World War II delayed Larry Jansen from achieving his Major League Baseball dream, as he did not make it until 1947 when he was 27. He went 21-5 with a 3.16 ERA and a league-leading 2.1 BB/9, and probably would have won the Rookie of the Year had not a man who had to wait to play in the Majors for a different reason, Jackie Robinson, not been around.
Jansen remained a top Pitcher for New York, going to the All-Star Game in both 1950 and 1951, with the former year seeing the righthander lead the NL in WHIP (1.065) and Wins (23) in the latter. In both '50 and '51, Jansen topped the NL in SO/BB.
Issues with his throwing arm began to creep in, and after two below-average seasons, he barely played in 1954 and was released that year. Jansen had a good, though forgotten run, posting a record of 120-86 with 826 Strikeouts.
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