The war years had a significant impact on Major League and Minor League Baseball. During that time, the MLB tried to continue on and play through, though many of their best players were serving overseas trying to help the United States in their battle against the forces. According to www.baseballinwartime.com, "More than 4,500 professional players swapped flannels for military uniforms to serve their nation and future Hall of Famers like Bob Feller, Hank Greenberg, Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams"… and lost significant playing time because of this.