Vernon Decatur Stephens (Junior and Buster)

Bats: Right, Throws: Right
Height: 5' 10", Weight: 185 lb.
Born: October 23, 1920 in McAlister, NM
High School: Polytechnic (Long Beach, CA)
Signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent in 1938.
(All Transactions)
Debut: September 13, 1941
Final Game: June 30, 1955
Died: November 3, 1968 in Long Beach, CA
About biographical information
Bruce Buckley sponsor(s) this page.
"Junior" played in an infield made up of Bobby Doerr and Johnny Pesky for the Red Sox of the late 40s and early 50s. Along with Ted Williams those guys could do a lot of damage. They threw some pretty good leather too.
| Year | Age | Tm | Lg | G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB | Pos | Awards | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | 20 | SLB | AL | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .500 | .500 | .500 | 1.000 | 162 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | /6 | |||
| 1942 | 21 | SLB | AL | 145 | 619 | 575 | 84 | 169 | 26 | 6 | 14 | 92 | 1 | 3 | 41 | 53 | .294 | .341 | .433 | .774 | 116 | 249 | 15 | 0 | 3 | *6 | MVP-4 | ||
| 1943 | 22 | SLB | AL | 137 | 571 | 512 | 75 | 148 | 27 | 3 | 22 | 91 | 3 | 2 | 54 | 73 | .289 | .357 | .482 | .839 | 142 | 247 | 11 | 0 | 5 | *6 | AS,MVP-9 | ||
| 1944 | 23 | SLB | AL | 145 | 628 | 559 | 91 | 164 | 32 | 1 | 20 | 109 | 2 | 2 | 62 | 54 | .293 | .365 | .462 | .826 | 129 | 258 | 3 | 1 | 6 | *6 | AS,MVP-3 | ||
| 1945 | 24 | SLB | AL | 149 | 632 | 571 | 90 | 165 | 27 | 3 | 24 | 89 | 2 | 1 | 55 | 70 | .289 | .352 | .473 | .825 | 133 | 270 | 11 | 1 | 5 | *6/5 | MVP-6 | ||
| 1946 | 25 | SLB | AL | 115 | 488 | 450 | 67 | 138 | 19 | 4 | 14 | 64 | 0 | 1 | 35 | 49 | .307 | .357 | .460 | .817 | 122 | 207 | 12 | 0 | 3 | *6 | AS,MVP-19 | ||
| 1947 | 26 | SLB | AL | 150 | 634 | 562 | 74 | 157 | 18 | 4 | 15 | 83 | 8 | 4 | 70 | 61 | .279 | .359 | .406 | .765 | 111 | 228 | 7 | 0 | 2 | *6 | MVP-31 | ||
| 1948 | 27 | BOS | AL | 155 | 716 | 635 | 114 | 171 | 25 | 8 | 29 | 137 | 1 | 0 | 77 | 56 | .269 | .350 | .471 | .821 | 113 | 299 | 25 | 2 | 2 | *6 | AS,MVP-4 | ||
| 1949 | 28 | BOS | AL | 155 | 711 | 610 | 113 | 177 | 31 | 2 | 39 | 159 | 2 | 2 | 101 | 73 | .290 | .391 | .539 | .930 | 138 | 329 | 19 | 0 | 0 | *6 | AS,MVP-7 | ||
| 1950 | 29 | BOS | AL | 149 | 693 | 628 | 125 | 185 | 34 | 6 | 30 | 144 | 1 | 0 | 65 | 43 | .295 | .361 | .511 | .872 | 113 | 321 | 21 | 0 | 0 | *6 | AS,MVP-24 | ||
| 1951 | 30 | BOS | AL | 109 | 415 | 377 | 62 | 113 | 21 | 2 | 17 | 78 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 33 | .300 | .364 | .501 | .865 | 124 | 189 | 22 | 0 | 0 | 5/6 | AS | ||
| 1952 | 31 | BOS | AL | 92 | 337 | 295 | 35 | 75 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 44 | 2 | 2 | 39 | 31 | .254 | .343 | .383 | .726 | 95 | 113 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 65 | |||
| 1953 | 32 | TOT | AL | 90 | 329 | 294 | 30 | 77 | 14 | 0 | 5 | 31 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 42 | .262 | .332 | .361 | .693 | 85 | 106 | 10 | 0 | 4 | 5/6 | |||
| 1953 | 32 | CHW | AL | 44 | 143 | 129 | 14 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 0 | 13 | 18 | .186 | .261 | .256 | .516 | 38 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 5/6 | |||
| 1953 | 32 | SLB | AL | 46 | 186 | 165 | 16 | 53 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 24 | .321 | .388 | .442 | .830 | 122 | 73 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 5 | |||
