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U. S. History CyclesBASEBALL! |

As a baseball fan I suppose it was natural that I would eventually try to tie my "Generations" view of History to baseball's great eras. The tables below are my latest effort. In these tables I have gathered the greatest baseball players, by birthdate only, into the generational fold. I think this compilation is a good self test for generational identity. Look through these generational teams and decide which one you emotionally associate with. I am willing to bet you will find that it is the team from your very own generation. Keep returning because I am going to keep working on this page until I get it right. Anyway, I hope you have as much fun with this as I am having.
They say the ball became live when they went to the cork center in 1911. It certainly seems like that was the case. But something else happened about then. The Lost Generation took the field. Babe Ruth and his contemporaries made baseball into a hitters game. But it didn't stay that way. Over the years the hitting waxed and waned, even with the cork center. Until just recently. In the last few years hitting has taken back its place in baseball's itinerary. In fact, it kind of coincided with the arrival of the Generation-X crowd. The first Reactive Generation to come to bat since, you guessed it, the Lost Generation. Go figure. The Gen-Xers have already claimed the Home Run as their own and they are only halfway through their run. Another interesting point is that, right at this moment in time, essentially the entire professional league is made up of Generation X players.
Birth Years (1843-1859)
Playing Years (1873-1889)
Hitters (7,3,0)
Pitchers (14,9,6)
| The Players | Position | Honors | Rank | Records |
| Dan Brouthers | 1b | H | 57 | 9/85/- |
| Bid McPhee | 2b | H | 61 | -/-/- |
| Tim Keefe | p | H | 70 | 56/97/20 #1 sea. ERA (.857) |
| Cap Anson | 1b | H | 86 | 28/3/- |
| Buck Ewing | c | H | 90 | -/-/- |
| Roger Conner | 1b | H | 92 | 67/73/- |
| Jack Glasscock | ss | -- | 111 | -/-/- |
| Tony Mullane | p | -- | 127 | -/-/74 |
| Fred Dunlap | 2b | -- | 136 | -/-/- |
| Hardy Richardson | 2b,of | -- | 140 | -/-/- |
| Charley "Old Hoss" Radbourn | p | H,T | 150 | 70/77/71 #! sea. wins (59) |
| King Kelly | of,c | H | 152 | -/-/- |
| Harry Stovey | of,1b | -- | 166 | -/-/- |
| Guy Hecker | p,1b | T | 170 | -/-/- |
| Jim McCormick | p | -- | 176 | 33/-/92 |
| Charley Jones | of | -- | 183 | -/-/- |
| Jim Devlin | p | -- | -- | 5/-/- |
| Al Spalding | p | H | -- | 9/1/- #1 car.win% (.7956) |
| Dave Foutz | p,1b,of | -- | -- | -/5/- |
| Deacon White | 3b | -- | -- | 85/-/- |
| Hugh Nicol | of | -- | -- | -/-/- #1 sea. stolen bases (138) |
