By request. If there are more HoM participants who have published a relevant book let me know and I'll add it to the list.

Thanks for starting this thread, DL.

Please excuse the following blatant self-promotion. McFarland signed me as an independent; my agent and promoter is me, and I'm doing my best to spread the word.

From the back cover:

For over half a century, Black baseball players, barred from the Major Leagues by systemic racism, competed in leagues of their own. Black Stats Matter re-interprets the history of race in baseball from the ground up, telling the story of how the Major Leagues became the “Caucasian Leagues,” and naming the person most responsible for their segregation; showing how Major League owners and executives tried to delay and even prevent integration; and proving, using a broad range of methods, that Negro League players were every inch the equals of their Major League counterparts. Cherished records held by white players since the days of segregation are shown to belong rightfully to Negro League superstars. Black Stats Matter takes a fresh look at a subject that’s both straight from today’s headlines and as old as baseball itself.

https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/black-stats-matter/

Addendum:

For those of you who don't already know this, I quote a number of HoM posters in the book. Some of you will agree with my conclusions, some won't. I look forward to the discussion.

Thanks for putting this together. And especially thanks for referencing my books!

News: Author and pioneering Black baseball historian Larry Lester has just completed a foreword for my book.

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Advance notices:

"One of the best baseball books ever...Right up there with [The Bill James] Historical Abstract and [Scott Simkus’s] Outsider Baseball on my personal list...Covers almost all of what I would consider the important topics that have been neglected in most Negro League writing.”

– Seamheads co-founder and Fay Vincent Award winner Kevin Johnson

“Master Lee brilliantly gives credentials to the Black inhabitants of the baseball planet, [taking] us on a connect-the-dots journey never published before…Lee’s body of work will forever be a topic of conversation and debate as sports fans evolve their thought processes in the acceptance of Negro League players as Major League talents.”

– From the Foreword by author and historian Larry Lester

https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/black-stats-matter/

A new advance notice:

Philip Lee’s Black Stats Matter lays to rest once and for all the false narrative that white ‘Major League’ baseball between 1876 and 1946 was superior to the Negro Leagues. Through careful analysis of American, National, and seven Negro Leagues statistics, Lee forcefully demonstrates over and over the equality of the Blackball circuits while debunking a myriad of tired old myths, such as that of MLB owners never formally banning Black players (spoiler alert: they did). The author also profiles several All-Time Negro Leagues stars and makes a convincing Hall of Fame case for forgotten home run king Luscious Luke Easter. Thoroughly researched and brilliantly written, Black Stats Matter is a witty, moving account of the tragedy and triumph that was segregated Black baseball.

—Todd Peterson, editor, The Negro Leagues Were Major Leagues

Please excuse the shameless self-promotion. I'm trying to earn my crust as a writer, and you good folks here at the Hall of Merit are definitely in my target audience.

https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/black-stats-matter/

Two questions, Phil:

1. At some point will we be able to view sample pages, specifically the table of contents?

2. To what extent do you cover interracial contests like the Cobb era Tigers postseason trips to Cuba?

Thanks for your questions, Nick.

1. I haven't yet received page proofs from McFarland - but I can give you an approximate ToC right now.

Black Stats Matter:
Integrating Negro League Numbers into Major League Records

Foreword by Larry Lester

Part 1: ARGUMENTS

Introduction: Statistical Justice
“Disgraceful Baseball"
What Constitutes a Major League?
The Dam Trickles Open
Statistical Variance Across Leagues and Eras
Mr. James’s 23 Tests
Arguments Against Statistical Integration
Re-Writing the Record Books
Josh Gibson vs. Ruthsrecord

Selected player profiles:
Monte Irvin: Half in One World, Half in Another
Willard Brown: The Chance That Wasn’t a Chance
Roy Campanella: The Fallacy of Equivalency
Luke Easter: The Toughest Case to Prove
Larry Doby: Five-Tool Superstar

The Greatest
My Inner Circle: The Top 73 Players in American Baseball History
Two Down, One to Go
Wrapup: What’s Fair is Fair
A personal postscript

Part 2: REFERENCE

Negro Leaguers in the Hall of Fame
NgL All-Time Teams
The Negro Leagues All-Star Register
A Proposed Major Leagues Organizational Chart
A Proposed NgL Team Roster
NgL and Early MLB Team Failures
Negro Leaguers Who Played in the Majors

Short Notes on Diverse Subjects
A Long Note: Major League Baseball vs. the Truth

Acknowledgements
Bibliography
Photo Credits
Index

An Open Letter to Atlanta’s Ownership and Management

2. Interrracial contests are discussed as a) a proof of MLB's efforts to ban all Black-vs.-white play, and b) a proof of NgL professionalism.

Hope that helps. Glad to answer queries about any given section(s) of the book.

Thanks, Phil, and you've convinced me to pre-order the book. I've got close to 1000 baseball books, and this may be the first McFarland title I've ever paid full price for. Looking very much forward to reading it. One of the reasons I particularly like John Holway's The Complete Book of Baseball's Negro Leagues: The Other Half of Baseball History is the way he charts those interracial contests in some detail. What I loved about some of the past threads here on that subject was the assertion that the White players in those games "weren't really trying".

Congratulations on the book, ProgRock! (Fellow McFarland author here, but I haven't contributed to the HoM discussion, so I'll stay mum on the title).

Black Stats Matter is out on August 21.

A new prerelease review from Rob Neyer:

Philip Lee clearly lays out the history, the arguments, the facts as we now know them ... and reaches a conclusion that, quibble with the details as you like, results logically from the author's deep research and thoughtful analysis. This is the book I've been waiting for.

Good luck with the book

Question for Phil: this topic may be too tangential for your study, but have you looked into the treatment of Black baseball candidates by the Hall of Fame? I composed a brief article (1300 words) broaching the topic called "Racism in the Hall? A Review of Election Procedures and Voting Results in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s". I can send you a copy if you'd like.

Black Stats Matter is being shipped as of today. I hope you enjoy it!

https://mcfarlandbooks.com/product/black-stats-matter/

Somehow I got discouraged when the publication date got pushed back, but as soon as I learned (a week ago) that it was actually out I went out and got a copy, which just arrived yesterday.

I've only finished the first two chapters, but if the quality of the rest of the book is equal to Chapter 2 ("What Constitutes a Major League?"), I'm probably going to echo Neyer's comment: "This is the book I've been waiting for." I only hope that Lee's critics on that other thread buy it and read it before dismissing it.