John Stephenson: Former Mets Catcher Who Caught Nolan Ryan's First Game (1964-1966)

John Herman Stephenson was born on April 13, 1941, in South Portsmouth, Kentucky. The educated Stephenson earned a degree at William Carey College, in Mississippi. 

In 1963 the five foot eleven left-handed hitting catcher went from A ball right up to the Mets big league team in 1964.

Mets Career- 1964: Stephenson made the club out of Spring Training and appeared as a pinch hitter in the 5-3 Opening Day loss. 

On April 17th, in the first game ever played at Shea Stadium John struck out as a pinch hitter in the 9t inning of the 4-3 loss to the Pirates. 

 Stephenson would appear mostly as a pinch hitter & in 14 games at third base, but he didn’t hit much. On Father’s Day 1964 he was the final out of Jim Bunnings's perfect game pitched against the Mets at Shea Stadium.

First Career HR: On June 29th, Stephenson's was playing at third base & batting in the leadoff spot in a game in San Franciso. He led off the game with a lead off HR off the Giants Bobby Bolin in a 4-3 Mets victory.

By July he was batting .158 & was sent back to AAA Buffalo where he hit .298 the rest of the season, playing at catcher, outfield & at third base. 

1965: Stephenson batted .235 at AAA Buffalo & was brought up to the Mets in late June. He was used as one of six catchers' managers Casey Stengle & later Wes Westrum used for the ’65 Mets.

The cast of catchers that were used at one time or another were Cris Cannizzaro, Jesse Gonder, Jimmy Schaffer, Greg Gossen & player/coach Yogi Berra in a brief come back out of retirement. 

Walk Off Hit: On July 23rd, in the bottom of the 10th inning, Stephenson hit a walk off RBI single off the Phillies Jack Baldschun to beat Philadelphia 3-2. 

Walk Off Hit #2: On August 24th, in the bottom of the 9th inning of a 3-3 tie with the Dodgers, Stephenson came in pitch hit with the bases loaded. He cleared the bases with a three run double off former Met Bob Miller for the exciting walk off win.

Multi HR Game: On September 16th, John hit two HRs off the Reds John Tsitouris in an 7-3 Mets win in Cincinnati for his only multi-HR game.

For the last place 1965 Mets, John played in 62 games, batting .215 with 26 hits 5 doubles 4 HRs & 15 RBIs. He struck out 19 times walked 8 times with a .264 on base % & .619 OPS. He caught 47 games behind the plate, throwing out 29% of would-be base stealers. 

1966: John spent the entire season with the Mets playing in 66 games, 52 at catcher & one in the outfield.

On August 4th, with the Mets down 6-1 to the Giants at Shea Stadium, Stephenson hit an 8th inning two run HR off the Juan Marichal. He began a comeback rally in the game that the Mets eventually won on a three-run walk off HR by on Swoboda. It was a big game for the Mets as it was almost impossible for them to beat Marichal in their early years.

Nolan Ryan's Debut: On September 11th, 1966, Stephenson entered a game against the Braves in the 5th inning, as a pinch hitter for Dick Selma. He remained in the game replacing Jerry Grote at catcher. In the top of the 6th inning, a young rookie pitcher named Nolan Ryan took the mound in his MLB debut with Stephenson behind the plate.

Stephenson made history catching the first strike out of Ryan’s career, as pitcher Pat Jarvis was the first of a record 5714 K's. Two batters later, Hall of Famer Eddie Mathews struck out looking at a blazing fastball as the second K of Ryan's career. 

Legend has it that Mathews turned to Stephenson saying, “what the hell was that!”  

At a practice, Stephenson recalls another early Nolan Ryan story.

Quotes- John Stephenson: "It was me, Yogi Berra, Warren Spahn, scout Red Murff & Ryan. They told him to throw a fastball, but he didn't tell me. He hit me on the left side of my collarbone, and I had to miss a week of play."

In 1966 Stephenson hit just .196 with three extra base hits a HR & 11 RBIs.

 

In June he was traded to the Chicago Cubs to complete an earlier trade. 

Post Mets Career: Over the next seven years he would spend time between the minors & majors playing with the Chicago Cubs (1967-1968) San Francisco Giants (1969-1970) & California Angels (1971-1973). 

Angels Career: In 1971 he played in a career high 90 games, batting .219 with three HRs & 25 RBIs for the Angels.

Reunion With Nolan Ryan: In 1972 he was once again reunited with Nolan Ryan after the Mets traded him to the Angels. & was a battery mate for Ryan at various times throughout the season.

 On May 30th in their first game back together, Ryan threw a seven-hit shutout over the White Sox striking out ten. 

On July 9th, he was behind the plate in Anaheim as Ryan threw a one hitter, striking out 16 Red Sox in a 3-0 win over Boston. On July 27th, Ryan struck out 14 Texas Rangers pitching a two-hit shutout in Anaheim, with Stephenson once again behind the plate. 

In 1973, Stephenson's final season, he & Ryan were team mates once again. 

Career Stats: In his ten-season career he batted .216 with 214 hits 37 doubles 3 triples 12 HRs & 93 RBIs He struck out 118 times with 63 walks, a 271 on base % & .567 OPS.

He caught 330 games with a .986 fielding %, 116 assists 14 double plays, making 21 errors & throwing out 29% of base stealers.

Retirement: After his playing days he became a long-time coach, At first, he coached in college baseball, at his alma mater, William Carey College (1974-1985). He then moved on to Southeastern Louisiana University (1985-1990).

John then came back to the New York Mets organization, managing the A ball Gulf Coast Mets (1995/ 1998-1999) & then the Kingsport Mets where he finished in first place (1996). He then moved on to the Capitol City Bombers (1997 & 2000).