Stearnes LF “A lifetime .352 hitter with Willie Stargell power….left handed hitter, comparable to Ted Williams or Mel Ott” – James. Bill Jenkinson says he was a lifetime .359 hitter with 185 home runs in 905 games. “One of the best and most powerful performers in the annuals of his sport.
.344BA .396OBP .618SP 203H 51W 34D 18T 31HR 20SB 437BP 103RBI 118RS 190RP
Ted Strong RF “Kind of a switching-hitting Dave Winfield: a long, lean fellow with a strong arm and good speed. An original member of the Harlem Globetrotters.” – James
.308BA .373OBP .454SP 180H 61W 27D 6T 15HR 19SB 344BP 85RBI 131RS 201RP
Mule Suttles LF “Swung at everything and struck out a lot but hit prodigious home runs.” - James. Jenkinson quotes Chico Renfroe of the Kansas City Monarchs, who said “He had the most raw power of any player I’ve ever seen. He went after that ball viciously. When he swung, you could feel the earth shake.”
.329BA .376OBP .578SP 195H 44W 35D 12T 29HR 10SB 395BP 94RBI 122RS 187BP
Ben Taylor 1b ”Left-handed line-drive hitter…exceptional fielder and also a fine pitcher” – James
.318BA .370OBP .440SP 187H 48W 31D 12T 5HR 21SB 304BP 75RBI 84RS 154RP
Candy Jim Taylor 3b ”A quick-hitting third baseman, a pretty good hitter” – James
.289BA .349OBP .411SP 168H 54W 25D 6T 11HR 31SB 329BP 86RBI 86RS 161RP
Clint Thomas CF “A five-skill player….300 hitter with power, some speed, excellent defensive skills” – James
.292BA .327OBP .440SP 174H 32W 28D 10T 13HR 26SB 319BP 63RBI 106RS 156RP
Showboat Thomas 1b “The fanciest fielding first baseman in the Negro league, lots of razzle-dazzle. Inconsistent hitter.” – James
.266BA .296OBP .372SP 162H 26W 27D 8T 8HR 4SB 259BP 40RBI 91RS 123RP
Christobal Torriente CF “Cuban superstar…Left-handed hitter with power to all fields. Light-skinned enough to have ‘passed’ and played in the majors, except he had crinkly hair.” – James
.331BA .401OBP .491SP 189H 67W 34D 13T 10HR 23SB 369BP 81RBI 106RS 177RP
Quincy Trouppe C “Switch-hitter, a perpetual .300 hitter who walked a lot.” James
.267BA .317OBP .376SP 161H 44W 31D 12T 4HR 6SB 278BP 32RBI 97RS 125RP
Frank Warfield 2b “A complete defensive wizard, very fast, excellent reactions, tremendous range, good arm, made few mistakes…Slap hitter.”
.254BA .304OBP .324SP 148H 41W 19D 7T 2HR 27SB 255BP 38RBI 103RS 139RP
Willie Wells SS “Did everything outstanding except throw…often hit by pitches, one of the first players to wear a batting helmet, picking up a construction worker’s helmet and wearing it to the plate.” – James
.320BA .380OBP .519SP 187H 56W 34D 10T 21HR 19SB 379BP 73RBI 130RS 182RP
Edgar Wesley 1B “Left handed power hitter from the 20’s, rated high by some observers.” – James
.311BA .361OBP .537SP 183H 47W 31D 9T 28HR 14SB 377BP 81RBI 77RS 130RP
Chaney White LF “Built like King Kong and ran like Jesse Owens” – Contemporary player. “Would lean into a pitch to get on base, then steal second. No arm and regarded as a dirty player but a .300 hitter with a lot of other skills.”
.298BA .330OBP .372SP 182H 30W 19D 6T 4HR 15SB 270BP 43RBI 113RS 152RP
Jud Wilson 3b “A left-handed hitter and a great one…Huge, huge shoulders, arms like a gorilla, big, bear-trap hands but a small waist, short but powerful lower body… As a third baseman, he was awkward but adequate, played everything off his chest… he just couldn’t or wouldn’t control his temper.” - James
.338BA .388OBP .479SP 201H 48W 32D 6T 13HR 15SB 347BP 76RBI 117RS 180RP
Wild Bill Wright RF “6-4 225 switch hitter who was also one of the fastest men in the league….line drive power.”
.329BA .370OBP .459SP 199H 39W 25D 10T 11HR 13SB 329BP 64RBI 107RS 160RP
Pitchers: (James doesn’t have a separate section for comments on them.)
Ray Brown 29-13 34CG 4SHO 365IP 354H 168R 130SKO 71W
Andy Cooper 26-13 24CG 2SHO 363IP 347H 171R 140SKO 61W
Leon Day 24-11 22CG 2SHO 305IP 269H 153R 169SKO 79W
Bill Foster 27-13 31CG 6SHO 356IP 287H 129R 210SKO 109W
Rube Foster 23-16 37CG 3SHO 360IP 282H 150R 145SKO 118W
Jose Mendez 29-14 30CG 6SHO 405IP 320H 149R 223SKO 102W
Cannonball Dick Redding 24-19 34CG 4SHO 372IP 342H 163R 185SKO 118W
Bullet Rogan 31-13 33CG 4SHO 380IP 338H 156R 231SKO 95W
He also has quite a hitting record:
.338BA .390OBP .515SP 198H 49W 31D 17T 13HR 28SB 379BP 57RBI 103RS 147RP
Hilton Smith 34-15 24CG 7SHO 401IP 337H 153R 238SKO 47W
He could also hit, but not with Rogan’s power:
.323BA .331BP .429SP 204H 7W 42D 5T 5HR 2SB 280BP 85RBI 85RS 165RP
Smokey Joe Williams 26-16 32CG 2SHO 362IP 325H 153R 222SKO 93W
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