Honor Sutter, but don’t forget black legends

Most of the attention will be on Bruce Sutter, the fine-and-worthy closer who played for the Cubs, Cardinals and Braves from 1976-1988. But despite what the national buzz would have you believe, Sutter is not the lone honoree.

Also on the docket are 16 men and one woman who were involved with or pre-date the Negro Leagues. Five are executives, 12 are players, and all of them were chosen for Cooperstown by a special research committee.

There’s Effa Manley, the first woman to be inducted. She was co-owner of the Newark Eagles and, according to the Hall of Fame, used her position with the team to crusade for civil rights.

There’s Ray Brown, a pitcher for the Homestead Grays, who once threw a one-hitter in the Negro League World Series, and was skilled enough to play the outfield when not on the mound.

Then there’s Jud Wilson, who Gibson and Paige both said was among the greatest hitters they ever saw. Of the difference between black and white pitchers, Wilson said “They all looked the same to me.”

And there are others, all with an impact on the great game of baseball deemed worthy of Cooperstown.

You say these players wouldn’t have affected Ruth’s career? Right. And I suppose the Bambino would have whipped Kobayashi in a hot dog eating contest, too.

Don’t turn your nose up at the accomplishments of these players just because they didn’t play in the “majors”, or just because the stat-keeping in their league was sketchy. Without segregation, they could have played with, or against, Ruth.

Remember just a few years ago the skepticism over whether or not the stars of the Japanese leagues could cut it over here. The competition wasn’t as good in Japan, people would say.

Slideshow   The Week in Sports Pictures A kayaker flips out, a racehorse eyes the Triple Crown and more. more photos

That attitude was quickly proven ignorant when Hideo Nomo came over and was named NL Rookie of the Year. He now has two big-league no-hitters on his resume. Ichiro Suzuki has done alright, too, closing in on 1,300 hits in only his sixth season.

Imagine today’s league without these players, or without Bonds or Albert Pujols. Imagine a league without Dontrelle Willis or Pedro Martinez or Johan Santana, and you would get an idea of what it was like in Ruth’s day.

It’s a wonderful thing baseball is honoring these Negro League stars, but it’s a shame that none of them are still alive to enjoy it and tell their stories from the podium.

It’s also too bad that none of them were able to face off against The Babe. Perhaps Ruth would have simply shrugged and crushed their pitches out of the stadium like he did everyone else’s.

We’ll never know for sure, and that is the biggest shame of all.