Josh Gibson stats: How good was Negro Leagues star who now owns MLB's all-time batting average record?

There have been countless names forgotten over the course of Major League Baseball's history, especially those who played primarily in the Negro Leagues.

Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, and Hank Aaron are some of the most notable examples because of their well-documented success in the majors, but players such as Josh Gibson have been at least somewhat overlooked since they didn't get an opportunity on baseball's biggest stage.

For decades, MLB did not grant Negro Leagues players major-league status. It kept the two leagues separated, which dated back to the Negro Leagues' origin in 1920.

A century later, Negro Leagues players received that status, but the stats were never transferred over to MLB's database. It meant that Gibson would be considered a major league player, but his stats would not count in MLB's official record books.

MLB finally broke that barrier on Tuesday, shifting all Negro Leagues stats into MLB's databases. It created new records across the board as well as increased plenty of players' career totals.

Gibson arguably benefitted the most from this change. Here's where he ranks among the best players in MLB history now.

MORE: Why is MLB including Negro League stats into its database?

Josh Gibson MLB records

Gibson played his entire 14-year career from 1930-46 in the Negro Leagues, so he never had any stats in MLB's database until now.

He was primarily a catcher, but he also played outfield and first base throughout his career. Gibson was the second Negro Leagues player to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

His induction came in 1972 — over 50 years before MLB even recognized his stats. Now that the stats are in the database, Gibson owns three single-season records for batting average (.466 in 1943), slugging percentage (.974 in 1937), and OPS (1.474 in 1937).

Gibson also owns the all-time record for the three aforementioned categories, passing Barry Bonds in the latter two and Ty Cobb in the former.

There is a slight discrepancy in Gibson's single-season batting average record, however. Gibson batted .466 in 1943 but did not win the batting title in the Negro Leagues. Tetelo Vargas was credited as winning the batting title that year with a .471 average.

Both players qualified for the 3.1 plate appearance minimum that MLB has required since 1957. No matter, MLB's single-season batting average record lies with Gibson.

MORE: Hank Aaron's Negro Leagues stats

Josh Gibson Negro Leagues stats

Stats according to Baseball-Reference

*Leads league

**Leads all major leagues

How many home runs did Josh Gibson hit?

Gibson's home run count is a major question surrounding his career. He was considered to be the "black Babe Ruth" and rivaled the Yankees legend during the same time period.

Some say that Gibson hit nearly 800 home runs, which would make him the all-time leader in home runs. That said, his Negro League stats have his home run count at 166.

Josh Gibson death

Gibson died in January 1947 at the age of 35 due to a stroke.

A few years prior to his death, Gibson was diagnosed with a brain tumor when he fell into a coma. He did not take any treatment in the final four years of his life and died a month after he turned 35.

Gibson's last year playing baseball came in 1946 at the age of 34.