Who holds the single season record for RBIs for a shortstop? You may think it would be held by a Hall of Famer like Honus Wagner, Ernie Banks or Cal Ripken, or a recent retired star like Alex Rodriguez, Miguel Tejada, or Derek Jeter, but no, the record is held by Red Sox Vern Stephens and was set in 1949.

That year, batting behind Ted Williams, Vern Stephens had 159 RBIs and it was the first of two consecutive years when Stephens tied for the league lead in RBIs. This RBI total was the highest in the major leagues for 50 years until Manny Ramirez surpassed it with 165 in 1999.

From 1948 to 1949, Vern Stephens had three of highest RBI single season MLB totals for a shortstop. Only one other shortstop, Alex Rodriguez, has 3 seasons in the top ten and Alex was aided by the 162-game schedule. 

Vern Stephens started his MLB career with the St Louis Browns, leading the league in RBIs in 1944 and the Browns to the pennant that year.  However, he would add more offensive and defensive accomplishments with the Red Sox.

Top Single Season RBI totals by Shortstops

A consistent offensive performer Vern played good defense as well, leading the league in assists 1947-1949, double plays in 1949 and fielding percentage in 1945. His advanced metrics also show that he was one of the top players at the time, with 6 seasons in the top 10 for both offensive and defensive WAR.

Traded to the Red Sox before the 1948 season, Vern played 5 years for the Red Sox where he was paired with Hall of Famer Bobby Doerr, but the Sox could not do better than 2nd place twice during his time falling short by a single game in 1948 and 1949.

Vern's production tailed off after he turned 30, finishing his career with stints with the St Louis Browns, Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox. At 35 he was out of major league baseball and at the age of 48 he died of a heart attack.

Based on Similarity Scores | Baseball-Reference.com, Vern's top 5 comparable players include 3 Hall of Famers and one not yet eligible to be elected as of 2025.

Similar Batters to Vern Stephens 

1. Bobby Doerr (890.7) Hall of Fame
2. Tony Lazzeri (888.2) Hall of Fame
3. Bret Boone (887.5)
4. Chase Utley (879.2) Not yet Eligible as of 2025
5. Joe Gordon (870.1) Hall of Fame

Bill James, the famous baseball historian and analyst, had stated in his 1994 book, Whatever Happened to the Hall of Fame?, that the Hall of Fame may have erred by inducting only one half of the Yankees double play combination when the voters only elected shortstop Phil Rizzuto, but not second baseman Joe Gordon, and similarly for the Red Sox, when only second baseman Bobby Doerr was elected, but not shortstop Vern Stephens.. Likewise with the 2017 election of Tiger's shortstop Alan Trammell to the Hall of Fame, his infield teammate second baseman Lou Whitaker has also been neglected.

Although on the one and only Pre-1943 Veterans Committee Baseball ballot in 2009, Stephens has not been considered since. On that same ballot in 2009, Joe Gordon was elected to the Hall of Fame to join his Yankee teammate Phil Rizzuto.

Is it now time to consider Vern Stephens again for election to the Hall of Fame?