John Stearns

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1974-1984)

John Stearns was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1984 for the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets, a span of 11 seasons. In 810 career games, he hit .260 with 696 hits, 46 home runs, and 312 RBI. John Stearns was a 4-time All-Star. His career PIV — Baseball Data Hub's era-adjusted measure of offensive impact — is 1,204.

AVG (Batting Average):
Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
HR (Home Runs):
Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
RBI (Runs Batted In):
Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.

Data updated

AVG .260
HR 46
RBI 312
H 696
OPS .717
PIV 1,204
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
6'0" / 185 lb
Born
8/21/1951 in Denver, CO, USA
Died
9/15/2022 in Denver, CO, USA
MLB Debut
1974-09-22
Last Game
1984-09-30
Awards
4× All-Star

Full name: John Hardin Stearns

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Career Batting Statistics

John Stearns — Career Batting Statistics
G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
810 2,681 334 696 152 10 46 312 91 323 294 .260 .341 .375 .717 1,204

Career AVG .260 vs. league average .260 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .341 vs. league average .325 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career SLG .375 vs. league average .383 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS .717 vs. league average .708 across their career seasons — near league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

John Stearns Stats, Bio & Career Records
Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1974 PHI NL 1 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500 — — — — 0.0
1975 NYN NL 59 169 25 32 5 1 3 10 4 17 15 .189 .257 (-26%) .327 (-18%) .374 (-24%) .701 (-21%) -568.7
1976 NYN NL 32 103 13 27 6 0 2 10 1 16 11 .262 .255 (+3%) .320 (+14%) .360 (+5%) .681 (+9%) 195.8
1977 NYN NL 139 431 52 108 25 1 12 55 9 77 76 .251 .264 (-5%) .329 (+12%) .401 (-1%) .730 (+5%) 725.1
1978 NYN NL 143 477 65 126 24 1 15 73 25 70 57 .264 .257 (+2%) .323 (+12%) .378 (+9%) .702 (+11%) 1208.8
1979 NYN NL 155 538 58 131 29 2 9 66 15 52 57 .243 .265 (-8%) .329 (-5%) .397 (-11%) .727 (-8%) -702.0
1980 NYN NL 91 319 42 91 25 1 0 45 7 33 24 .285 .264 (+8%) .326 (+6%) .387 (-5%) .714 (avg) 15.1
1981 NYN NL 80 273 25 74 12 1 1 24 12 24 17 .271 .255 (+6%) .320 (+3%) .368 (-10%) .688 (-4%) -125.6
1982 NYN NL 98 352 46 103 25 3 4 28 17 30 35 .293 .261 (+12%) .324 (+8%) .388 (+7%) .712 (+7%) 455.8
1983 NYN NL 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 — — — — 0.0
1984 NYN NL 8 17 6 3 1 0 0 1 1 4 2 .176 — — — — 0.0
Career · 11 seasons 810 2,681 334 696 152 10 46 312 91 323 294 .260 — — — — 1,204

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (810 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

John Stearns — Batting — Home / Away
SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home391126314031914121.253
Away419141819437732191.266

Last 10 Games — Batting

John Stearns — Last 10 Games — Batting
DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1984-09-30 NYNWSNL 401000101
1984-09-29 NYNWSNW 521000001
1984-09-28 NYNWSNL 100000000
1984-09-26 NYNPHIW 210000020
1984-09-19 NYNPHIL 210000020
1984-09-04 NYNSTLL 200000000
1984-09-01 NYNSDPW 111100000
1984-07-12 NYNATLW 010000000
1983-09-23 NYNCHCL 010000000
1983-09-19 NYNPITW 000000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

John Stearns — Career Fielding Totals by Position
Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 49 42 330 38 3 36
3B 29 20 10 36 7 3
C 699 651 3712 446 63 64
OF 6 6 7 0 2 0

Season-by-Season Fielding

John Stearns — Season-by-Season Fielding
Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1974 PHI C 1 0 1 0 0 0
1975 NYN C 54 46 297 40 2 9
1976 NYN C 30 28 200 20 3 2
1977 NYN 1B 6 5 30 3 2 3
1977 NYN C 127 116 742 76 15 12
1978 NYN 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1978 NYN C 141 134 711 84 12 7
1979 NYN 1B 16 14 114 8 0 16
1979 NYN 3B 11 7 5 14 2 2
1979 NYN C 121 113 628 85 12 11
1979 NYN OF 6 6 7 0 2 0
1980 NYN 1B 16 15 120 18 1 10
1980 NYN 3B 1 0 0 3 0 1
1980 NYN C 74 70 432 41 7 6
1981 NYN 1B 9 7 58 8 0 4
1981 NYN 3B 4 3 0 6 1 0
1981 NYN C 66 63 302 38 6 7
1982 NYN 3B 12 10 5 13 4 0
1982 NYN C 81 79 379 61 6 9
1984 NYN 1B 2 1 8 1 0 3
1984 NYN C 4 2 20 1 0 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

John Stearns Stats, Bio & Career Records
Position Games
Catcher 699
First Base 50
Third Base 29
Left Field 6

College History

John Stearns — College History
School Name City State Years Attended
University of Colorado Boulder CO 1971, 1972, 1973

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

John Stearns (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Hank Gowdy
    .270 avg, 21 HR
  2. 95
    Art Wilson
    .261 avg, 24 HR
  3. 91
    Val Picinich
    .258 avg, 26 HR
  4. 90
    Bob Brenly
    .247 avg, 91 HR
  5. 89
    Phil Masi
    .264 avg, 47 HR
  6. 88
    Jim Brown
    .275 avg, 16 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about John Stearns

What years did John Stearns play?
John Stearns played in Major League Baseball from 1974 to 1984.
Was John Stearns a pitcher?
No. John Stearns was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did John Stearns hit?
John Stearns hit 46 career home runs with 696 hits.
What was John Stearns's career batting average?
John Stearns batted .260 over his career, with 696 hits in 2,681 at bats.
How many RBI did John Stearns have?
John Stearns drove in 312 runs in his career.
Is John Stearns in the Hall of Fame?
No. John Stearns has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.