Vern Stephens
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Vernon Decatur Stephens (October 23, 1920 - November 3, 1968) was an American shortstop in Major League Baseball who played 15 seasons in the American League for four different teams. A native of McAlister, New Mexico, Stephens batted and threw right-handed. He was also nicknamed "Junior" and "Buster".
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[edit] Career
One of the strongest-hitting shortstops in major league history, Stephens compiled a .286 batting average with 247 home runs and 1174 RBI in 1720 games.
Stephens died of a heart attack in Long Beach, California at 48 years of age.
[edit] Teams
- St. Louis Browns (1941-47, 1953)
- Boston Red Sox (1948-52)
- Chicago White Sox (1953, 1955)
- Baltimore Orioles (1954-55)
[edit] Highlights
- 8-time All-Star (1943-44, 1945 [non-official game], 1946, 1948-51)
- 6 times Top 10 in MVP voting (1942-45, 1948-49)
- Led league in home runs (1945)
- 3 times led league in RBI (1944, 1949-50)
- Collected 440 RBI in three consecutive seasons (1948-50)
- 3 times Top 10 in batting average (1942-43, 1946)
- Twice led league in games played (1948-49)
- Inducted into Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame (2006)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Baseball-Reference.com - career statistics and analysis
- Baseball Almanac
- Baseball Library
- The Deadball Era
| Preceded by Rudy York |
American League RBI Champion 1944 |
Succeeded by Nick Etten |
| Preceded by Nick Etten |
American League Home Run Champion 1945 |
Succeeded by Hank Greenberg |
| Preceded by Joe DiMaggio |
American League RBI Champion 1949-1950 (1949 with Ted Williams 1950 with Walt Dropo) |
Succeeded by Gus Zernial |
Categories: American League All-Stars | American League home run champions | American League RBI champions | Baltimore Orioles players | Boston Red Sox players | Chicago White Sox players | St. Louis Browns players | Major league shortstops | Major league players from New Mexico | 1920 births | 1968 deaths
