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Mickey Vernon was an outstanding player who was arguably the top first baseman of the late 1940s and early 1950s. During his 20 seasons in the big leagues, he was selected to seven All-Star teams and collected two batting titles. Never a power hitter, his game was great contact skills and a plus glove.
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Interestingly, some of Vernon’s best years came late in his career: from 1951 to 1958 (from ages 33 to 40), he had a 126 OPS+ and .373 OBP. Five of his seven All-Star appearances came during this run. In 1953 (age 35), he won the batting title with a .337 average and finished third in MVP voting.
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Most of Vernon’s career was with Washington, but he spent three seasons in Cleveland. One of those was in 1949, playing with Cleveland star Larry Doby. This was a reunion of sorts; Vernon and Doby had served together in the Pacific during the war, and Vernon had lobbied Washington Senators owner Clark Griffith to sign him–which would have broken the league’s segregation line. I think this story says something about the qualities of both men.