The best baseball player of all time? (Rebroadcast)

When you think of the greatest baseball players of all time, who comes to mind? For many it’s Willie Mays, the “Say Hey Kid.”  

Fans have been paying tribute after his death was announced last week. He was 93.  

But it’s hard to come up with a name for the single greatest baseball player of all time. And when it comes to Black baseball, the choice is even harder.  

For decades the talents of Black baseball players were excluded from the major leagues. That led to the creation of the Negro Leagues in 1920. In May, Major League Baseball confirmed that Negro Leagues statistics would become part of the baseball’s historical record.  

Still, many Black baseball players’ stories are unknown. And the histories and legacies of oppression, racism, and segregation still weigh heavily on the sport.

The podcast “Reclaimed: The Forgotten League” explores the stories of some overlooked greats, including Norman ‘Turkey’ Stearnes. His granddaughter and host of the podcast, Vanessa Ivy Rose, shares her journey and her grandfather’s story.