No doubt Josh Gibson was an all time great hitter, but I think @McGarnagle makes a very valid point. The record keeping in the Negro Leagues during his era was spotty at best. Then again, if MLB has vetted the records and think they're valid, who am I to disagree. MLB is usually pretty particular about its stats.
Agreed. The top NEL players were as good, but there was less depth and the fences were shorter. Both those points are documented.
That's sort of where I land. The leagues were top-heavy, which is to say there were some legit all-time greats like Robinson, Mays, Paige, Gibson, etc. who absolutely could've hung with anyone in the majors, but as a whole the depth was lacking. Plus that for many of those years it was kind of a barnstorming circuit rather than an organized league. You'd basically have the Homestead Grays as a de facto all-star team playing 75 games travelling around against other teams in the circuit who'd play 45 games or fewer. But that's all a consequence of its semi-pro status, and had they had the financial support or opportunities white players had they'd probably have developed more stars. I just don't think it's accurate to compare statistics.