| Candy Cummings | p | H | -- | 40/90/- First curveball |
| George Bradley | p | - | - | 29/-/- #1 sea. shut out (16)tie |
Birth Years (1860-1882)
Playing Years (1890-1912) "Dead Ball Era"
Hitters (21,9,0)
Pitchers (48,27,10)
| The Players | Position | Honors | Rank | Records |
| Honus Wagner | ss | H | 11 | 35/16/- |
| Cy Young | p | H,T | 12 | 57/68/15 #1 car. wins (511) |
| Nap Lajoie | 2b | H,T | 13 | 21/23/- |
| Christy Mathewson | p | H,T(2) | 17 | 8/15/23 |
| Ed Walsh | p | H | 53 | 1/86/82 #1 car. ERA (1.816) |
| Kid Nichols | p | H | 54 | -/39/68 |
| John Clarkson | p | H,T | 81 | -/25/59 |
| Amos Rusie | p | H,T | 82 | -/-/65 |
| Mordecai Brown | p | H | 87 | 6/26/- |
| Sam Thompson | of | H | 91 | 30/84/- |
| Bill Dahlen | ss | -- | 97 | -/-/- |
| George Davis | ss,3b | H | 103 | -/47/- |
| Ed Delahanty | of | H | 107 | 5/43/- |
| Billy Hamilton | of | H | 113 | 8/-/- #1 sea. runs (192) |
| John (Pop) Lloyd (Negro Leagues) | ss | H | 114 | n/n/n |
| Johnny Evers | 2b | H,M | 115 | -/-/- |
| Bobby Wallace | ss | H | 119 | -/-/- |
| Bob Caruthers | p,of | -- | 123 | -/6/- (p) |
| Sam Crawford | of | H | 141 | -/37/- |
| Pete Browning | of | -- | 144 | 13/-/- |
| Jack Stivetts | p | -- | 147 | -/91/- |
| Eddie Plank | p | H | 148 | 21/52/40 |
| Silver King | p | -- | 154 | -/-/- |
| Willie Keeler | of | H | 158 | 14/-/- |
| Fred Pfeffer | 2b | -- | 159 | -/-/- |
| John Ward | p,ss,2b | H | 161 | 7/70/- |
| Cupid Childs | 2b | -- | 167 | -/-/- |
| Clark Griffith | p | H | 171 | -/66/- |
| Fred Clarke | of | H | 177 | 86/-/- |
| Elmer Flick | of | H | 184 | 78/-/- |
| Rube Waddell | p | H,T | 186 | 10/-/36 |
| Addie Joss | p | H | 187 | 2/57/- |
| Denny Lyons | 3b | -- | 188 | -/-/- |
| Jack Pfeister | p | -- | -- | 3/69/- |
| Hugh Duffy | of | H,T | -- | 43/82/- #1 sea. bat. ave. (.440) |
| Matt Kilroy | p | -- | -- | -/-/- #1 sea. SO (513) |
| Roger Bresnahan | c | H | -- | -/-/- |
| Frank Chance | 1b | H | -- | -/-/- |
| Hughie Jennings | (ss) | H | -- | 89/-/- #1 sea. hit by pitch (51) #1 car. hit by pitch (287) |
| Jimmy Collins | (3b) | H | - | -/-/- |
Birth Years (1883-1900)
Playing Years (1913-1930) Hitter's "Live Ball Era"
Hitters (29,11,2)
Pitchers (30,16,6)
| The Players | Position | Honors | Rank | Records |
| Babe Ruth | of | H,M,A(2) | 1 | 10/2/2 #1 car. slugging% (.6897) |
| Ty Cobb | of | H,M,T | 3 | 1/6/- #1 car. bat. ave. (.366) |
| Walter Johnson | p | H,M(2),T(3) | 6 | 11/-/8 #1 car. shutouts (110) |
| Rogers Hornsby | 2b | H,M(2),T(2) | 7 | 2/27/91 |
| Tris Speaker | of | H,M | 14 | 6/36/- |
| Grover Alexander | p | H,T(3) | 19 | 48/28/43 #1 sea. shutouts (16)tie |
| Lefty Grove | p | H,M,A(6),T(2) | 21 | -/8/39 |
| Eddie Collins | 2b | H,M | 23 | 26/83/- |
