The Best MLB Pitchers in the 1960s According to WAR (Wins Above Replacement)
The decade was the era of the pitcher and featured some of the best hurlers in history
The 1960s was the decade of the pitcher for Major League Baseball. The offensive levels between 1963 and 1968 were the lowest in baseball since the Deadball Era a half a century before. So depressed was scoring that ultimately the mound was lowered and the strike zone reduced to give hitters a fighting chance. The glut of talented pitchers during this era, who were only too happy to feast on their hapless victims, made things all the more difficult for hitters. WAR (Wins Above Replacement) is one statistic that measures effectiveness against a replacement-level substitute. By that metric, here are the five best pitchers of the 1960s.
5th, Don Drysdale, 44.7 WAR: In the 1960s no pitcher threw more than Drysdale’s 2629.2 innings; a feat even more impressive considering he was only able to contribute 62.2 frames in 1969- his final season. Overall in the decade, the lifetime member of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers was a combined 158–126 with a 2.83 ERA and 40 shutouts. Although he was often overshadowed by his rotation-mate, Sandy Koufax, on his own merit he was a seven-time All Star and won the 1962 National Cy Young Award, going 25–9 with a 2.83…
