These 15 Players Owned the 1960s

Last Updated: September 8th, 2026 by Michael Schatz

The 1960s were such a golden age in baseball. It really was the climax that proved baseball to be America's favorite pastime. American football had not expanded enough yet. Basketball was still in its development stage, with one team dominating.

But baseball in the '60s had moved away from just the Yankees exhibiting their power over the league year after year, and it evolved into a league-wide hope for stars to emerge and new champions to rise. Let's take a look back at those stars that shone brightest in this decade.

15. Willie Mays

We're not really ranking these players, so we might as well start off hot. Willie Mays is truly the icon that led baseball into this new frontier. He was the star that the sport needed as an African American.

He dazzled fans with his center field defense at Polo Grounds and showed his offensive prowess with 350 home runs and over 100 stolen bases in the decade alone. It was a treat that he was at his prime at this time, so you really saw the best of the best in baseball day in and day out.

Willie Mays — Career	Total
G	3005
AB	10924
H	3293
HR	660
RBI	1909
SB	339
AVG	.301
OBP	.384
SLG	.557
OPS	.941

14. Hank Aaron

Aaron was well on his way to breaking what was thought to be unbreakable. He still had a way to go, though, as he slugged 375 home runs in this decade on his way to the all-time home run record.

He is still the all-time leader in RBI and total bases, as he accumulated 1,107 RBI and an unbelievable 3,343 total bases in the 1960s. For all the greatness that's bestowed upon Mays, Aaron is right there with him too.

Hank Aaron — Career	Total
G	3298
AB	12364
H	3771
HR	755
RBI	2297
SB	240
AVG	.305
OBP	.374
SLG	.555
OPS	.929
MVP	1
All-Star selections	21
Gold Gloves	3
World Series titles	1

13. Mickey Mantle

Mantle played out the second half of his career in this decade as he still displayed his greatness on a daily basis. One of his three MVP seasons happened here in 1962 as he hit for an astonishing 195 OPS+.

That actually followed an even better season where he had a 206 OPS+, but his teammate, Roger Maris, happened to break the single-season home run record that year.

Mickey Mantle — Career	Total
G	2401
AB	8102
H	2415
HR	536
RBI	1509
SB	153
AVG	.298
OBP	.421
SLG	.557
OPS	.978

12. Sandy Koufax

It's still hard to believe that Sandy Koufax retired after the 1966 season where he had his lowest ERA at 1.73, leading all of baseball with 27 wins on 41 starts in 27 complete games. He struck out 317 batters as he cruised his way to the Cy Young Award.

That only followed an even more dominant season, where he struck out 382 batters while compiling only 12 more innings. That's how amazing his back-to-back Cy Young seasons were. Oh yeah, and he won his first Cy Young of the three back in 1963. Utter dominance.

Sandy Koufax — Career	Total
W	165
L	87
ERA	2.76
G	397
IP	2324.1
SO	2396
WHIP	1.11
SV	9
MVP	1
Cy Young	3
All-Star selections	6
World Series titles	3

11. Roberto Clemente

We keep going through stars, and this one might have meant the most to the world in baseball history compared to the others in this decade. Roberto Clemente was in his prime in the 1960s as he won the MVP in 1966.

He racked up almost 1,900 hits on a .328 batting average over these 10 years. He collected nine Gold Gloves as he showcased his arm talent every game to wow the crowd.

Roberto Clemente — Career	Total
G	2433
AB	9454
H	3000
HR	240
RBI	1305
SB	83
AVG	.317
OBP	.359
SLG	.475
OPS	.834
MVP	1
All-Star selections	12
Gold Gloves	12
World Series titles	2

10. Bob Gibson

Maybe the most famous rule change in baseball history came in this decade. It was all because of this man, Bob Gibson. His 1968 Cy Young and MVP season can easily be considered a monumental feat. His ERA was a microscopic 1.12 as he undoubtedly led all pitchers with a whopping 258 ERA+.

His WAR was also a skyscraper at 11.2. That was just one of the years that he dominated in this decade, as he was tormenting opposing hitters throughout it.

Bob Gibson — Career	Total
W	251
L	174
ERA	2.91
G	528
IP	3884.1
SO	3117
WHIP	1.19
SV	6
MVP	1
Cy Young	2
All-Star selections	8
Gold Gloves	9
World Series titles	2

9. Frank Robinson

Robinson was a part of two great franchises in this decade, and he was a big reason why they were both great. In 1961, Robinson won the MVP award playing for the Cincinnati Reds, leading the league with a .611 slugging percentage and a 1.015 OPS.

Then, he eventually got traded to the Baltimore Orioles, where he promptly won another MVP and led them to a World Series championship in 1966. There are few players in history who have affected teams with their bats the way that Frank Robinson did.

Frank Robinson — Career	Total
G	2808
AB	10006
H	2943
HR	586
RBI	1812
SB	204
AVG	.294
OBP	.389
SLG	.537
OPS	.926
MVP	2
All-Star selections	12
Gold Gloves	1
World Series titles	2
Rookie of the Year	1

8. Carl Yastrzemski

As a lover of stats and baseball trivia, 1967 has always been a year that is stuck in my brain. That's the year that Carl Yastrzemski last won the Triple Crown. It was a great piece of trivia for a long time until some guy in Detroit changed history in 2012.