| Joe Jackson | of | - | 42 | 3/-/- |
| Frankie Frisch | 2b | H,M,A(3) | 64 | 69/97/- |
| George Sisler | 1b | H,M | 68 | 16/-/- #1 sea. hits (257) |
| Gabby Hartnett | c | H,M,A(6) | 69 | -/-/- |
| Pie Traynor | 3b | H,A(2) | 89 | 52/92/- |
| Oscar Charleston (Negro Leagues) | of,1b | H | 99 | n/n/n |
| Frank (Home Run) Baker | 3b | H | 105 | -/-/- |
| Rabbit Maranville | ss | H | 116 | -/-/- |
| Ted Lyons | p | H,A | 125 | -/-/- |
| Harry Heilmann | of | H | 126 | 12/34/- |
| Bill Terry | 1b | H,A(3) | 128 | 15/-/- |
| Carl Mays | p | -- | 130 | -/61/- |
| Dave Bancroft | ss | H | 151 | -/-/- |
| Joe Sewell | ss | H | 157 | 82/-/- |
| Dutch Leonard | p | -- | 172 | 90/-/- |
| Goose Goslin | of | H,A | 174 | 70/22/- |
| Heinei Groh | 3b | -- | 189 | -/-/- |
| Lefty O'Doul | of | A | -- | 4/-/- |
| Joe Wood | p | -- | -- | 4/10/- |
| Hack Wilson | of | H | -- | -/-/- #1 sea. RBI (191) |
| Tom Zachary | p | -- | -- | -/-/- #1 sea. Win% (1.00) |
Birth Years (1901-1924)
Playing Years (1931-1954) "Era of Transitions"
Hitters (30,18,14)
Pitchers (1,19,8)
| The Players | Position | Honors | Rank | Records |
| Ted Williams | of | H,M(2),A(17),T(2) | 4 | 7/12/13 #1 sea. OB% (.5528) #1 car. OB% (.4817) |
| Lou Gehrig | 1b | H,M(2),A(7),T | 8 | 17/4/18 |
| Stan Musial | of | H,M(3),A(20) | 9 | 29/5/19 |
| Joe Dimaggio | of | H,M(3),A(13) | 15 | 41/35/54 |
| Jimmie Foxx | 1b | H,M(3),A(9),T | 18 | 38/7/11 |
| Warren Spahn | p | H,C,A(14) | 20 | -/-/18 |
| Charlie Gehringer | 2b | H,M,A(6) | 30 | 49/49/- |
| Carl Hubbell | p | H,M(2),A(9) | 31 | -/60/99 |
| Mel Ott | of | H,A(12) | 37 | -/10/16 |
| Bob Feller | p | H,A(8),T | 44 | -/62/19 |
| Jackie Robinson | 2b | H,R,M,A(6) | 48 | 91/-/- |
| Luke Appling | ss | H,A(7) | 58 | 87/-/- |
| Hoyt Wilhelm | p | H,A(5) | 59 | 44/-/- |
| Hank Greenberg | 1b | H,M(2),A(5) | 60 | 76/90/73 |
| Bill Dickey | c | H,A(11) | 63 | 80/-/- |
| Joe Cronin | ss | H,A(7) | 65 | -/50/- |
| Roy Campanella | c | H,M(3),A(8) | 71 | -/-/- |
| Al Simmons | of | H,A(3) | 73 | 23/14/88 |
| Mickey Cochran | c | H,M(2),A(2) | 74 | 52/-/- |
| Arkie Vaughan | ss | H,A(9) | 75 | 60/-/- |
| Josh Gibson (Negro Leagues) | c | H | 77 | n/n/n |
| Satchel Paige (Negro Leagues) | p | H | 78 | n/n/n |
| Ralph Kiner | of | H,A(6) | 93 | -/-/52 |
| Cool Papa Bell (Negro Leagues) | if | H | 98 | n/n/n |
| Paul Waner | of | H,M,A(4) | 100 | 25/77/- |
| Lou Boudreau | ss | H,M,A(8) | 101 | -/-/- |
| Hal Newhouser | p | H,M(2),A(7),T | 106 | -/-/75 |
| Bobby Doerr | 2b | H,A(9) | 112 | -/96/- |
| Bob Lemon | p| H,A(7) | 120 | -/67/- | |
| Johnny Mize | 1b | H,A(10) | 121 | 82/67/56 |
| Buck Leonard (Negro Leagues) | 1b | H | 134 | n/n/n |
| Bob Johnson | of | A(8) | 137 | -/87/99 |
