John Robert Stefero (born September 22, 1959 in Sumter, South Carolina) is a former Major League Baseball catcher. He played parts of three seasons in the majors between 1983 and 1987 for the Baltimore Orioles and the Montreal Expos.

Before John Stefero was 30 years old, his baseball statistics included 18 broken fingers, a fractured hand, and a cracked kneecap. “A catcher’s life,” he sighed. Over three major league seasons, the left-handed hitter also earned a World Series ring in 1983, standing ovations and curtain calls from his hometown fans, and enough memories and experiences for him to recall his time in the game as “very blessed”.

His father, John, Sr., grew up in Baltimore — where the younger Stefero would get his start in the majors. John Sr. attended Southern High School and played baseball a few years behind Al Kaline, the Hall of Famer who went straight from the school to the Detroit Tigers. One of the elder Stefero’s teammates was fellow outfielder Barry Shetrone, who signed with the Orioles after graduation. Stefero Sr. turned down his own chance to go pro, opting to join the Air Force instead.

John's major league career included just 79 games in three seasons. The catcher hit three home runs in his career and drove in a total of 20 runs.

John helped to cap an Oriole comeback on September 18, 1983. Eddie Murray hit a grand slam off Pete Ladd in a six-run eighth inning. The Orioles had been trailing 7-0. The Orioles won the game when John connected on a single in the ninth inning. the next night, on September 19th, he hit a bottom-of-the-11th run-scoring single to win the game for the Orioles. "I'm pumped up," Stefero told The Sun after the second game-winner. "It's kind of a one-in-a-million chance to get to do something like this … to come up here, and help a team like this … in front of my family and friends. It makes it very special."

John has worked at Brown's Automotive Group in Glen Burnie, Maryland since his retirement as an active player in 1990. He is currently its President/General Manager.

(excerpted from SABR, Baseball Almanac, BR Bullpen & Wikipedia)