When Major League Baseball incorporated Negro Leagues statistics into its official record on Wednesday, one Negro Leagues legend not only had his numbers added to the register, but his name ended up on the very top of several leaderboards.

Josh Gibson, a legendary slugger renowned for his prodigious home runs and overall other-worldly production at the plate for the Homestead Grays and the Pittsburgh Crawfords of the Negro National League II from 1933-46, became the all-time leader in batting average, slugging percentage and OPS. He is also the all-time single-season leader in those categories.

Gibson, an outstanding catcher, averaged a .372/.459/.718 slash line with 43 home runs and 186 RBIs per 162 games played in his career (653 total games currently on record). He accomplished all of that despite playing arguably the most demanding defensive position on the diamond.

Gibson¡¯s great-grandson, Sean, is proud that his great-grandfather¡¯s incredible legacy now spans not just the Negro Leagues, but MLB as well.

¡°Now, when you look at the leaderboards, the single-season records and the all-time records,¡± Sean told MLB Network Radio on Thursday, ¡°you see Josh on top of most of those leaderboards. It¡¯s a great day for Josh Gibson.¡±

Gibson¡¯s presence atop those leaderboards represents much more than an individual honor, or even statistics for that matter. It also represents thousands of Negro Leagues players who were among the best baseball players in the world, though most were denied the opportunity to play in the Majors due to Major League Baseball¡¯s color barrier, which was broken by Jackie Robinson in 1947.

¡°This is a great day not just for Josh Gibson, but for all the Negro Leagues players and family members,¡± Sean said. ¡°It was a long time coming.¡±

Sean and others are hoping that one day, Gibson¡¯s name will adorn the Most Valuable Player trophies for the American and National Leagues.

¡°We¡¯re making a big push to rename the MVP Award after him,¡± Sean said. ¡°I mean, some of these numbers here are like, wow. ¡­ We understand the name Josh Gibson would be on the award, but he will be carrying all those men on his shoulders.¡±

Gibson¡¯s legacy goes beyond baseball in more ways than one. Sean said that through the Josh Gibson Baseball Academy, disabled youth in Pittsburgh will have the opportunity to play the game they love thanks to ¡°miracle fields.¡±

¡°A miracle field is a rubberized surface for handicapped and disabled youth to play on,¡± he said. ¡°Hopefully, we can have these done in the next two or three years. We definitely like to serve the city of Pittsburgh and make sure the youth are being served very well.¡±

Baseball fans in Pittsburgh and around the world will now see the name Josh Gibson at No. 1 in many MLB statistical categories, giving them a better sense of just how incredible a ballplayer he was, and just how much of an impact he made on the game.