Mayo was selected to his only All-Star team in 1945 and, was the runner-up in voting for the 1945 American League Most Valuable Player Award.

His best season was 1945 when he helped lead the Detroit Tigers to a World Series championship and was selected as the American League's Most Valuable Player by The Sporting News.

During spring training prior to the 1943 season, Mayo suffered an eye injury when he was hit by a thrown ball.

Swift's throw caromed off the runner and hit Mayo directly in the left eye, causing a retinal hemorrhage.

However, Mayo felt that the eye injury affected his hitting more than his fielding, and his .219 batting average and 28 RBIs were unimpressive.

He had an excellent .978 fielding percentage for the Tigers in 1944 and led all American League second basemen with 120 double plays.

Mayo also substantially improved his offensive performance in 1944, raising his average 30 points to .249 with 151 hits, 18 doubles, and 63 RBIs.

Second baseman Mayo and shortstop Skeeter Webb were both 35 years old, and both had been back-up or utility infielders before the depletion of talent in World War II.

In addition to a better than average offensive year, Mayo led all American League second basemen with a .980 fielding percentage.

Mayo's performance also won him an unofficial American League All Star team position in 1945, no MLB All-Star Game was held due to the ending of the war and seven exhibitions games were played for the war relief fund.

He hit a fly ball to deep left field in the 6th inning narrowly missing a home run.

After advancing to third base, Mayo scored on a line drive to left field off the bat of Hank Greenberg.

In 1946, Mayo was limited to 51 games, as Jimmy Bloodworth returned from the war and became the Tigers' starting second baseman and George Kell stepped in at third base.

On May 8, 1946, against the Washington Senators, he caught a line drive off the bat of Gil Torres that deflected off Hal Newhouser and turned it into a triple play.

In 1947, the popular Mayo won back his starting job at second base and had a strong year at the bat.

Hall of Famer and Red Sox general manager Joe Cronin called Mayo the best third base coach in the major leagues.