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Who are the top MLB players of the 1950s? Here is our top 10 countdown:
10. Roy Campanella: often alternating between great years and average ones, Campanella won three MVP awards in a five-year stretch and accumulated 29.0 WAR in the 1950s before an automobile accident left him paralyzed and ended his career in 1958.
9. Ernie Banks: arguably the greatest player in Chicago Cubs history, Banks compiled 42.4 WAR in the 1950s while earning six All-Star selections and hitting 40+ home runs 4x, culminating in back-to-back MVP awards in 1958-1959.
8. Eddie Mathews: the only player to represent the Braves in three different cities (Boston, Milwaukee, Atlanta), Mathews was a 7x All-Star selection who hit no fewer than 25 home runs in any season during the decade and twice finished runner-up for MVP en route to 53.7 WAR.
7. Hank Aaron: best remembered for breaking Babe Ruth’s career home run record, Aaron was a model of consistency in the 1950s: after his rookie year in 1954, he was an All-Star and placed top-10 for MVP each season, winning two batting titles and a pair of Gold Gloves while winning MVP honors en route to leading the Braves to a World Series in 1957 (38.8 WAR).
6. Yogi Berra: the winningest player in baseball history with 10 World Series titles, Berra was instrumental in six New York Yankees championships during the 1950s – he was an All-Star every year, won three MVPs in five years (and finished top-five for seven consecutive seasons), and hit 20+ home runs in nine of those years (with 19 in 1959) for a total of 48.4 WAR.
5. Ted Williams: one of the greatest pure hitters in baseball history, Williams remained a force at the plate even in the back half of his career – despite missing time to the Korean War, he was an All-Star every full season he played during the decade and won a pair of batting titles while leading the league in on-base percentage 5x for five top-10 MVP finishes and 47.5 WAR generated.
4. Warren Spahn: sixth all-time with 363 career wins, Spahn led the decade in wins on the strength of eight 20-win seasons (5x league leader) and accumulated 57.1 WAR; he was an All-Star every season except for 1955 and won the Cy Young in 1957 in the same year the Braves won the World Series.
3. Willie Mays: the best all-around player in baseball history, Mays could do it all (58.8 WAR in the 1950s) – following his Rookie of the Year campaign in 1951, he was an All-Star every year from 1954 onwards and finished top-10 for MVP 5x with a batting title and his first three Gold Gloves; notably, he won NL MVP in 1954 while also leading the New York Giants to the World Series
2. Stan Musial: one of the most consistently great players ever, Musial was not only an All-Star every year of the 1950s (61.2 WAR), but also hit .300+ 9x to win four of his seven career batting titles and finished top-five for MVP 8x, including runner-up on three occasions
1. Mickey Mantle: though injuries and alcohol would plague him throughout his career, Mantle nevertheless led the 1950s with 68.1 WAR – he was an All-Star selection every season starting in 1952 and won back-to-back AL MVP awards in 1956-1957, including the AL Triple Crown in 1956, while leading the Yankees to five World Series titles.
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Note: All statistics as of time of publication.
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Countdown 84: Top 10 NFL Players of the 1950s
