CRANKING FROM THE START/5--1940-49

We segue into the era of Ted Williams and Stan Musial as we enter the decade of the 1940s in our continuing pursuit of the top first-half offensive performances in baseball history. Remember that the basis for the "Top 300" rankings is adjusted OPS (OPS+). Here goes...

Our man Roy Cullenbine emerges in '41 as a unique offensive force (check out that walk total, which works out to a BBP of just under 22%). But even more evocative is the comp between Ted Williams and Joe DiMaggio, with the former chasing .400 from the start of the '41 season and the latter embroiled in his 56-game hitting streak. As tremendous as Joe D's numbers are, he's still eclipsed by the young (23-year old) Teddy Ballgame. Note also the strikeout totals for these two...

We telescope the war years (1942-45) where we pick up two Top 40 performances, featuring the departing shot of Ted Williams and the return of Mel Ott. We also have our first Stan Musial sighting (note that skimpy HR total...) , along with a truly astonishing first half from Tommy Holmes in 1945. Some other obscure but interesting names pop up here: Phil Weintraub, Bob Johnson, Vern Stephens, and Dom Dallessandro, just sliding over our 200 PA limit. And, last but not least, Bobby Doerr--the only man to appear twice during this time frame...

1946 brings us the last hurrah of Charlie (King Kong) Keller before his back miseries thwart his career. Ted Williams is back from the war with a vengeance, even managing to crack the Top 40 with a first half in '47 that has a shockingly low BA (at least for him). Johnny Mize ups his HR game in the Polo Grounds as the Giants preview the offensive style that will dominate the 1950s. 

Stan Musial has truly monster first half in 1948, managing to push past Ted Williams as they both land in the Top 40 all-time. But it's Ralph Kiner who becomes the most feared "slugger" in the NL during the late 40s, as he also embodies the emerging shift in offensive strategy. (He also becomes just the second man to make it onto the Top 300 first-half list with a BA under .300--there will be more of these soon enough.)

Summarizing the numbers that emerge in the top first half performances of the 40s, we see two .400+ BA (Williams in '41, Musial in '48--though Holmes is very close in 45); five .500+ OBPs (four from Williams, one from Cullenbine), with a total of 15 .450+ OBPs out of the 26 "Top 300" first halves on this list. Note that there's only one .700+ SLG season here--Musial in '48.