As far as the rest of the decade went, Yaz was still amazing. He earned six All-Star selections with five Gold Gloves. That goes without saying; he had his rookie year in 1961, so he didn't even have a full decade to work with.

Carl Yastrzemski — Career	Total
G	3308
AB	11988
H	3419
HR	452
RBI	1844
SB	168
AVG	.285
OBP	.379
SLG	.462
OPS	.841
MVP	1
All-Star selections	18
Gold Gloves	7

7. Willie McCovey

Longevity is kind to Willie McCovey when thinking about his career as a whole. He accumulated over 500 career home runs over 22 seasons. It's just that not every season was elite for him in his career.

However, in 1969, right at the end of the decade, he was at his best. He won the MVP, belting a league-leading 45 home runs while driving in 126 RBI and building up an astonishing 209 OPS+. This was the culmination of a decade where he was building up his stardom. In 1963, he was honored with his first All-Star selection, which was followed by more in the latter half of the decade before it reached its climax with the MVP season.

Willie McCovey — Career	Total
G	2588
AB	8197
H	2211
HR	521
RBI	1555
SB	26
AVG	.270
OBP	.374
SLG	.515
OPS	.889
MVP	1
All-Star selections	6
Rookie of the Year	1

6. Brooks Robinson

For all the critics who say that Brooks Robinson wasn't much of a hitter and is just in the Hall of Fame for his stellar defense, I will point to the 1960s to show you that he was well above average with the bat.

He had a 115 OPS+ in these 10 years as he found his groove at the plate. He racked up over 1,600 hits and drove in 836 RBI to help lead the Orioles to the promised land in this decade. His 1964 MVP season really is one to marvel at, as he led the league in basically every defensive stat while also leading in RBI.

Brooks Robinson — Career	Total
G	2896
AB	10654
H	2848
HR	268
RBI	1357
SB	28
AVG	.267
OBP	.322
SLG	.401
OPS	.723
MVP	1
All-Star selections	15
Gold Gloves	16
World Series titles	2

5. Juan Marichal

We go back to pitching as we highlight one of the coolest pitchers of the decade. Juan Marichal, with that iconic leg kick, actually got his first cup of coffee in the major leagues in 1960. He would eventually have his official rookie season and take off from there.

He earned nine All-Star selections while keeping a low 2.57 ERA through 10 years. He won almost 200 games in this decade, which is pretty extraordinary and shows why the Giants were so successful during this time.

Juan Marichal — Career	Total
W	243
L	142
ERA	2.89
G	471
IP	3507.1
SO	2303
WHIP	1.10
SV	2
All-Star selections	9

4. Al Kaline

Mr. Tiger could also have been called Mr. Consistency, as he commanded this decade with the same consistency as he did throughout his 22-year career. Kaline accumulated almost 1,400 hits while keeping a .296 batting average and an always-great 141 OPS+.

He earned 10 All-Star selections and seven Gold Gloves over these 10 years, as he was just as reliable as any player in the league in the middle of his prime.

Al Kaline — Career	Total
G	2834
AB	10116
H	3007
HR	399
RBI	1583
SB	137
AVG	.297
OBP	.376
SLG	.480
OPS	.856
All-Star selections	15
Gold Gloves	10
World Series titles	1

3. Warren Spahn

Spahn was toiling away at the end of his career during this decade. Yet, he was still one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. Incredibly, he was finishing second in Cy Young voting at the ages of 39 and 40 to start this decade, as he proved that age is just a number.

Spahn eventually retired after he turned 44, but that was not before he was able to accumulate 96 wins in just six seasons in the '60s. That was good enough to propel him to well over 300 wins in his career.

Warren Spahn — Career	Total
W	363
L	245
ERA	3.09
G	750
IP	5243.2
SO	2583
WHIP	1.19
SV	29
Cy Young	1
All-Star selections	14
World Series titles	1

2. Ernie Banks

Banks was coming off of his two MVP seasons at the end of the 1950s, coming into the year 1960. He still delivered a great year for a shortstop, where he belted 41 home runs to lead all of baseball with a .271 batting average. He also earned the only Gold Glove of his career that year.

Banks would keep slugging throughout the decade as he hit 269 home runs with 243 doubles and 40 triples in this decade. The way that he approached this game, and life in general, made us all want to play two on a daily basis.

Ernie Banks — Career	Total
G	2528
AB	9421
H	2583
HR	512
RBI	1636
SB	50
AVG	.274
OBP	.330
SLG	.500
OPS	.830
MVP	2
All-Star selections	11
Gold Gloves	1

1. Harmon Killebrew

The Killer will round out our list in a powerful fashion. Harmon Killebrew was the most powerful hitter of this decade, blasting 393 home runs and leading the league five times in just these 10 seasons. His decade was highlighted by his 1969 MVP season, where he led all of baseball with 49 home runs and a whopping 145 RBI.

His power intimidated opposing pitchers to the tune of a league-leading 145 walks that season as well. This is a great way to end a great stroll down memory lane of one of the greatest decades in all of sports.

Harmon Killebrew — Career	Total
G	2435
AB	8147
H	2086
HR	573
RBI	1584
SB	19
AVG	.256
OBP	.376
SLG	.509
OPS	.885
MVP	1
All-Star selections	11

Keep reading

• Why the 1960s Had Baseball’s 12 Greatest Pitchers
• The Only True Five-Tool Players Baseball Has Ever Seen
• 10 Times Willie Mays Made the Impossible Look Routine