data-mm-id=”_g5g0am5bq”>In November 1944, baseball found itself without a commissioner following the death of Kenesaw Mountain Landis. While searching for a successor, owners were nervous their players would be made eligible for the military draft to help support World War II in Europe. Thus, they decided they needed someone with weight to throw around in Washington on their side. On April 24, 1945, former Kentucky Senator Albert "Happy" Chandler was named commissioner of baseball. Of course, the war officially ended seven months after Chandler was named commissioner, so he didn't need to pull any strings to keep players from the war (that we know about). Much did happen under his watch, however. The Mexican Baseball League was offering big money to any MLB players who w…