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Mail Day: Max West, of, Boston Braves
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Outfielder Max West made his Major League debut in 1938. He was 21 years old and held his own with a 91 OPS+. Over the next four years, he was one of the best bats in the Boston line-up, hitting .269/.359/.424 with a 124 OPS+, and averaging 15 HR a season. He was selected for the 1940 All-Star game as well, hitting the game-winning home run. There was no reason to think he was going to be a big part of the Brave’s future.
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But World War Two happened. Max was drafted and spent the war with the Army Air Force, part of a B-29 crew in the Pacific. He was not the same player when he came back, and would only spend parts of two seasons in the majors with Boston, Cincinnati, and Pittsburgh.
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West would stay in the game and was an excellent minor-league player, and from 1949-1952 hit at least 30 HR a season. His best season during this period came in 1949, with Cleveland’s AAA team, when he hit a stunning .291/.466/.596 with 48 HR. Not good enough to get called back up, but certainly good enough to be feared by any poor minor league pitcher who had to face him.