Baseball's Best Decade (38 page)

You Decide.

Was there really a “golden age” of baseball? And if so, when did it occur?

Hopefully, the comparisons drawn in this book should help give you a meaningful perspective on the last 90 years of baseball … especially a decade-by-decade perspective. Measuring baseball accomplishments by the decade leaves no room for one-shot wonders. It makes time an essential element of greatness in a sport where time means nothing. Where doing the right thing, over and over and over, creates pennant winners and Hall of Famers. 

A decade is not too long to differentiate the good from the great in baseball. After all, a career of at least a decade is required for
enshrinement in the Hall of Fame. The decade perspective is pursued here consistently to help you draw your own conclusions as to which players, teams and decades best constitute a true golden age for America’s pastime.

Let’s eliminate 2 decades right off the top.

More than a third of the 1940s were played without many of the major leagues’ best players. Serving in the war effort rather than on the baseball diamond was certainly patriotic but definitely not good for the quality of baseball played from 1942 through 1945. It robbed many good players of their best years, and made the achievements of players like Ted Williams and Bob Feller all that more impressive for what they were able to accomplish around the war. While it had its great moments and great players, the 1940s just don’t have the performance numbers to hang with the other decades.

Likewise for the 1970s: the numbers just aren’t there. While there were plenty of outstanding players and moments, and multi-championship teams like the Oakland Athletics, the Cincinnati Reds (alias Big Red Machine) and the resurrected New York Yankees, the 1970s are back in the pack among the decades at bat and on the mound.

That leaves 7 decades that could be considered genuine contenders for “golden age” designation. Let’s see how they stack up in terms of rankings between them.

Of the 5 categories listed above, the 1920s led only in
batting average and posted the fourth highest decade slugging average. The 1930s were second in batting, third in slugging and led in none.

Home runs per 9 innings were used rather than total home runs to overc
ome the expansion issue. The 2000s came in first in that category, followed by the 1990s and the 1950s. The 1960s posted the best ERA and the fourth highest average for strikeouts per 9 innings, as well as finishing fourth in home runs/9 innings.

Statistically, th
e 2000s topped 3 categories and came in third in batting average. What this table doesn’t show is that while the 2000s were the highest ranking decade overall offensively, the decade was also the highest in ERA.

A case of great hitters, or second-tier pitchers? The question is the same for the 1920s, the 1930s, and the 1990s … the 3
next-most productive offensive decades of the past 90 years. With the changes in the ball starting in the 1920s, the opening of baseball to talents of all races and nationalities starting in the late 1940s, and the changes in pitching strategy (such as the relief specialist and the wider adoption of the slider and split-finger fastball), it’s easy to understand why pitching from the 1960s on would be more effective than the pitching of the 1920s and 1930s. But what happened to pitching starting in the 1990s? Did the 1990s-on post the best strikeout record due to the strong arms of pitchers like Randy Johnson and Roger Clemens, or were the hitters up and down the leagues more free swinging in the mad rush at the home run records that was characteristic of the 1990s? Or were the majority of pitchers in the 1990s and 2000s just not all that good, as suggested by the 4.64 ERA posted by the “rest” of the latter decade’s pitchers?

We know how good the pitching was in the 1960s. We know that the ERA for the decade was vastly superior to any other; so good, in fact, that the major leagues had to change the rules to make hitters more competitive. We also know that there was no shortage of great hitters playing during the 1960s.
How do you deny the career greatness of Aaron, Mays, Clemente, Killebrew, Kaline, Robinson, McCovey, Oliva … the list goes on? The league batting champions averaged .332 for the decade, and the sluggers of the 1960s placed fourth in home run frequency … against the best pitching of the century.

Baseball’s
real
golden era? There’s no doubt in my mind

Great pitchers and great hitters … no other decade brought that combination together the way the 1960s did.

What do you think?

About the Author

Carroll Conklin combines a life-long passion for baseball with a three-decade career as a professional writer. He has published more than 20 books about baseball in the 1960s. He has also written books on topics ranging from marketing management to fear elimination.

A graduate of Ashland University and Bowling Green State University, Carroll has spent more than 20 years as an advertising copywriter and marketing strategist. He has taught copywriting and brand theory at The Ohio State University and the Columbus College of Art & Design.

Carroll preaches the “gospel” of the 1960s as baseball’s real golden age at 1960sBaseball.com. Followers at twitter.com/Baseball1960s receive highlights of what happened each day in 1960s baseball.

If you enjoy reading about the great players of baseball’s past, there’s more enjoyment waiting for you …

60 From The ‘60s

60 Players Who Made the 1960s Baseball’s Real Golden Era

60 from the ‘60s
brings together 60 player mini-bios in one volume, with each player’s stats for the decade and for his career.

Where were you when Maris blasted #61 … when Koufax tossed his fourth no-hitter, fighting through the pain that came with every pitch?

Where were you when Robbie and Yaz won back-to-back Triple Crowns? And when Denny McLain had more wins in one season than many of today’s pitchers have starts?

In
60 from the ‘60s,
you’ll re-live the glory that was major league baseball in the 1960s.

Available in softcover and Kindle editions at Amazon.com.

Lights Out!

Unforgettable Performances from Baseball’s Real Golden Age

Where were you when Willie Mays slammed four home runs against the Milwaukee Braves … when Frank Howard hit his tenth home run in 20 at-bats, when Roger Maris launched number 61?

Where were you when Jim Bunning, Sandy Koufax and Catfish Hunter pitched perfect games, and when Tom Seaver came within two outs of matching their perfection?

Lights Out! brings you 60 days of baseball at its best, outstanding performances from baseball’s
real
golden age, the 1960s.

You’ll relive the exploits of some of the best hurlers to toe the pitching rubber … Marichal, Ford, Gibson, Chance and Drysdale.

You’ll be amazed by the accomplishments of some of the era’s most exciting hitters … Aaron, Cepeda, Mantle, Robinson, Banks, Yastrzemski, Colavito and (for one day) Art Shamsky.

Lights Out!
brings back the best of the 1960s baseball … with performances that seem almost too legendary to have really happened …

But they
did
.

Available in softcover and Kindle editions at Amazon.com.

The “
Heroes
” Books

Profiling the players, team by team, who helped make the 1960s baseball's real golden age.