Satchel Paige, Oscar Charleston and 5 other Negro Leagues players who benefit most from MLB stats integration

Some of MLB's biggest and baddest records came tumbling down on Tuesday, not by way of the whims of today's all-action superstars, but by a series of ballplayers who weren't even allowed to grace its fields prior to 1947.

Major League Baseball will announce the results of a more than three-year research endeavor into integrating Negro Leagues stats in MLB's database. The statistics, recorded from 1920 to 1948, are set to shake up the record books in a big way: numerous records are set to fall like withering willows felled by a single swift chop.

Josh Gibson is the biggest beneficiary. The prodigious catcher was long referred to as the "Black Babe Ruth" for his exploits at the plate. However, after examining his place in the record books, a new name might be more applicable: Greatest Hitter of All-Time.

He's not alone in his ascendance. There are a cadre of ballplayers slated to fill the margins of baseball's version of the Magna Carta, all of whom found success away from the glare — and odious amounts of bigotry — contained within white ballparks of the same era. Their names swirl in the heads of true baseball aficionados: Buck, Cool Papa, Turkey, and Mule. Soon, they'll be released to the masses, as well, not because they were great Negro Leagues players whose accomplishments were obscured by the shine of the (white) big leagues. Rather, they'll take their place as baseball's greats simply because they were.

With that, here's what you need to know about the Negro Leaguers who will gain the most from MLB's latest announcement.

MORE: Why MLB is incorporating Josh Gibson, other Negro Leagues' stars' stats into official records

Hank Aaron Negro Leagues stats

While no one currently stands to benefit more from MLB's official intergration of Negro Leagues stats than Josh Gibson, Aaron's standing in baseball history could grow that much larger if MLB's squadron of researchers is able to uncover and verify his performances as a member of the Indianapolis Clowns' 1952 roster. At present, he ranks second in round-trippers, bested only by Barry Bonds. Bonds' margin of victory sits at seven. That's well within striking distance for Aaron, particularly if his performances with the Clowns live up to his glimmering legacy.

MORE: What to know about Hank Aaron's Negro Leagues stats

According to Charlie Vascellaro's Hank Aaron: A Biography, Howe Sports Bureau credits Aaron, who signed with the Clowns in 1951 and spent part of the 1952 season with the Negro Leagues powerhouse, with a .366 batting average, five home runs, 33 RBI, 41 hits, and nine stolen bases in 26 official games. Those numbers have yet to be verified by MLB. As such, they do not account in his final career line. If baseball sleuth's are able to uncover any more evidence surrounding the former home run king's Negro Leagues exploits, he could make things quite uncomfortable for Bonds at the top.

Along with Aaron, all-time greats like Jackie Robinson, Willie Mays, and Minnie Minoso spent time in the Negro Leagues, and all will see slight upgrades in their career stats.

Satchel Paige Negro Leagues stats

Much like Gibson, Paige's legacy needs little introduction. However, despite playing top-flight professional baseball until his age-58 season, much of Paige's talent has been lost to the winds of time — until today, that is.

Paige sees his career wins total rise from 28 to 124 after MLB's stat integration. He also now owns one of the best pitching seasons in baseball history by way of ERA; Paige posted a 1.01 ERA with the Monarchs back in 1944, the third-lowest single-season ERA in the history of the sport.

Paige's playing career has largely been mythologized over the years. He was equal parts pitcher and griot, blessed with a golden arm and the gift of gab. With Tuesday's announcement, fans get a glimpse into just how ruthless Paige was when he was on the bump.

MORE: What to know about Josh Gibson's Negro Leagues stats

Oscar Charleston Negro Leagues stats

Outside of Gibson, Charleston is the former player who benefitted the most from Tuesday's reveal. He's long been considered a Negro Leagues icon — sabermetrics mastermind Bill James once called him a mixture of Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, per ESPN.

Nevertheless, a great many baseball aficionados know little to nothing about the man who Buck Leonard called the greatest ballplayer ever.

Now, they will.

Charleston now ranks in the top 10 in batting average (.363), slugging percentage (.614), on-base percentage (.449) and on-base plus slugging (1.063). He also ranks fourth and seventh in single-season batting average, besting standouts like Rogers Hornsby and Wee Willie Keeler in the process.

By all rate metrics, he should be considered one of the greatest hitters in baseball history. 

