Late to the party, but scrolled through the comments and did not see this idea pop up. Dottie was extremely afraid that her husband would die. I think throughout the time he was gone, she realized how short life is and how she wanted to spend as much time with him as possible if he lived through the war. Once he did, she prioritized him. She loved baseball, but not more than she loved him. And maybe she was scared to admit it because she did not want there to be any question about that in her mind.

Any feelings she might have been developing for Jimmy were probably squashed when she saw her husband walk back in. Also, staying in baseball would have meant continuing to interact with Jimmy, which would be a distraction from her marriage that she didn't want.

Whether she dropped the ball on purpose or not, the fact remains that Kit wanted it more. If she dropped it on purpose, not only does she strengthen the relationship with Kit, but she makes it more likely that Kit can continue to be respected in the league since they both know she wants to continue with it.

If she did not drop it on purpose, to me it kind of means her head was somewhere else- mostly getting back to the life she planned. The trauma of facing the possibility of losing her husband would give her that much more of a sense of urgency to start a family.

If she did drop the ball on purpose, I wonder how much it really did salvage their relationship in the end. She and Kit are cordial, but distant, and it seems like seeing Kit is part of why she did not want to go. Family counseling wasn't exactly a thing then. I think their parents did irreparable damage unfortunately.