Baseball Left Fielders – The Best of the 1960s

The 1960s were blessed with a legion of good-hitting left fielders … in both major leagues.

Here are the top 10 left fielders of that decade, based on a combination of their offensive prowess and their stellar defense.

1. Lou Brock – Brock was the spark plug for a St. Louis Cardinals team that won it all in 1964. Playing in 103 games after being acquired from the Cubs, Brock hit .348 and scored 84 runs, with 9 triples, 12 home runs, 44 RBIs and 33 stolen bases. Brock finished his career with 3,023 hits and, at the time, the career record for stolen bases with 938.

2. Carl Yastrzemski – For 23 seasons, all with the Boston Red Sox, Carl Yastrzemski owned left field in Fenway Park. During the 1960s, Yaz won 3 batting titles, a Triple Crown and MVP in 1967, and 5 Gold Gloves.

3. Rocky Colavito - Colavito played outfield for 6 different teams during the 1960s. He hit 45 home runs with 140 RBIs for Detroit in 1961, and led the American League with 108 RBIs as a member of the Cleveland Indians in 1965.

4. Billy Williams – Williams started the 1960s as the National League Rookie of the Year and ended the decade on the verge of setting the NL record for consecutive games played (which he did in September of 1970 with 1,117). He batted a combined .292 for the decade, averaging 27 home runs and 94 RBIs per year. 

5. Willie Horton – The Detroit Tigers left fielder was the team's most dangerous power hitter through the second half of the 1960s, averaging 27 home runs and 89 RBIs per year. Horton's best overall year was 1968, when he hit .285 with 36 home runs.

6. Rico Carty –In his rookie year of 1964, Carty finished second in the National League in hitting with a .330 average. He hit .300 or better in 9 out of the next 11 years, winning the National League batting title in 1970 with a .366 average.

7. Frank Howard – At his best in the late 1960s, Howard was the most feared power hitter in the American League. In 1968, he batted .274 with 106 RBIs, leading the majors in home runs (44), slugging percentage (.552), and total bases (330).

8. Leon Wagner - Wagner twice had 100-RBI seasons: 107 (with 37 home runs) for the Los Angeles Angels in 1962, and 100 (with 31 home runs) for the Cleveland Indians in 1964. Over a 12-season career, mostly with the Angels and Indians, Wagner hit .272 with 211 home runs.

9. Willie Stargell – Stargell's Hall of Fame career was just getting started in the 1960s. From his 1963 rookie season through 1969, Stargell averaged 80 RBIs per year and topped 100 RBIs twice.

10. Tommy Davis –  Davis came out of nowhere in the early 1960s to lead the National League in hitting not once but twice (.346 in 1962, .326 in 1963). He also led the league in hits (230) and RBIs (153) in 1962.

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A life-long baseball fan, Hardball Bob is the founder of 1960s Baseball, a site dedicated to celebrating the players and teams that made the 1960s baseball's real golden age. http://www.1960sbaseball.com