As a rookie in 1938, Joe "Flash" Gordon became the American League's first power-hitting second baseman and redefined how the position was played. Spending his first six years in Arizona's mining camps, young Gordon then struck gold on the ballfields of Oregon. He was signed by the New York Yankees and helped the team win four World Series titles in just seven years. Following their 1941 World Series championship, manager Joe McCarthy was quoted saying, "The greatest all-around player I ever saw, and I don't bar any of them, is Joe Gordon." The following year, Gordon bested Boston's Triple Crown winner Ted Williams for the American League Most Valuable Player Award of 1942.