he performed well at the plate with a .307 batting average, .544 slugging percentage, 20 home runs, and 68 RBIs. Realizing that York was not best suited to the catcher position, and seeking to get his bat into the lineup on a full-time basis, the Tigers in 1940 shifted slugger Hank Greenberg from first base to left field, allowing York to return to his natural position at first base. The move proved successful as Greenberg and York each played 154 games and ranked highly among the league's batters in several key batting statistics: first and second in RBIs (150 and 134); first and second in total bases (384 and 343); first and second in doubles (50 and 46); and first and third in home runs (41 and 33). The power duo of Greenberg and York helped propel the Tigers to the American League pennant with a 90–64 record. In the 1940 World Series, the Tigers lost to the Cincinnati Reds as York batted .231 (6-for-26) with one home run and two RBIs. (On August 24, in the first game of a doubleheader in Boston, York received an unwanted distinction when his future teammate, slugger Ted Williams, was called in to pitch in a 12-1 Tigers rout. Williams struck out York looking, making York the only man Ted ever whiffed in a big-league game.) The Tigers lost Greenberg to military service for the 1941 season, leaving York as the team's principal offensive weapon. Starting 155 games at first base for the second consecutive year, York received his second selection to the All-Star game. His batting average declined to .259, but he continued to hit for power with 27 home runs (including a three-home-run game) and 111 RBIs. In 1942, York held out during spring training when the Tigers asked him to take a salary cut. In mid-March, he finally signed a contract providing a salary of approximately $9,000 with a $5,000 bonus if he collected 100 RBIs. He ended up hitting .260 with 21 home runs and 90 RBIs. In the 1942 All-Star Game, he hit a two-run home run in the first inning to propel the American League to a 3–1 victory over the National League. York slumped badly at the plate for the first half of the 1943 season, drawing boos from the fans. Detroit sport writer H. G. Salsinger wrote at the time:"York got away to a bad