# Top 37 MLB Players of the 1940s

> Wartime absences, a broken color line and batting races settled by a fraction of a point shaped this decade. Several stars here gave up whole seasons to military service; others filled the gap.

*By YPB Team · Published November 10, 2026 · https://youpick.best/ranking/top-37-mlb-players-of-the-1940s*

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## Current results (no votes yet)

1. **Ted Williams** — score 1000/1000
   Boston Red Sox left fielder who hit .406 in 1941, won the Triple Crown in 1942 and 1947 and won AL MVP awards in 1946 and 1949.
2. **Stan Musial** — score 889/1000
   St. Louis Cardinals star who won NL MVP awards and NL batting titles in 1943, 1946 and 1948.
3. **Frank McCormick** — score 722/1000
   Cincinnati Reds first baseman who won the 1940 NL MVP with 127 RBI as the Reds won the World Series.
4. **Lou Boudreau** — score 615/1000
   Cleveland shortstop and player-manager who won the 1948 AL MVP as the Indians won the World Series.
5. **Johnny Sain** — score 568/1000
   Boston Braves right-hander who led the NL with 24 wins in 1948 and finished second in that year's MVP vote.
6. **Johnny Pesky** — score 515/1000
   Boston Red Sox infielder who led the AL in hits in 1942, 1946 and 1947, batting .331 as a rookie and .335 in 1946.
7. **Dolph Camilli** — score 515/1000
   Brooklyn Dodgers first baseman who won the 1941 NL MVP after leading the league with 34 home runs and 120 RBI.
8. **Dixie Walker** — score 515/1000
   Brooklyn Dodgers right fielder who won the 1944 NL batting title at .357 and led the NL with 124 RBI in 1945.
9. **Bob Lemon** — score 515/1000
   Cleveland right-hander who won 20 games for the 1948 World Series champions and 22 games in 1949.
10. **Joe Gordon** — score 515/1000
   Second baseman who won the 1942 AL MVP with the Yankees and hit 32 home runs for the 1948 champion Cleveland Indians.
11. **Enos Slaughter** — score 515/1000
   St. Louis Cardinals right fielder who led the NL with 130 RBI in 1946 and scored the winning run in Game 7 of that year's World Series.
12. **Bobby Doerr** — score 454/1000
   Boston Red Sox second baseman who drove in more than 100 runs in 1942, 1946 and 1948 and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1986.
13. **Warren Spahn** — score 454/1000
   Boston Braves left-hander who won 21 games in both 1947 and 1949 and led the NL with a 2.33 ERA in 1947.
14. **Phil Cavarretta** — score 454/1000
   Chicago Cubs first baseman who won the 1945 NL MVP and the NL batting title with a .355 average.
15. **Pete Reiser** — score 454/1000
   Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder who won the 1941 NL batting title at .343 and led the NL in stolen bases in 1942 and 1946.
16. **Hank Greenberg** — score 454/1000
   Detroit Tigers slugger who won the 1940 AL MVP and led the AL in home runs and RBI in both 1940 and 1946.
17. **Tommy Henrich** — score 384/1000
   New York Yankees outfielder and first baseman who drove in 100 runs in 1948 and hit a walk-off home run in Game 1 of the 1949 World Series.
18. **George Kell** — score 384/1000
   Detroit Tigers third baseman who won the 1949 AL batting title at .343, edging Ted Williams by a fraction of a point.
19. **Joe DiMaggio** — score 384/1000
   New York Yankees center fielder who hit in 56 straight games in 1941 and won AL MVP awards that year and in 1947.
20. **Spud Chandler** — score 384/1000
   New York Yankees right-hander who won the 1943 AL MVP after going 20-4 with a league-leading 1.64 ERA.
21. **Walker Cooper** — score 384/1000
   Catcher who won World Series titles with the Cardinals in 1942 and 1944, finished second in the 1943 NL MVP vote and hit 35 home runs for the New York Giants in 1947.
22. **Hal Newhouser** — score 384/1000
   Detroit Tigers left-hander who won back-to-back AL MVP awards in 1944 and 1945 after going 29-9 and 25-9.
23. **Mort Cooper** — score 384/1000
   St. Louis Cardinals right-hander who won the 1942 NL MVP after going 22-7 with a league-leading 1.78 ERA.
24. **Larry Doby** — score 384/1000
   Cleveland outfielder who became the American League's first Black player in July 1947 and won the World Series with the Indians in 1948.
25. **Phil Rizzuto** — score 384/1000
   New York Yankees shortstop who debuted in 1941 and finished second in the 1949 AL MVP vote.
26. **Bob Feller** — score 303/1000
   Cleveland right-hander who led the AL in wins in 1940, 1941, 1946 and 1947 and struck out 348 batters in 1946.
27. **Charlie Keller** — score 303/1000
   New York Yankees left fielder who hit 33 home runs with 122 RBI in 1941 and 30 home runs in 1946.
28. **Luke Appling** — score 303/1000
   Chicago White Sox shortstop who won the 1943 AL batting title with a .328 average and finished second in that year's MVP vote.
29. **Mel Ott** — score 303/1000
   New York Giants right fielder and player-manager who led the NL with 30 home runs in 1942 and hit his 500th home run in 1945.
30. **Pee Wee Reese** — score 303/1000
   Brooklyn Dodgers shortstop who led the NL with 132 runs scored in 1949 and finished in the top eight of the MVP vote four times from 1946 to 1949.
31. **Bob Elliott** — score 303/1000
   Third baseman who won the 1947 NL MVP with the Boston Braves after hitting .317 with 113 RBI.
32. **Marty Marion** — score 206/1000
   St. Louis Cardinals shortstop who won the 1944 NL MVP and played on pennant winners in 1942, 1943, 1944 and 1946.
33. **Vern Stephens** — score 206/1000
   Shortstop who led the AL in RBI for the 1944 St. Louis Browns and drove in 159 runs for the Red Sox in 1949, tying Ted Williams for the AL lead.
34. **Ralph Kiner** — score 206/1000
   Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder who led the NL in home runs every season from 1946 to 1949, including 54 in 1949.
35. **Jackie Robinson** — score 0/1000
   Brooklyn Dodgers infielder who broke MLB's color line in 1947, won that year's Rookie of the Year and won the 1949 NL MVP and batting title.
36. **Johnny Mize** — score 0/1000
   First baseman who led the NL with 43 home runs for the Cardinals in 1940 and tied Ralph Kiner for the NL lead with 51 for the New York Giants in 1947.
37. **Dom DiMaggio** — score 0/1000
   Boston Red Sox center fielder who hit .316 in 1946 and made All-Star teams in 1941, 1942, 1946 and 1949.

Tags: baseball, players, 40s, mlb, legends