As it turned out, was the last hurrah for the Red Sox during Cronin's tenure as general manager. With the exception of Ted Williams (who missed most of the 1952–1953 seasons while serving in the Korean War), the core of the 1946–1950 team aged quickly and the Red Sox faced a significant rebuilding job starting in . Cronin's acquisition of future American League Most Valuable Player Jackie Jensen from Washington in represented a coup, but the club misfired on several "bonus babies" who never lived up to their potential. The Red Sox posted winning season records for all but two of Cronin's 11 seasons as general manager, but from 1951 through 1958 they lagged behind the AL pennant-winners (except for 1954, the Yankees) by an average of almost 18 games. Then, beginning in , the Red Sox began a skein of eight straight below-.500 and second-division campaigns. They would not be a factor in a pennant race again until the "Impossible Dream" season of 1967.