Josh

Gibson

1. 474

OPS in 1937

F

or many years, Gibson has been cited

as the true home run king. He is believed

to have hit more than 800 homers in

his career. Unfortunately, records exist for only
a fraction of his games, and Baseball-Reference
can account for only 165 long balls. (Research to

uncover Negro leagues statistics for all players is
ongoing.) Even with a sample of just 2,5 11 plate
appearances, however, it’s plain to see Gibson was

one of the best hitters to ever play the game. He
slashed .3 74 /.458/. 71 9 in those at bats, including a
.417/.500/. 974 season in 193 7 for the Homestead

Grays, who played in Pittsburgh at the time. And he
did all that while playing catcher!

Records

Recovered

HISTORY