Former New York and Cleveland second baseman Joe Gordon has been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee. He'll be inducted next summer.

Gordon was the best second baseman of the 1940s. He won the 1942 MVP with a .322/.409/.491 line (155 OPS+), and finished in the top 10 in voting four other times. He was also considered an excellent defender, famous for his double plays.

Gordon was out of baseball for two seasons in his prime due to World War II. After the war, he struggled to regain his batting eye, hitting just .210/.308/.338 in 1946.

Gordon was dealt to the Indians after the 1946 season. The deal was one of Bill Veeck's first trades as owner of the Indians, and the first major piece in rebuilding the post-war Indians into a contender. Veeck made the deal with Yankees GM Larry MacPhail while the two watched a World Series game in Boston. Gordon was coming off his worst season as a pro, and the Yankees wanted to replace him at second, not knowing if he'd ever hit again. Veeck offered MacPhail the choice of two of his pitchers, and MacPhail picked Allie Reynolds on the advice of Joe Dimaggio.

While Reynolds became a key pitcher for the Yankees, the Indians also got a good deal. Gordon regained his hitting stroke, and teamed with Lou Boudreau to form the best all-around keystone combination in team history. Gordon helped Larry Doby through his difficult rookie season, even though both were second basemen at the time.

Gordon retired in 1950, but came back as a manager in 1958. Frank Lane traded Gordon to Detroit for Tigers manager Jimmie Dykes in 1960, the first and last time managers were traded for one another.