To those who watched him during his pomp, that much was already evident. Hall of Fame manager John McGraw said the following about Charleston in 1922 (one year after Babe Ruth launched 59 moon shots into the Yankee Stadium concourses):

"If Oscar Charleston isn't the greatest baseball player in world, then I'm no judge of baseball talent."

He was right. The rest of us just needed a reminder.

Buck Leonard Negro Leagues stats

Much like Charleston, Leonard already sits in rarefied air with regards to his wizardry on the diamond. He made countless contributions to the game he loved so, not only offering himself as a smooth-swinging first baseman but also creating linkages between the African-American game and Mexico. Given the prevalence of Afro-Latino players who now call MLB home, Leonard's efforts, alongside that of great Afro-Latino players like Minnie Minoso and José Méndez cannot be forgotten.

As members of the Homestead Grays, Leonard and Gibson formed quite the tandem. They hit for both contact and power, spraying efforts to all parts of the outfield grass — and often, the upper deck, too.

As with Gibson, Leonard ranks in baseball's top 10 in career batting average and career OPS. The players he bumps shoulders with on each list represent some of the finest to ever grace a baseball diamond.

So, what does that make Leonard, then?

Turkey Stearnes Negro Leagues stats

To borrow an Al Green quote, Stearnes' game in centerfield was "simply beautiful." He was the prototypical five-tool player, mashing 187 home runs while swiping 130 bags during his near-two-decade career.

Stearnes sported one of the sport's most unusual batting stances. The southpaw would strut into the batter's box, contort his right heel and dangle his big toe into the air.

With that stance, Stearnes picked up a treasure trove of titles: he won six home run crowns in his career, becoming one of Black baseball's most dangerous hitters in the 1920s and 1930s.

Stearnes, nicknamed "Turkey" because of the way he ran, isn't necessarily a household name, even among baseball enthusiasts. However, Tuesday's announcement reiterated his position as one of baseball's greatest visionaries; he now sits in the top 10 in batting average (.348), slugging percentage (.616), and on-base plus slugging (1.033). Not bad for a Turkey.

"Everything about him at the plate was unorthodox, but highly effective," said Bob Kendrick, the president of the Negro League Baseball Museum, per MLB.com. "Everything that Turkey did probably goes against the book in terms of how to approach hitting. But that unorthodox fashion worked beautifully for him, and he is one of the greatest hitters."

Mule Suttles Negro Leagues stats

Mule Suttles was as soft-spoken as they came during his big league days. He certainly carried a big stick once he stepped to the plate, however, captivating fans and opponents alike with his batting practice sessions.

Suttles was the first man to go yard in the East-West Classic All-Star Games, launching a rocket into the stratosphere in 1933. He paired power with contact skills, hitting above .300 on 13 different occasions. And although he wasn't quite able to garner the sort of interest as Paige or Gibson, he was a standout all his own. His numbers are simply a reflection of that: Suttles is one of baseball's greatest-ever sluggers, recording a slugging percentage of .621 over the course of his Negro Leagues career.

“He didn’t get the ballyhoo that Satchel and Josh got,” said teammate Squire Moore, per the Baseball Hall of Fame's website. “They were the ones who it seemed all the sports writers put the praise on. Mule Suttles was a powerful hitter. I can’t fathom why he didn’t get the publicity they got. He was a laid-back person. He didn’t do much talking. He wasn’t the boastful type. Sometimes the better players get overlooked.”

Cool Papa Bell Negro Leagues stats

James Thomas Bell earned the nickname "Cool" after he struck out Oscar Charleston in his rookie season in 1922, and in true showman fashion, he added "Papa" because he simply thought it sounded better. Who can argue? Bell was a true two-way player early in his tenure, but he spent most of his 22-year career playing center field. Known best for his time with the St. Louis Stars, Bell suited up for five different teams and even spent time playing in Mexico.

His Negro Leagues stats stack up with the best of 'em in any league: .325/.394/.446 with 285 stolen bases, leading the Negro Leagues eight times and now the major leagues twice. A true iron man, Bell also led the Negro Leagues in plate appearances six times, hits once, and runs five times.

Cool Papa's fellow Negro Leaguers considered him the fastest player they'd ever seen, which was immortalized in the Satchel Paige quote: "Cool Papa could turn off the lights and be under the covers before the room got dark."

Sadly, Bell retired in 1946, one year before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in the major leagues. Now, his stats — as well as the legends about his base-running prowess and immaculate lifestyle — will live on in official lore.