| Dizzy Trout | p | A(2) | 142 | -/-/- |
| Dizzy Dean | p | H,M,A(4) | 145 | -/27/- |
| Lefty Gomez | p | H,A(7),T(2) | 156 | -/24/- |
| Joe Medwick | of | H,M,A(10),T | 160 | 44/58/- |
| Joe Gordon | 2b | M,A(9) | 162 | -/-/- |
| Wes Ferrell | p | A(2) | 168 | -/-/- |
| Minnie Minoso | of | A(7),G(3) | 169 | -/-/- |
| Chuck Klein | of | H,M,A(2),T | 178 | 51/-/92 |
| Billy Herman | 2b | H,A(10) | 179 | -/-/- |
| Harry Brecheen | p | A(2) | 180 | -/-/- |
| Charlie Keller | of | A(5) | 190 | -/-/- |
| Early Wynn | p | H,A(6),C | 191 | -/-/35 |
| Spud Chandler | p | M,A(4) | -- | -/2/- |
| George Kell | 3b | H,A(10) | -- | -/-/- |
| Ernie Lombardi | c | H,M,A(8) | -- | -/-/- |
| Buddy Myer | 2b | A(2) | -- | -/-/- |
Birth Years (1925-1942)
Playing Years (1955-1972) "League Growth Era"
Hitters (2,21,27)
Pitchers (4,7,20)
| The Players | Position | Honors | Rank | Records |
| Willie Mays | of | H,R,M(2),A(20),G(12) | 2 | -/9/3 |
| Hank Aaron | of | H,M,A(21),G(3) | 5 | -/1/1 #1 car. RBI (2297) #1 car. homerun (755) |
| Micky Mantle | of | H,M(3),A(16),T,G | 10 | -/38/10 |
| Frank Robinson | of | H,R,M(2),A(12),T,G | 16 | -/15/4 |
| Bob Gibson | p | H,M,A(8),C(2),G(9) | 24 | -/-/12 |
| Roberto Clemente | of | H,M,A(12),G(12) | 25 | 62/80/- |
| Eddie Matthews | 3b | H,A(9) | 27 | -/44/15 |
| Yogi Berra | c | H,M(3),A(15) | 33 | -/48/57 |
| Al Kaline | of | H,A(15),G(10) | 34 | -/29/34 |
| Whitey Ford | p | H,A(8),C | 39 | 84/4/61 |
| Willie McCovey | 1b | H,R,M,A(6) | 47 | -/31/12 |
| Sandy Koufax | p | H,M.A(6),T(3),C(3) | 49 | 92/21/32 |
| Ernie Banks | ss | H,M(2),A(11),G | 55 | -/20/14 |
| Carl Yastrzemski | of | H,M,A(18),G(7) | 56 | -/11/24 |
| Pete Rose | of,if | R,M,A(17),G(2) | 62 | -/75/- #1 car. hits (4256) |
| Ron Santo | 3b | A(9),G(5) | 72 | -/70/65 |
| Brooks Robinson | 3b | H,M,A(15),G(16) | 76 | -/63/- |
| Bill Mazeroski | 2b | H,A(8),G(9) | 80 | -/-/- |
| Lou Brock | of | H,A(6) | 84 | -/-/- |
| Harmon Killebrew | 1b | H,M,A(11) | 88 | -/28/6 |
| Duke Snider | of | H,A(8) | 94 | -/69/33 |
| Willie Stargell | of | H,M,A(7) | 96 | -/33/20 |
| Richie Ashburn | of | H,A(5) | 102 | -/-/- |
| Luis Aparicio | ss | H,R,A(10),G(9) | 108 | -/-/- |
| Juan Marichal | p | H,A(9) | 124 | -/44/37 |
| Phil Niekro | p | H,A(5),G(5) | 132 | -/-/10 |
| Dick (Richie) Allen | 1b,3b | R,A(7),M | 135 | -/-/59 |
| Robin Roberts | p | H,A(7) | 138 | -/-/34 |
| Gaylord Perry | p | H,A(5),C(2) | 146 | -/-/7 |
| Don Drysdale | p | H,A(8),C | 153 | -/-/24 |
| Jimmy Wynn | of | A(3) | 163 | -/-/97 |
| Billy Williams | of | H,R,A(6) | 181 | -/40/31 |
| Norm Cash | 1b | A(4) | -- | -/-/47 |
Birth Years (1943-1960)
Playing Years (1973-1990) "Free Agent Era"
Hitters (3,28,33)
Pitchers (2,7,31)
