Steve Mesner, baseball player, 1938-1945

Steve Mesner

Born: 1/13/1918 in Los Angeles, CA, USA

Died: 4/6/1981 in San Diego, CA, USA

MLB Debut: 1938-09-23 | Final Game: 1945-09-30

Bats: R | Throws: R | Height: 5'9" | Weight: 178 lbs

Full name: Stephen Mathias Mesner

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Biography

Steve Mesner was a professional baseball player who played as a position player from 1938 until his retirement in 1945. Born in 1918, Mesner's career unfolded during a transformative era in baseball, marked by the impact of World War II and the shifting dynamics of the game. Over the course of his career, he appeared in 451 games, showcasing his skills primarily as an outfielder and infielder. Mesner recorded a total of 397 hits, achieving a batting average of .252. His offensive contributions included 2 home runs and 167 RBIs, while he also demonstrated a measure of speed on the basepaths with 11 stolen bases. Despite the challenges of playing during wartime, when many star athletes were enlisted, Mesner's consistent performance solidified his role as a reliable contributor to his teams. His career, spanning just seven seasons, reflected the determination and resilience of players of his time, leaving a lasting impact on the franchises he represented.

Negro Leagues Career Statistics

Batting

PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
12.0 10.0 5.0 5.0 1.0 0 1.0 3.0 2.0 0 0 0.500 0.583 0.900 1.483

Negro Leagues Season-by-Season Batting

Season PA AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB BA OBP SLG OPS
1937 9.0 7.0 4.0 4.0 1.0 0 1.0 3.0 2.0 0 0 0.571 0.667 1.143 1.810
1943 3.0 3.0 1.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.333 0.333 0.333 0.666

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
451 1574 153 397 67 6 2 167 11 121 69 0.252 0.308 0.306 0.614 -2875.1

Career AVG .252 vs. league average .265 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OBP .308 vs. league average .333 across their career seasons — 7.5% below league average.

Career SLG .306 vs. league average .370 across their career seasons — 17.1% below league average.

Career OPS 0.614 vs. league average 0.702 across their career seasons — 12.6% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1938 CHC NL 2 4 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.250 — — — — 0.0
1939 CHC NL 17 43 7 12 4 0 0 6 0 3 4 0.279 — — — — 0.0
1941 STL NL 24 69 8 10 1 0 0 10 0 5 6 0.145 .262 (-45%) .332 (-39%) .373 (-57%) .705 (-49%) -548.4
1943 CIN NL 137 504 53 137 26 1 0 52 6 26 20 0.272 .255 (+6%) .324 (-5%) .346 (-5%) .671 (-5%) -592.0
1944 CIN NL 121 414 31 100 17 4 1 47 1 34 20 0.242 .261 (-8%) .325 (-8%) .357 (-14%) .683 (-11%) -848.3
1945 CIN NL 150 540 52 137 19 1 1 52 4 52 18 0.254 .260 (-3%) .328 (-2%) .354 (-16%) .683 (-9%) -886.5

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 4 0 6 7 0 2
3B 421 0 446 891 61 93
SS 13 0 12 41 5 7

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1938 CHN SS 1 0 0 2 1 0
1939 CHN 2B 1 0 3 4 0 1
1939 CHN 3B 1 0 1 0 0 0
1939 CHN SS 12 0 12 39 4 7
1941 SLN 3B 22 0 23 45 3 8
1943 CIN 3B 130 0 132 274 24 29
1944 CIN 3B 120 0 120 246 19 21
1945 CIN 2B 3 0 3 3 0 1
1945 CIN 3B 148 0 170 326 15 35

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Second Base 4
Third Base 421
Shortstop 13