The New York Yankees won an unprecedented fifth straight World Series this year. No team, before or since, has won that many consecutive championshpis. And they did it with ease, winning the pennant by a comfortable margin, then defeating the Dodgers in six games. The streak was ended a year later by the Indians; Cleveland already had a strong nucleus of players, one of whom, Al Rosen, had a monster season this year.

         Rosen was, appropriately, the unanimous MVP choice. His season ranks among the best ever by a third baseman. As a rookie in 1950, Rosen led the American League in home runs. He followed up with a pair of impressive seasons, then exploded this year. Rosen had another great year in 1954, leading the Indians to the pennant. His career then ended with surprising swiftness; neck and back problems ruined Rosen's performance, and he was out of the league by 1956. He played only seven full seasons, and hit 192 career homers. Two decades after he retired, Rosen returned to baseball as a team President and General Manager, and built the San Francisco Giants team that won the 1989 pennant.
        Yogi Berra was runner-up in the vote. Berra was the Yankees' best player this season, and was probably better than anyone except Rosen. After Berra, the top vote-getters were Mickey Vernon and Minnie Minoso, two more good choices. This was a terrific vote. Vernon ended a five-year slump with a big season; he also prevented Rosen from winning the Triple Crown by winning the batting title by one point.
        Two other sluggers had fine seasons. Gus Zernial had his best year; he was a good home run hitter who spent his best seasons with a terrible Athletics team. Zernial didn't have have too many other skills, but he played for eleven seasons and hit 237 homers in his career. Ray Boone was a power-hitting third baseman who didn't start hitting until he was 30, but had four good seasons with Detroit.