| 1954 | 33 | BAL | AL | 101 | 393 | 365 | 31 | 104 | 17 | 1 | 8 | 46 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 36 | .285 | .311 | .403 | .714 | 102 | 147 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 5 | ||
| 1955 | 34 | TOT | AL | 25 | 72 | 62 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | .242 | .324 | .435 | .759 | 102 | 27 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 1955 | 34 | BAL | AL | 3 | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .167 | .286 | .167 | .452 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | /5 | |
| 1955 | 34 | CHW | AL | 22 | 65 | 56 | 10 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | .250 | .328 | .464 | .792 | 109 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 | |
| 15 Seasons | 1720 | 7240 | 6497 | 1001 | 1859 | 307 | 42 | 247 | 1174 | 25 | 22 | 692 | 685 | .286 | .355 | .460 | .815 | 119 | 2991 | 169 | 6 | 37 | 8 | 0 | |||||
| 162 Game Avg. | 162 | 682 | 612 | 94 | 175 | 29 | 4 | 23 | 111 | 2 | 2 | 65 | 65 | .286 | .355 | .460 | .815 | 119 | 282 | 16 | 1 | 3 | |||||||
| G | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | CS | BB | SO | TB | GDP | HBP | SH | SF | IBB | Pos | Awards | |||||||||
| BAL (10 yrs) | 994 | 4160 | 3767 | 528 | 1100 | 174 | 22 | 121 | 591 | 16 | 16 | 352 | 420 | .292 | .352 | .446 | .799 | 123 | 1681 | 70 | 3 | 31 | 7 | 0 | |||||
| BOS (5 yrs) | 660 | 2872 | 2545 | 449 | 721 | 124 | 20 | 122 | 562 | 7 | 6 | 320 | 236 | .283 | .364 | .492 | .856 | 119 | 1251 | 95 | 3 | 4 | |||||||
| CHW (2 yrs) | 66 | 208 | 185 | 24 | 38 | 9 | 0 | 4 | 21 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 29 | .205 | .282 | .319 | .600 | 60 | 59 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Year | Tm | Lg | Age | Pos | G | GS | Inn | Ch | PO | A | E | DP | Fld% | Rtot | Rtot/yr | Rtz | Rtzrd | Rtzhm | Rdp | RF/9 | RF/G | lgFld% | lgRF9 | lgRFG | LF-CF-RF | Awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | SLB | AL | 20 | SS | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | .500 | 1.00 | .950 | 4.60 | ||||||||||||
| 1942 | SLB | AL | 21 | SS | 144 | 747 | 290 | 415 | 42 | 82 | .944 | 4.90 | .949 | 4.78 | MVP-4 | |||||||||||
| 1943 | SLB | AL | 22 | SS | 123 | 593 | 220 | 339 | 34 | 51 | .943 | 4.54 | .953 | 4.93 | AS,MVP-9 | |||||||||||
| 1943 | SLB | AL | 22 | OF | 11 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.09 | .978 | 2.39 | 9-0-3 | AS,MVP-9 | ||||||||||
| 1944 | SLB | AL | 23 | SS | 143 | 754 | 239 | 480 | 35 | 71 | .954 | 5.03 | .947 | 5.05 | AS,MVP-3 | |||||||||||
| 1945 | SLB | AL | 24 | SS | 144 | 723 | 256 | 439 | 28 | 69 | .961 | 4.83 | .950 | 4.94 | MVP-6 | |||||||||||
| 1945 | SLB | AL | 24 | 3B | 4 | 15 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 2 | .867 | 3.25 | .953 | 2.98 | MVP-6 | |||||||||||
| 1946 | SLB | AL | 25 | SS | 112 | 597 | 224 | 343 | 30 | 71 | .950 | 5.06 | .954 | 4.65 | AS,MVP-19 | |||||||||||
| 1947 | SLB | AL | 26 | SS | 149 | 801 | 283 | 494 | 24 | 113 | .970 | 5.21 | .964 | 4.93 | MVP-31 | |||||||||||
| 1948 | BOS | AL | 27 | SS | 155 | 833 | 269 | 540 | 24 | 113 | .971 | 5.22 | .964 | 4.85 | AS,MVP-4 | |||||||||||
| 1949 | BOS | AL | 28 | SS | 155 | 792 | 257 | 508 | 27 | 128 | .966 | 4.94 | .963 | 4.79 | AS,MVP-7 | |||||||||||
| 1950 | BOS | AL | 29 | SS | 146 | 702 | 258 | 431 | 13 | 115 | .981 | 4.72 | .960 | 4.74 | AS,MVP-24 | |||||||||||
| 1951 | BOS | AL | 30 | 3B | 89 | 319 | 105 | 207 | 7 | 19 | .978 | 3.51 | .949 | 2.87 | AS | |||||||||||
