With the end of the war, many of the league's best players flooded back to the playing field. Many had been gone for three years, so there was a considerable adjustment to be made. Some did it better than others; many of the players who made the quickly got back in the groove played for Boston (e.g. Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky), propelling the Red Sox to their first pennant since 1918.
        Ted Williams won his first MVP; there were a lot of good years, but Ted didn't leave too much room for discussion on the matter.

         Obviously, Ted was a little strong for the pack. Despite some generally impressive comeback seasons, this group unfortunately didn't stay around much longer. Hank Greenberg retired the next year; Joe DiMaggio retired five years later. This was Charlie Keller's last year as a regular; he hung around as a bit player for a few years. Only Williams and Mickey Vernon had long careers. While the war had an obvious effect on players by cutting holes out of their careers, I wonder if it was responsible for a lot of early retirements as well. Maybe some guys were just too beat up, physically and mentally, to continue.
        Mickey Vernon may have had his best season. Vernon was 28 years old, and had just spent two years overseas. Despite those two lost years, Vernon managed to play 20 seasons, and hammer out 2495 hits. Vernon also played on seven All-Star teams — but the truth is, he was a very inconsistent player. After his great season this year, Vernon went into a slump for five years. His career probably should have ended, except that Washington was a terrible team, and had no one better to replace him.
        Then, without warning, Vernon won another batting title in 1953. He had four straight good years, and even added some power to his game. He had his last good year with Cleveland in 1958, at age 40. Had Vernon not slumped so badly in mid-career, he would be in the Hall Of Fame. Instead, he was just a good first baseman who was occasionally great.
        Bobby Doerr and Johnny Pesky, both Red Sox players, were the best of this group. With Williams, they formed a powerful nucleus that somehow managed to not win the pennant ever again, despite coming awfully close several times.
        George Kell had his first good season, at age 24. Kell played third base for 15 years, and is now in the Hall Of Fame. He was a singles and doubles hitter; he consistently hit around .320 in his prime, and won the batting title in 1949. In 1950, he led the league with a career-high 56 doubles. He was also a very fine defensive player. Kell retired with 2054 hits, and a career .306 average. He also had a brother named Skeeter Kell, who played for one season in 1952.
         I have to consider Kell won of the weaker players in the Hall; he was a heck of a player from 1946-1951, but he rarely played a full season, and he didn't age very well. He was the best third baseman in an era that didn't have many good third basemen; I don't think he was nearly as good as Ron Santo or Ken Boyer or Harland Clift, or some others who are not in The Hall.