Schenz' minor-league apprenticeship was interrupted by three years of World War II service in the United States Navy. Returning to the game in 1946 at age 27, he spent most of that year with the Tulsa Oilers of the Double-A Texas League, where he batted .333 with 180 hits and was selected the loop's Most Valuable Player. In September, he was recalled to the parent Cubs and played in six late-season games, with two hits in 11 at bats. The 1947 campaign saw Schenz back in the minors, this time with the Nashville Vols of the Double-A Southern Association (hitting .331 in 99 games). The Cubs gave him a brief look in two stints, one in April and the other in September, but he collected only one hit in 14 at bats.
In 1948, he finally spent a full year at the MLB level. In what would be his best Major League season, Schenz appeared in 86 games for the 1948 Cubs, starting 71 games at second base and five at third, logging 337 at bats, and batting .261. But he failed to stick in Chicago. In 1949, after using him in only seven early-season games, the Cubs traded him to the Brooklyn Dodgers on May 16. He spent the rest of 1949 with the Triple-A St. Paul Saints, where, again, he hit well, batting .345 with 178 hits. The performance impressed the Pittsburgh Pirates, who purchased Schenz' contract and used him as a utility infielder from 1950 through June of 1951, when they placed him on waivers.
Claimed by the New York Giants on June 30, Schenz seemingly played no part in the 1951 Giants' furious late-season surge, when they won 37 of their last 44 games, including 20 of 23 at home, to overcome the Dodgers' mid-August 13.mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}1⁄2-game lead, tie them at the close of the regular season, and defeat them in the final inning of the decisive third game of the 1951 National League tie-breaker series. He appeared in only eight games as a Giant, all as a pinch runner, and scored one run, on July 6.

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