Baseball fans love to debate over who is the greatest player who ever lived. It is a fascinating debate because of the many generations, many circumstances, many opportunities that baseball players have or have not had which makes them great. A player born in the 1900s had zero advantages like Tommy John surgery or nutritional consultants like modern players have. Travel was different, segregation was rampant until the middle part of the 20th century, and to compare a player in the 1920s to a player in the 2020s is just not plausible. So, in my opinion, it comes down to stats, sound reasoning, and a generational vs generational comparison to determine greatness in a player.
If you were to compile his stats, his generational talent vs anyone in his era, sound reasoning, and listen to a lifetime of peers picking him to be one of the greats, you will soon agree that Leroy “Satchel” Paige is one of the greatest baseball players of all time. I just finished a phenomenal biography on this incredible baseball man titled “Satchel, The Life and Times of an American Legend,” by Larry Tye. The book has a ton of stats, teammate accounts of games on and off the field, peer reviews of Satchel Paige, and so much baseball history from the turn of the 20th century to almost modern day America. But those aren’t even the highlights of the book.
The book contains quotes and excerpts from Satchel’s decades writings and books and newspaper columns, and then the real fun begins. First hand accounts taken directly from Satchel himself. The common thread – where does reality become fiction and vice versa? Satchel seemed to have a story or two or three for everything including his official date of birth, his marital status, his pitching stats, his records on the mound, his prowess off the mound and in the clubs. A folk legend by the time he was merely 20 years old which grew and grew with each game he pitched, each town he visited, each fan he reached. Satchel was a legend in his own mind and on the field and his personal accounts of his life were just fascinating to read.
Author Larry Tye does try to corral the Satchel fantasies into reality with some newspaper accounts of the day or a teammate who might have witnessed a certain thing happening. It was a challenge at times because the Negro League players did not get a ton of press coverage, mostly local papers and some independents here and there. So corroborating Satchel’s stories, especially the ones in rural towns and locations, was a big time challenge. To which I say, so what. So what that Satchel may have fabricated how many strikeouts he had or how many guns or cars he owned – that all added to the legend of Satchel Paige. Paige was a hero for many that were not allowed to ride a bus with whites or stay at the same hotel or eat at the same restaurant, all because of the color of their skin. Paige showed the world that baseball can be played at a high level – no matter if the player is white, brown, black, or yellow. Paige was a trendsetter and a man among men and if his legend was not entirely truthful, I’m 100% okay with that.
Satchel Paige the baseball player, the pitcher was dominant for nearly 50 years in professional and organized baseball. He played for a zillion teams in this country, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico and excelled for every single one of them. His fastball had a nickname, his curveball had a nickname, all of his teammates had a nickname. He was not always the first guy at the field, but when he should up, everyone knew it. I loved reading his stats, his strikeout to walk ratio, his ability to bear down in tough innings, and his showmanship to engage the fans and always show them something special. I hated reading about his segregation from white society and the racist world he lived in, including in the game of baseball. Despite his long line of roadblocks, Satchel Paige drove his Cadillac at full speed right through them. For that, he has to be considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
If you are a fan of baseball stories like I am, pick up “Satchel, The Life and Times of an American Legend,” by Larry Tye. And seek out Satchel’s books and writings, which this book is filled with. The baseball stories are incredible, the man was incredible, and the book is incredible. I highly recommend it and hope that you will join me in sound reasoning, that Satchel Paige is one of the greatest baseball players of all time.
Discover more from The Baseball Storyteller
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