| The Players | Position | Honors | Rank | Records |
| Tom Seaver | p | H,R,A(12),C(3) | 22 | -/98/5 |
| Rickey Henderson | of | M,A(8),G | 26 | -/-/98 #1 car. runs (2248) #1 car. BB (2141) #1 car. stolen bases (1395) |
| Joe Morgan | 2b | H,M(2),A(10),G(5) | 28 | -/-/- |
| Mike Schmidt | 3b | H,M(3),A(12),G(10) | 29 | -/25/9 |
| Reggie Jackson | of | H,M,A(14) | 35 | -/17/8 |
| George Brett | 3b | H,M,A(12),G | 36 | -/24/79 |
| Cal Ripken Jr. | ss | R,M(2),A(19),G(2) | 38 | -/18/30 |
| Ozzie Smith | ss | H,A(15),G(13) | 41 | -/-/- |
| Wade Boggs | 3b | A(12),G(2) | 43 | 33/-/- |
| Steve Carlton | p | H,A(10),C(4),G,T | 45 | -/-/2 |
| Johnny Bench | c | H,R,M(2),A(14),G(10) | 46 | -/59/39 |
| Tony Gwynn | of | A(15),G(5) | 50 | 20/-/- |
| Robin Yount | ss | H,M(2),A(3),G | 51 | -/54/- |
| Jim Palmer | p | H,A(6),C(3),G(4) | 52 | -/35/42 |
| Nolan Ryan | p | H,A(8) | 67 | -/-/1 #1 car. SO (5714) |
| Dave Winfield | of | H,A(12),G(7) | 79 | -/13/21 |
| Ryne Sandberg | 2b | M,A(10),G(9) | 83 | -/-/- |
| Tim Raines | of | A(7) | 85 | -/-/- |
| Bobby Grich | 2b | A(6),G(4) | 95 | -/-/- |
| Rollie Fingers | p | H,M,A(7),C | 104 | -/-/- |
| Rod Carew | 1b,2b | H,M,R,A(18) | 109 | 34/-/- |
| Carlton Fisk | c | H,R,A(11),G | 110 | -/71/49 |
| Gary Carter | c | A(11),G(3) | 117 | -/-/75 |
| Dale Murphy | of | M(2),A(7),G(5) | 118 | -/94/35 |
| Eddie Murray | 1b | R,A(8),G(3) | 122 | -/8/17 |
| Paul Molitor | 3b | A(7) | 129 | -/79/- |
| Reggie Smith | of | A(7),G | 143 | -/-/83 |
| Dennis Eckersley | p | M,A(6),C | 149 | -/-/31 |
| Darrel Evans | 3b | A(2) | 155 | -/64/32 |
| Keith Hernandez | 1b | M,A(5),G(10) | 164 | -/-/- |
| Jack Clark | of | A(4) | 173 | -/-/66 |
| Fergie Jenkins | p | H,A(3),C | 175 | -/-/11 |
| Bert Blyleven | p | A(2) | 182 | -/-/4 |
| Dwight Evans | of | A(3),G(8) | 185 | -/57/40 |
| Bobby Bonds | of | A(3),G(3) | 192 | -/-/72 |
| Andre Dawson | of | R,M,A(8),G(8) | 193 | -/26/29 |
| Don Gullett | p | -- | -- | -/7/- |
| Don Sutton | p | H,A(4) | -- | -/-/6 |
| Ted Simmons | c | A(8) | -- | -/56/- |
| Buddy Bell | 3b | A(5),G(6) | -- | -/-/- |
| Terry Pendleton | 3b | M,A,G(3) | -- | -/-/- |
| Bob Welch | p | A(2),C | -- | -/-/60 |
| Mark Davis | p | A(2),C | -- | -/-/- |
| Kirk Gibson | of | M | -- | -/-/- |
| Orel Hershiser | p | A(3),C,G | -- | -/-/54 |
| Frank Viola | p | A(3),C | -- | -/-/70 |
Birth Years (1961-1981)
Playing Years (1991-2011?) "Steroid Era"
Hitters (8,10,24)
Pitchers (1,15,19)
| The Players | Position | Honors | Rank | Records |
| Roger Clemens | p | M,A(8),C(6),T(2) | 32 | -/18/3 |
| Barry Bonds | of | M(4),A(10),G(8) | 40 | -/32/7 #1 sea.HR (73) #1 sea. BB (177) #1 sea.slugging% (.8635) |
| Gregg Maddux | p | A(8),C(4),G(12) | 66 | -/36/22 |
