The Black Aces are a group of African-American pitchers who have won at least 20 games during a single Major League Baseball (MLB) season. The term comes from the title of a 2007 book by MLB pitcher Mudcat Grant (1935–2021), one of the members of the group.[1] Through the 2023 MLB season, 15 different African-American pitchers have accomplished the feat.[2]
Following the desegregation of MLB in the late 1940s, and continuing through the establishment of the MLB draft in 1965, it was common for major-league teams to convert African-American pitchers into position players rather than allowing them to continue pitching.[3] Through the 1950s, only two African-American pitchers were 20-game winners—Don Newcombe and Sam Jones. In 1965, they were joined by Bob Gibson and Mudcat Grant; the latter being the first African-American 20-game winner in American League history. Two other African-American pitchers, Ferguson Jenkins and Earl Wilson, also accomplished the feat during the 1960s.[3] Since then, there have been several additions to the list of such pitchers—referred to as Black Aces—three in the 1970s, three in then 1980s, one in the 2000s,[3] and two in the 2010s.
In the mid-2000s, surviving members of the group organized to promote their successes and encourage the development of future black players.[4] In 2007, The Black Aces: Baseball's Only African-American Twenty-Game Winners was published, authored by Grant. Some black pitchers from Latin America, notably Cuban-born Luis Tiant (a 20-win pitcher four times in his career), have expressed disappointment that they were not included.[5] Meanwhile, Canadian-born Ferguson Jenkins is included as a Black Ace (Jenkins traces his ancestry on his mother's side to escaped U.S. slaves).[6]
In February 2007, during an event to honor Black History Month, President George W. Bush honored book author Grant and three of his fellow Black Aces (Jenkins, Mike Norris, and Dontrelle Willis) at the White House.[7] During the 2007 MLB season, the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum had a traveling exhibit honoring the Black Aces.[8] The Black Aces were celebrated at Oakland's McAfee Coliseum during that season.[9]
Two members of the Black Aces, Gibson and Jenkins, are members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Grant's book, published in 2007, listed 13 pitchers as Black Aces.[10] [3] Subsequently, two African-American pitchers have also won 20 or more games in a single MLB season. Thus, there are currently 15 pitchers considered Black Aces, as listed in the following table.[11]
| Pitcher | Name of the person who accomplished the feat | |
|---|---|---|
| Number of seasons the pitcher won 20 or more games | ||
| Season and record | Season(s) in which the pitcher won 20 or more games, and their win–loss record in each such season | |
| Team | Team(s) the pitcher played for when he won 20 or more games | |
| Pitcher in an inductee the Baseball Hall of Fame | ||
| Pitcher accomplished the feat after the book was published in 2007 |
| 3 | 1971 (24–8), 1973 (20–9), 1975 (22–11) | Oakland Athletics | ||
| 1 | 1971 (20–9) | Los Angeles Dodgers | ||
| 5 | 1965 (20–12), 1966 (21–12), 1968 (22–9), 1969 (20–13), 1970 (23–7) | St. Louis Cardinals | ||
| 1 | 1985 (24–4) | New York Mets | ||
| 1 | 1965 (21–7) | Minnesota Twins | ||
| 7 | 1967 (20–13), 1968 (20–15), 1969 (21–15), 1970 (22–16), 1971 (24–13), 1972 (20–12) 1974 (25–12) | Chicago Cubs Texas Rangers | ||
| 1 | 1959 (21–15) | San Francisco Giants | ||
| 3 | 1951 (20–9), 1955 (20–5), 1956 (27–7) | Brooklyn Dodgers | ||
| 1 | 1980 (22–9) | Oakland Athletics | ||
| 1 | 2012 (20–5) | Tampa Bay Rays | ||
| 1 | 1976 (20–15) | Houston Astros | ||
| 1 | 2010 (21–7) | New York Yankees | ||
| 4 | 1987 (20–13), 1988 (21–12), 1989 (21–9), 1990 (22–11) | Oakland Athletics | ||
| 1 | 2005 (22–10) | Florida Marlins | ||
| 1 | 1967 (22–11) | Detroit Tigers |