Four Decades of Separation

Shaun Payne

Wouldn't it be great to travel back and spend some time in the Cold War decade? (The 1950s, for those who don't know their history). The '50s were a Golden Age in baseball. Some of the greatest players in history played, some of the greatest moments occurred, and some of the most progressive changes took place all in the '50s. Will there ever be another decade like it for baseball fans?

Actually, we may be living in one now. Yes, the 1990s may one day be considered a Golden Age in baseball. Sure, this decade has had labor problems and ridiculously high salaries, but consider what has taken place on the field. The '90s have also featured some all-time great players, some great moments, and some drastic changes. In fact, baseball in the '90's and baseball in the '50's are very similar when examining these aspects.

First, let's look at the players from each decade. A great way to determine the player quality for a particular decade is to form a "Dream Team" from that decade. Here's a Dream Team for each of the decades we are interested in and an All-Time Dream Team:

1950s
C: Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra
1B: Stan Musial, Ted Kluszewski
2B: Jackie Robinson, Nellie Fox
3B: Eddie Matthews, Ken Boyer, George Kell, Al Rosen
SS: Ernie Banks, Luis Aparicio, Phil Rizzuto, Pee Wee Reese
OF: Ted Williams, Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider, Frank Robinson, Henry Aaron, Richie Ashburn, Al Kaline
P: Warren Spahn, Whitey Ford, Robin Roberts, Bob Lemon, Earl Wynn

1990s
C: Mike Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez
1B: Frank Thomas, Jeff Bagwell, Rafael Palmeiro, Mark McGwire
2B: Craig Biggio, Roberto Alomar, Ryne Sandberg
3B: Wade Boggs, Matt Williams, Vinny Castilla, Ken Caminiti
SS: Barry Larkin, Cal Ripken, Omar Vizquel
OF: Ken Griffey, Jr., Barry Bonds, Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Juan Gonzalez, Albert Belle
P: Greg Maddux, Roger Clemens, Tom Glavine, Randy Johnson, Kevin Brown

All-Time
C: Johnny Bench, Mike Piazza, Mickey Cochrane, Roy Campanella, Yogi Berra
1B: Lou Gehrig, Frank Thomas, Stan Musial, Jimmy Foxx, Harmon Killebrew, Johnny Mize
2B: Rogers Hornsby, Joe Morgan, Ryne Sandberg, Nellie Fox, Pete Rose, Jackie Robinson
3B: Mike Schmidt, Brooks Robinson, Eddie Matthews, Wade Boggs, George Brett
SS: Honus Wagner, Luke Appling, Ozzie Smith, Ernie Banks
OF: Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Henry Aaron, Carl Yastrzemski, Ty Cobb, Joe DiMaggio, Tony Gwynn, Mel Ott, Tris Speaker, Ken Griffey, Jr., Barry Bonds, Rickey Henderson, Mickey Mantle
P: Walter Johnson, Lefty Grove, Christy Matthewson, Warren Spahn, Cy Young, Dizzy Dean, Bob Feller, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Nolan Ryan, Roger Clemens, Greg Maddux, Randy Johnson

There are twenty-seven players from each decade and fifty-four players on the all-time team. Of the players on the all-time team, twenty-three of them played in the '50s or '60s. A little less than half of my list of the fifty-four greatest players of all time played in these two decades. Note that Ozzie Smith, George Brett, and Nolan Ryan all played at least three years in the '90s.

Besides the players, another similar aspect of the '50s and '90s is the memorable moments of both decades. Probably the most famous home run in baseball history was Bobby Thompson's "Shot Heard 'Round the World" in 1951. The '90's have their own version -- Joe Carter's Game Six home run against the Phillies in 1993. Another famous moment was Willie Mays' amazing catch in the 1954 World Series. Well, Jim Edmonds' catch in Kansas City in June of 1997 was not just comparable to Mays' catch, it may have been better. It most certainly would have gotten the attention of the Mays catch, had it taken place in a post-season game.

Speaking of the post-season, maybe the best pitching performance in history took place in the '50s: Don Larsen's World Series perfect game. The '90s saw another unlikely Yankee hurler throw a perfect game -- David Wells. Wells didn't do it in the World Series, but he played on a Yankee team that won 125 games in 1998. Also, the Brooklyn Dodgers finally won the World Series in 1955. Well, guess what? The '90's had another team that finally won after a long drought. In 1995, the Cleveland Indians finally won their first pennant since 1954.

The 1995 Indians had one of the most dominant offenses in the history of baseball, which brings us to our next point. The predominant game strategy in both the '90's and '50's was to get some runners on base and let the big boppers drive them in. The stolen base was not part of the game at all in the '50s and isn't much in the '90s. Nobody stole 100 bases in any year of the '90's, and it wasn't until the end of the '50's that at least 20 steals became common.

The bullpen was also an important part of the game in the '50's, as it is in the '90's. Hoyt Wilhelm came along in the '50's and became the first reliever in the Hall of Fame. In 1990, the Nasty Boys in the Reds' pen won the Series for them, as did Rivera and Wetteland for the '96 Yankees.

Finally, the '50s saw some dramatic changes take place in baseball. Teams began to move west, black players began to occupy spots on big league clubs, and people began following their favorite teams on a new invention called television. These were a prelude to the '60s, a totally different decade than baseball had previously seen. MLB in the '90s has also undergone drastic changes that will probably lead to an even more dramatic transformation in the next millennium. The '90's have seen retro parks built, realignment, drastic salary increases, and the switch of the Milwaukee Brewers to the National League.

I'll be the first to admit, baseball has had it's troubles in the '90's, but when's the last time we have had this many great players, great moments and great changes taking place within a ten year stretch. It was four decades ago. Four decades is a long time to wait for another "Golden Age" to come along, so let's start enjoying it before it's over.

about the author

Shaun Payne is a journalism student, which means the staff at Strikethree.com must thrash him repeatedly until he unlearns everything he learned in college. Offer to put a balm on at sp@strikethree.com.