Stefan Alexander Biras Jr (February 26, 1917 – April 21, 1965) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

second baseman In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the Infielder, infield, between Baseball field#Second base, second and Baseball field#First base, first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and f ...

who played for one season. He played for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

from September 15, 1944, to September 26, 1944. He was born on February 26, 1917, to Steve Biras Sr., a mechanic from

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. He was of Slovak descent. Biras originally played semi-pro baseball in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

before being signed by the Cleveland Indians. He played in only two games. He debuted on September 15, 1944, against the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

, pinch hitting for

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Ray Poat Raymond Willis Poat (December 19, 1917 – April 29, 1990) was an American professional baseball player native to Chicago. A right-handed pitcher, he played six Major League seasons, for the Cleveland Indians from 1942 to 1944, the New York Gian ...

in the fifth inning with Cleveland trailing 5–0. Against Detroit pitching ace, and 1944

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

Hal Newhouser Harold Newhouser (May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998), nicknamed "Prince Hal" and "Hurricane Hal," was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from 1939 to 1955, most notably for the Detroit Tige ...

, Biras singled in his first Major League at bat. This game would be Newhouser's 25th victory in a season in which he won 29 games. Biras' last game came on September 26 in an 8-3 loss to the Washington Senators. Biras came on as a substitute for

Ray Mack, and made one fielding

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

, one putout and one fielding assist for a

fielding average 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, di ...

of .667. In his lone at bat in the game, Biras hit a single off of Dutch Leonard, driving in two runners ( RBI's). After the 1944 season ended, he was assigned to the

Wilkes-Barre Barons The Wilkes-Barre Barons were a basketball team from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The Barons played between 1933 and 1980 in different United States, American sports league, leagues. The team won 11 titles during this time, including while playin ...

, but refused to report to the team. He instead returned to his semi-pro team in St. Louis, ending his professional career. Biras died on April 21, 1965, in

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, at the age of 48.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Biras, Steve 1917 births 1965 deaths Cleveland Indians players Major League Baseball infielders Baseball players from St. Clair County, Illinois People from East St. Louis, Illinois 20th-century American sportsmen