If former St Louis Browns and Boston Red Sox SS Vern Stephens was alive today, he would be turning 92 today. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1968 at age 48. The fact that he played shortstop is what is most amazing, because of the offensive numbers he put up. It has been reported that shortstops were not known to put up big time power numbers until the days of Cal Ripken and Alex Rodriguez. However, few point out what Stephens was able to do as an offensive SS.
Out of the 1663 games Stephens played, he played 1330 at SS. As a 21 year old rookies in 1942 for the St Louis Browns, he finished 4th in the AL MVP voting. He hit .294, 14, 92 in his first season and followed it with a .289, 22, 91 season in 1943. He finished 3rd in the AL MVP voting in 1944, hitting .290, 20, 109. It was also the only season the St Louis Browns ever won an AL Pennant. Of course, they would eventually become the Baltimore Orioles, who would win WS Championships in 1966, 1970 and 1983. After a strong 1945 season (.289, 24, 89), he tapered off a little bit in 1946 and 1947, leading the Browns to trade him to the Boston Red Sox in a two for six trade.
Thats where he thrived; some say it had a lot to do with the friendly confines of Fenway Park. His first three seasons in Bostons are up there with the best offensive seasons in the history of the game for a shortstop. However, few talk about this. Playing in all the team's games in 1948 and 1949, he hit .269, 29, 137 with 114 RS in '48 and .290, 39, 159 with 113 RS in '49. His 1950 season was his best all around year. He hit .295, 30, 144 with career highs in RS (125), hits (185) and 2Bs (34). He made his 7th All Star team in 1951, but his season was cut short due to injury. He had another big season going, hitting .300, 17, 78 in 109 games.
Unfortunately, after the 1951 season, he was not the same anymore. He would move around from Boston to the Chicago White Sox back to the Browns, sticking around for 1954 and 1955 when they moved to Baltimore. He returned to Chicago to finish the 1955 season and his career with the White Sox.
Based on similarity scores on baseballreference.com as well as what was written by Bill James in one of his books, Stephens was similar to nobody outside of the Cardinals' Stan Musial and with Boston was second only to Ted Williams in regards to offensive production. His 157 RBI are still the most ever by a MLB SS, even Rodriguez. Some say eyesight problems had something to do with him not playing as long. But, in my opinion, he is a Hall of Famer. He was as dominant of a player as anybody in the game from 1942-1950. Only Honus Wagner was as dominant player at the SS position prior to him. And only Ripken and Rodriguez had runs similar to what Stephens did in those 9 years as shortstops. Yet Stephens is not in the Hall. I suggest the Veterans Committee gets on this soon and puts Vern Stephens in the Hall of Fame where he belongs.
Thats where he thrived; some say it had a lot to do with the friendly confines of Fenway Park. His first three seasons in Bostons are up there with the best offensive seasons in the history of the game for a shortstop. However, few talk about this. Playing in all the team's games in 1948 and 1949, he hit .269, 29, 137 with 114 RS in '48 and .290, 39, 159 with 113 RS in '49. His 1950 season was his best all around year. He hit .295, 30, 144 with career highs in RS (125), hits (185) and 2Bs (34). He made his 7th All Star team in 1951, but his season was cut short due to injury. He had another big season going, hitting .300, 17, 78 in 109 games.
Unfortunately, after the 1951 season, he was not the same anymore. He would move around from Boston to the Chicago White Sox back to the Browns, sticking around for 1954 and 1955 when they moved to Baltimore. He returned to Chicago to finish the 1955 season and his career with the White Sox.
Based on similarity scores on baseballreference.com as well as what was written by Bill James in one of his books, Stephens was similar to nobody outside of the Cardinals' Stan Musial and with Boston was second only to Ted Williams in regards to offensive production. His 157 RBI are still the most ever by a MLB SS, even Rodriguez. Some say eyesight problems had something to do with him not playing as long. But, in my opinion, he is a Hall of Famer. He was as dominant of a player as anybody in the game from 1942-1950. Only Honus Wagner was as dominant player at the SS position prior to him. And only Ripken and Rodriguez had runs similar to what Stephens did in those 9 years as shortstops. Yet Stephens is not in the Hall. I suggest the Veterans Committee gets on this soon and puts Vern Stephens in the Hall of Fame where he belongs.
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