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Who are the top MLB players of the 1940s? Here is our top 10 countdown:
10. Bob Elliott: perhaps surprisingly the decade’s leader for runs batted in (as he did not miss any playing time due to World War II), Elliott was a 5x All-Star third baseman with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Braves, culminating in the 1947 NL MVP award and 39.7 total WAR in the 1940s.
9. Bobby Doerr: Ted Williams’ reliable sidekick on the Boston Red Sox, Doerr was a consistent presence at second base, making seven All-Star teams and twice finishing top-10 for AL MVP while accumulating 41.7 WAR during the decade.
8. Joe Gordon: arguably the decade’s best second baseman (45.6 WAR), Gordon was an All-Star all eight seasons he played in the 1940s and won the 1942 AL MVP award with three titles across the New York Yankees and the Cleveland Indians.
7. Hal Newhouser: a 4x 20-game winner who posted 54.1 WAR for the decade, Newhouser made six All-Star teams during the 1940s and won two straight MVP awards and ERA titles over a three-year span, highlighted by the Pitching Triple Crown and a World Series title with the Detroit Tigers in 1945.
6. Johnny Mize: despite missing three seasons in his prime due to World War II, Mize was one of baseball’s underrated superstars – during the 1940s, he was an All-Star every full season he played, was a 3x home run champion, and led the league in runs batted in 3x for a total of 41.1 WAR.
5. Lou Boudreau: a Hall of Fame shortstop for the Indians, Boudreau was an 8x All-Star selection who won a batting title in 1944 and actually hit a career-best .355 in his 1948 AL MVP season while guiding Cleveland to a World Series championship, in the process accumulating 59.9 WAR for the decade.
4. Bob Feller: the dominant power pitcher of the World War II era, Feller was a 5x All-Star, 4x 20-game winner, and also led the league in strikeouts 5x during the 1940s, including a career-high 348 strikeouts in 1946; notably, he also won the Pitching Triple Crown in 1940 and led the Indians to a World Series title in 1948 en route to racking up 38.3 WAR for the decade.
3. Joe DiMaggio: best known for his legendary 56-game hitting streak in 1941, DiMaggio was a 2x MVP and All-Star every year he played during the decade (43.6 WAR), winning three of his nine World Series titles in the 1940s despite three years of military service.
2. Stan Musial: one of the most consistently great players ever, Musial only missed one year for military service and made the first six All-Star Games of his career while winning his first three (of seven) batting titles and all three of his MVP awards and World Series titles with the St. Louis Cardinals, in the process leading the league in hits and doubles 5x and on-base percentage and slugging percentage 4x (57.6 WAR in the 1940s).
1. Ted Williams: one of the greatest pure hitters in baseball history and the last man to hit .400 in a season (.406 in 1941), Williams is one of only two batters to win the Triple Crown twice (1942 and 1947); moreover, despite missing three years for World War II service, he was an All-Star every full season of the decade and won a pair of MVP awards (though not in either of his Triple Crown campaigns nor his .406 season) and four batting titles for 65.8 WAR during the 1940s.
Agree/Disagree? As always, debate/discuss, and leave your thoughts and comments below.
Note: All statistics as of time of publication.
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