[Hoot Gibson]

Some of the greatest pitchers in history have played in the past 50 years. Nolan Ryan and Bob Gibson were two of the most dominant players in the history of the game. After the 1968 season, MLB lowered the height of pitcher mounds by 6 inches in response to the dominance of pitchers like Gibson, who posted a 1.12 ERA, tossed 28 complete games, and struck out 268 in 304 innings. Few players in any sport have ever been so dominant as to force changes to the rules to level the playing field like Gibson did.

Another thing to remember is that besides the development of steroids, players in recent years have benefited greatly from advances in medicine - especially surgery. Dominant players like Willie McCovey and Sandy Koufax whose careers were shortened by injuries would have posted much better career numbers had they played a few decades later. Knee and shoulder injuries have ended many great baseball players' careers, while many similar injuries to today's players have a minor impact on the lengths of their careers.