Chester Earl Stephenson (born July 31, 1947) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. The left-hander was drafted by the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...

in the 3rd round of the 1967 amateur draft and played for the Cubs (1971),

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

(1972), and Baltimore Orioles (1977–1978).

Career

Born in Benson, North Carolina, Stephenson made his major league debut in relief on April 7, 1971 against the St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh in a 14–3 loss at Wrigley Field. He earned his first and only save seventeen days later against the New York Mets, hurling 2.1 scoreless

inning In baseball, softball, and similar games, an inning is the basic unit of play, consisting of two halves or frames, the "top" (first half) and the "bottom" (second half). In each half, one team bats until three outs are made, with the other team ...

s in a 7–5 home victory. He got his first big league win on May 16, 1971. In the first game of a home doubleheader vs. the San Diego Padres Stephenson entered the 7–7 contest in the top of the 10th and gave up a

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

, but the Cubs bailed him out with two runs in the bottom of the inning, thanks to a 2-run walk-off homer by Jim Hickman. Stephenson was traded along with Jim Colborn and Brock Davis by the Cubs to the

for outfielder José Cardenal on December 3, 1971. His best year in the majors was 1972 when he spent the entire season with the Brewers. He got into 35 games, most in relief, and was 3–5 with a 3.25 earned run average. In his other three big league years he spent the majority of the seasons in the minor leagues. One highlight of the '72 season occurred at

County Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also used for Green Bay Packer ...

when he earned his first win as a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

, hurling seven scoreless innings in a 2–0 victory over the Boston Red Sox in game one of a June 25 doubleheader. Another great start for Stephenson, even though he lost, was ten days later at Anaheim Stadium. His pitching opponent was future Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan of the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. They were locked in a 0–0 game for eight innings, but the Angels scored a run with two out in the bottom of the 9th for a 1–0 win. (walk-off

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

Winston Llenas Winston Enriquillo Llenas Dávila ( a.k.a. Chilote) (born September 23, 1943) is a former Major League Baseball infielder/outfielder who played for the California Angels from 1968 to 1969, and again from 1972 to 1975. He also played one season in ...

) Stephenson was dealt along with Jim Lonborg, Ken Brett and Ken Sanders by the Brewers to the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

for Don Money, John Vukovich and Bill Champion on October 31, 1972. He was selected by the Montreal Expos from the Eugene Emeralds in the Rule 5 draft on December 3, 1973. Career totals for 54

games pitched In baseball statistics, games pitched (denoted by Games G in tables of only pitching statistics) is the number of games in which a player appears as a pitcher; a player who is announced as the pitcher must face at least one batter, although except ...

include a 4–5 record, 8 games started, 1

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

, 13 games finished, and 1 save. He allowed 45 earned runs in 113.1

innings pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

for an ERA of 3.57, struck out 50, and walked 49. Stephenson was a good defensive pitcher but a poor hitter. He handled 24 out of 25

chances Chances may refer to: * ''Chances'' (TV series), an Australian soap opera * ''Chances'' (Philippine TV series), a prime-time soap opera * '' Chances: The Women of Magdalene'', a 2006 documentary film * ''Chances'' (novel), a 1981 novel by Jac ...

successfully for a

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

of .960, but went 0-for-20 (.000) at the plate with 13 strikeouts. In between, Stephenson played winter ball with the Tigres de Aragua and

Navegantes de Magallanes The Navegantes del Magallanes (Strait of Magellan, Magellan Navigators), commonly known as Magallanes, are a baseball team in the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. Based in Valencia, Carabobo, Valencia, Magallanes has won 13 LVBP champions ...

clubs of the Venezuelan League in three seasons spanning 1971–1977, pitching also for Aragua in the 1972 Caribbean Series. Afterwards, he played for the Bradenton Explorers of the United States Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989.The Trading Card Database
/ref>

Facts

*Even though he pitched just 80.1

s in 1972, Stephenson tied for tenth among American League hurlers with seven wild pitches. By contrast, it took the other seven pitchers who were tied with him for tenth an average of 177.2 innings to throw the same number of wild pitches. *He led the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

with 53 pitching appearances in 1973 while playing for the Eugene Emeralds.

References

*1979 Baseball Register published by '' The Sporting News''

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephenson, Earl 1947 births Living people American expatriate baseball players in Mexico Arizona Instructional League Cubs players Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from North Carolina Bradenton Explorers players Campbell Fighting Camels baseball players Chicago Cubs players Eugene Emeralds players Indios de Ciudad Juárez (minor league) players Major League Baseball pitchers Memphis Blues players Mexican League baseball pitchers Milwaukee Brewers players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela People from Benson, North Carolina Quincy Cubs players Richmond Braves players Rochester Red Wings players San Antonio Missions players Savannah Braves players category:Sultanes de Monterrey players Tacoma Cubs players Tacoma Twins players Tidewater Tides players Tigres de Aragua players