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".

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 of age.

Teams

• St. Louis Browns (1941-47, 1953)
• Boston Red Sox (1948-52)
• Chicago White Sox (1953, 1955)
• Baltimore Orioles (1954-55)

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)

See also

• Top 500 home run hitters of all time
• List of Boston Red Sox awards

External links

• Baseball Almanac
• Baseball Library