| Barry Larkin | ss | M,A(11),G(3) | 131 | -/-/- |
| Ken Griffey, Jr. | of | M,A(11),G(10) | 133 | -/68/23 |
| Mark McGuire | 1b | R,A(12),G | 139 | -/52/5 |
| Kirby Puckett | of | H,A(10),G(6) | 165 | 58/-/- |
| Pedro Martinez | p | A(5),C(3),T | -- | 66/3/58 |
| Randy Johnson | p | A(8),C(4) | -- | -/16/9 |
| Larry Walker | of | M,A(6),G(6) | -- | 73/-/86 |
| Mike Piazza | c | R,A(9) | -- | 39/-/82 |
| Frank Thomas | 1b | M(2),A(5) | -- | -/-/63 |
| Manny Ramirez | of | A(5) | -- | 82/-/- |
| Ichiro Suzuki | of | M,R,A | -- | -/-/- |
| Jeff Kent | 2b | M,A(3) | -- | -/-/- |
| Jason Giambi | 1b | M,A(2) | -- | -/-/- |
| Chipper Jones | 3b | M,A(5) | -- | -/-/- |
| Ivan Rodriguez | c | M,A(10),G(10) | -- | -/-/- |
| Sammy Sosa | of | M,A(5) | -- | -/-/25 |
| Juan Gonzalez | of | M(2),A(3) | -- | -/88/36 |
| Tom Glavin | p | A(7),C(2) | -- | -/49/66 |
| Ken Caminiti | 3b | M,A(3),G(3) | -- | -/-/- |
| John Smoltz | p | A(4),C | -- | -/-/46 |
| Pat Hentgen | p | A(3),C | -- | -/-/- |
| Mo Vaughn | 1b | M,A(2) | -- | -/-/93 |
| Jeff Bagwell | 1b | M,R,A(4),G | -- | -/-/61 |
| David Cone | p | A(5),C | -- | -/82/17 |
| Jack McDowell | p | A(3),C | -- | -/-/- |
| Doug Drabek | p | A,C | -- | -/-/- |
| Kevin Mitchell | of | M,A(2) | -- | -/-/- |
| Bret Saberhagen | p | A(3),C(2),G | -- | -/-/89 |
| Jose Canseco | of | M,R,A(6) | -- | -/-/22 |
Birth Years (1982-now)
Playing Years (2012?-???) "The Next Era"
Hitters (x,x,x)
Pitchers (x,x,x)
| The Players | Position | Honors | Rank | Records |
The Millennials are just beginning to reach playing age. I would be willing to bet we will see some future stars showing up on the radar pretty soon. |
Bold denotes the all generational team. Clearly, in some cases, the players were not actual playing contemporaries. If a player happened to be an early cohort in his generation then he would have to play late into his career to play with the last cohorts in his generation. I have included three pitchers on the team. Don't be disappointed if your favorite active player doesn't show up on the list. The Gen-Xers are only halfway through their playing years and some of the stars haven't built up their stats to the level that will get them on later lists.
The items in columns are:
Playing years are the years when most of the top players in the league are from the generation.
Hitters is number of all-time top 100 lifetime batting averages,RBIs and home runs from the generation.
Pitchers is number of all-time top 100 lifetime ERA, winning % and strike outs from the generation.
If you want to talk about Baseball History or about Baseball and History in general drop by my BLOG. I would love to hear from you.
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