The blond Golden Boy, a product of the Yankee farm system of the 1940s, was heralded as DiMaggio’s heir as a rookie in 1950. But he hit only .171 in 45 games, and Mickey Mantle assumed that role the following year. Jensen, freed from the pressures of following a legend, enjoyed a solid, if less productive than predicted, career up the coast in Boston. Jensen played just 11 years, his career cut short by a fear of flying. Ted Williams called his right-field partner the best outfielder he ever saw. A steady RBI man, Jensen drove in 100 or more runs five of his seven years with the Red Sox and led the league three times with 116 in 1955, 122 in 1958, and 112 in 1959. He hit over .300 only once, in 1956, a season highlighted on August 2, when he drove in nine runs. Although the speedy Jensen led the league in stolen bases with 22 in 1954 and in triples with 11 in 1956, he also had a proclivity for grounding into double plays, hitting into 185 over his career (once every 28 at-bats).
