MLB in the 60s saw expansion and relocations in a way that hadn’t happened in decades. It also saw one of baseball’s most famous records get broken – sort of – and one of the most dominant years of pitching in baseball history. And the end finally came for New York Yankee dominance.
Here are some of the best baseball moments of the 1960s, a decade that gave baseball a shot in the arm with new teams and new stars.
Expansion to the West and South
The Giants and Dodgers had already left New York City for San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively, in the 1950s. During the decade of the 1960s, a host of new teams joined the league, most of them west of the Mississippi River.
Why Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants Moved
In 1961, the Washington Senators, which had played in the nation’s capital as a charter member of the American League since 1901, moved to Minneapolis and became the Minnesota Twins. That same year, the American League added two new teams – a new team called the Washington Senators (which became the Texas Rangers in 1972) and the Los Angeles Angels.
In 1962, the National League added the New York Mets and the Houston Colt 45s, now called the Houston Astros.
In 1966, the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta, putting the first team in the “Deep South” of America.
In 1968, the Kansas City Athletics moved to California, becoming the Oakland Athletics.
In 1969, Major League Baseball welcomed four expansion teams. The San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos (now the Washington Nationals) joined the National League. The Kansas City Royals and Seattle Pilots (now the Milwaukee Brewers) joined the American League.
Roger Maris Sets Homerun Record
In 1961, New York Yankee Roger Maris eclipsed Babe Ruth’s record of home runs by exactly one. Ruth hit 60 in 1927 as part of the Bronx Bombers. Maris hit 61, but the record came with plenty of controversy. That’s because baseball only played 154 games in 1960, while they played 162 in 1961 – and Maris hit the go-ahead home run on the last day of the season.
In the next decade, Hank Aaron would break another of Ruth’s records, providing one of the best baseball moments of the 1970s. And Barry Bonds hit 73 home runs in 2001, setting the new single-season record, but Maris still holds the American League record.
Best Baseball Moments in the 1970s
Year of the Pitcher
In 1968, pitching took over the game. Led by generational talents such as St. Louis Cardinal Bob Gibson, Detroit Tiger Denny McLain and the Los Angeles Dodger Don Drysdale, the year saw the most dominant pitching of the modern era. Among the many notable statistics are two from Gibson: a season ERA of 1.12 and 17 batters struck out in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series.
Best Moments of Detroit Tigers Baseball
The 1968 World Series
In 1968, the Cardinals met the Tigers in the World Series . The favored Cardinals, led by the dominant Gibson, lost the series in seven games against the Tigers. Detroit’s hero was Mickey Lolich, who won three games and outpitched Gibson in the final game.
Mickey Lolich Early Life & MLB Career
1969 League Championship Series
Before 1969, all the teams in the National League and American League were grouped together, with the winner of each league playing each other in the championship. In 1969, baseball put two divisions into each league (East and West) and the winners of these divisions played in a league championship series for the first time. The winners of those games then met in the World Series. Today, that’s expanded to three divisions in each league, along with playoff wildcard teams.
End of Yankees Domination
The 1960s saw the many years of domination by the New York Yankees come to an end – at least by Yankees standards. The team won the 1961 and 1962 World Series, but that was it for the decade. That was after winning four World Series in the 1940s and six World Series in the 1950s. Both the Los Angeles Dodgers (1963 and 1965) and the St. Louis Cardinals (1964 and 1967) also won two.
Otherwise, the championship was brought home to fans in many different cities. In addition to the win by the Tigers, the Pittsburgh Pirates (1960), Baltimore Orioles (1966) and New York Mets (1969) each won a championship.
Leave A Comment