The Black Aces are a group of black pitchers who have won at least 20 Major League Baseball games in a single season. The term comes from the title of a book written by former Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher

Mudcat Grant James Timothy "Mudcat" Grant Jr. (August 13, 1935 – June 11, 2021) was an American baseball pitcher who played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the Cleveland Indians, Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodgers, Montreal Expos ...

, one of the members of the group. In the first years after the desegregation of MLB, teams who drafted African American pitchers often converted them into position players; few were allowed to continue pitching. Grant is the first African American 20-game winner in American League history. Two members of the Black Aces, Bob Gibson and

Ferguson Jenkins Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins CM (born December 13, 1942) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher and coach. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1965 to 1983 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers and ...

, are members of the

National Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...

. The group has organized formally to promote their successes and encourage the development of future black players. Some black pitchers from Latin America, notably Luis Tiant (a 20-win pitcher four times in his career), have expressed disappointment that they are not included in this group. Meanwhile,

is a

Black Canadian Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though t ...

, although he can trace his ancestry on his mother's side to escaped U.S. slaves. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum had a traveling exhibit honoring the Black Aces. The Black Aces were celebrated at McAfee Coliseum in 2007.

Pitchers described by Grant as Black Aces

Other African-American pitchers to win 20 games

References

{{Reflist African-American baseball players, * Baseball pitching Lists of African-American people