Posted in: Apple, TV | Tagged: apple, baseball, Magic Johnson, MLB, Negro Leagues, satchel page

Apple Studios, Magic Johnson Teaming for Negro Leagues Drama Series

The Negro Leagues will be the subject of a new drama series set up at Apple Studios from Kapital Entertainment, Magic Johnson, Peter Gruber, and Ron Shelton. The series will be an adaptation of sorts of Donald Spivey's non-fiction book If You Were Only White: The Life of Leroy 'Satchel' Paige. The series will be a look at the legacy and importance of the Negro Leagues told through the lens of Leroy "Stachel" Page, one of the all-time great pitchers in baseball history, known for being a showman as well. Bidding was high for the project, but Apple came out on top.

The Negro Leagues Are An Important Part Of Sports History

The series will be executive produced by Johnson, Shelton, John Mass, Jason Smith, and Kapital's Kaplan. Kevin Marco will oversee the project for Kapital. The Negro Leagues Baseball Museum President Bob Kendrick and Chairman of the Board Kevin Battle will be involved in the show on behalf of the museum. Johnson and Gruber are part of the ownership group of MLB franchise the LA Dodgers, who won the World Series Last Year. MLB was quick to praise the show, tweeting out how excited they are for the show.

The importance of this show cannot be overstated. In December, MLB gave seven seasons from the Negro Leagues' "Major League" status to see that 3,400 players are now recognized as official Major League baseball players, meaning their stats and records are now included with stats from MLB from the same time period. "All of us who love baseball have long known that the Negro Leagues produced many of our game's best players, innovations, and triumphs against a backdrop of injustice," Rob Manfred said in a statement. "We are now grateful to count the players of the leagues where they belong: as Major Leaguers within the official historical record." A show like this can only help bring more awareness. More on this one as it comes for sure.

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