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in specific ways since the 60's/70's? It seems to me that the modern strike zone places a premium on low breaking pitches, which require more upper body to generate power on.
High fastballs are the easiest pitches to put over the wall, in my understanding/experience. Low pitches take a lot of shoulder strengh and 'arm' power. Smaller, whippy guys can hit the high pitches for power almost as well as the big Konerko/Dunn types, but my observations seem to tell me it's harder for little guys to golf pitches at the knees as well as the bruisers.
I would guess there were fewer quality breaking pitches in yesteryear, and that high cheese was the coin of the realm. When talking about guys like Aaron or Mays, you're obviously talking about athletic prodigies, guys who could crush your hand with a firm shake, but I don't think we have fewer of those guys today.
Just occurred to me: maybe the 180lb whippy guys 'disappeared' because of an increased premium placed on maximizing muscle mass on young players with natural power. They are probably all still here...they just bulk up over 200lbs via 'protein shakes' and intense body building regimens.