| 1951 | BOS | AL | 30 | SS | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.00 | .950 | 4.70 | AS | |||||||||||
| 1952 | BOS | AL | 31 | SS | 53 | 254 | 89 | 154 | 11 | 40 | .957 | 4.58 | .962 | 4.29 | ||||||||||||
| 1952 | BOS | AL | 31 | 3B | 29 | 99 | 21 | 73 | 5 | 8 | .949 | 3.24 | .954 | 2.98 | ||||||||||||
| 1953 | TOT | AL | 32 | 3B | 84 | 250 | 84 | 158 | 8 | 16 | .968 | 2.88 | .956 | 2.93 | ||||||||||||
| 1953 | CHW | AL | 32 | 3B | 38 | 98 | 30 | 67 | 1 | 7 | .990 | 2.55 | .955 | 2.93 | ||||||||||||
| 1953 | CHW | AL | 32 | SS | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.33 | .975 | 4.53 | ||||||||||||
| 1953 | SLB | AL | 32 | 3B | 46 | 152 | 54 | 91 | 7 | 9 | .954 | 3.15 | .957 | 2.93 | ||||||||||||
| 1954 | BAL | AL | 33 | 3B | 96 | 95 | 822.0 | 298 | 102 | 186 | 10 | 19 | .966 | -1.4 | -2.0 | -1.4 | 1.3 | -2.7 | 0 | 3.15 | 3.00 | .959 | 3.48 | 3.07 | ||
| 1955 | TOT | AL | 34 | 3B | 20 | 16 | 149.0 | 52 | 13 | 39 | 0 | 4 | 1.000 | 1.8 | 14.5 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0 | 3.14 | 2.60 | .948 | 3.17 | 2.73 | ||
| 1955 | BAL | AL | 34 | 3B | 2 | 2 | 11.0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1.64 | 1.00 | .950 | 3.19 | 2.75 | ||
| 1955 | CHW | AL | 34 | 3B | 18 | 14 | 138.0 | 50 | 13 | 37 | 0 | 4 | 1.000 | 1.8 | 15.7 | 1.8 | 0.7 | 1.1 | 0 | 3.26 | 2.78 | .948 | 3.17 | 2.73 | ||
| 13 Seasons | SS | 1330 | 6804 | 2385 | 4150 | 269 | 853 | .960 | 4.91 | .957 | 4.83 | |||||||||||||||
| 6 Seasons | 3B | 322 | 111 | 971.0 | 1033 | 327 | 674 | 32 | 68 | .969 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 2.0 | -1.6 | 0 | 9.28 | 3.11 | .954 | 3.43 | 2.95 | |||||
| 1 Season | OF | 11 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2.09 | .978 | 2.39 | 9-0-3 | ||||||||||||||
| 15 Seasons | TOT | 1663 | 111 | 971.0 | 7860 | 2732 | 4827 | 301 | 921 | .962 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 2.0 | -1.6 | 0 | 70.06 | 4.55 | .918 | 3.43 | 4.45 | 9-0-3 | ||||
| Pos | G | GS | Inn | Ch | PO | A | E | DP | Fld% | Rtot | Rtot/yr | Rtz | Rtzrd | Rtzhm | Rdp | RF/9 | RF/G | lgFld% | lgRF9 | lgRFG | LF-CF-RF | Awards | ||||
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| Black Ink | Batting - 18 (124), Average HOFer ≈ 27 |
| Gray Ink | Batting - 141 (112), Average HOFer ≈ 144 |
| Hall of Fame Monitor | Batting - 75 (238), Likely HOFer ≈ 100 |
| Hall of Fame Standards | Batting - 39 (173), Average HOFer ≈ 50 |
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Before 1938 Season: Signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent.
November 17, 1947: Traded by the St. Louis Browns with Jack Kramer to the Boston Red Sox for Pete Laydon, Joe Ostrowski, Roy Partee, Eddie Pellagrini, Al Widmar, Jim Wilson and $310,000.
February 9, 1953: Traded by the Boston Red Sox to the Chicago White Sox for Hal Brown, Marv Grissom and Bill Kennedy.
July 20, 1953: Selected off waivers by the St. Louis Browns from the Chicago White Sox.
April 18, 1955: Released by the Baltimore Orioles.
May 2, 1955: Signed as a Free Agent with the Chicago White Sox.
July 1, 1955: Released by the Chicago White Sox.
Error? Compare Search SABR's Baseball Index Other Links@google.com Baseball Library Baseball-Almanac.com DeadBallEra Obituary Retrosheet SABR BioProject The Baseball Cube The Baseball Page WhatIfSports: Vern Stephens
Viewed 97,270 times through February 9, 2010.
Name and misspellings:
Vernon Decatur Junior,Buster Vern vernon Stephens
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