Dernell Stenson Spent Years Chasing His MLB Dream. Then Just 84 Days After Making His MLB Debut, He Was Murdered at 25
Dernell Stenson Spent Years Chasing His MLB Dream. Then Just 84 Days After Making His MLB Debut, He Was Murdered at 25
Lily BrownMon, August 24, 2026 at 3:00 PM UTC
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Dernell Stenson in 2002.Credit: Craig Ambrosio/Allsport/Getty -
Dernell Stenson spent years in the minor leagues before making his MLB debut with the Cincinnati Reds in 2003
Stenson was excelling in the Arizona Fall League when his promising career was tragically cut short
The Chattanooga Lookouts retired his No. 26 and MLB created an award in his honor after his death
For years, Dernell Stenson chased the dream shared by countless young baseball players: making it to the major leagues.
He finally got there in August 2003, when the Cincinnati Reds called up the 25-year-old outfielder. Stenson had spent years stuck in the minor leagues, including portions of four seasons in the Boston Red Sox organization, before getting his chance with Cincinnati.
His time in the majors was brief but promising. Stenson played 37 games for the Reds, batting .247 with three home runs and 13 RBIs. His final home run came on the last day of the 2003 regular season, giving Cincinnati its final run of the year.
Then, just over two months after his Major League debut, Stenson was dead.
His story is the focus of “A Future Cut Short,” the fifth episode of Investigation Discovery’s Game Day Murdersdocuseries, premiering Aug. 24.
Paw Sox manager Gary Jones (left) and Dernell Stenson.Credit: MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty
“Baseball takes a lot of mental toughness,” says Game Day Murders host Lindsay Czarniak in “A Future Cut Short.” “You don’t realize how difficult it is to actually get the call up to the Majors. For a guy like Dernell Stenson, that first Major League home run was like seeing the greatness to come. But as thrilling and amazing as this moment was, it is chilling to think he would be murdered two months later.”
Stenson was born June 17, 1978, in LaGrange, Ga., the youngest of eight children. At LaGrange High School, Stenson emerged as a standout baseball player and attracted the attention of Major League scouts. The Boston Red Sox selected him in the third round of the 1996 MLB draft, 91st overall.
Stenson moved quickly through the lower levels of the minors, but his path to the majors was hardly a straight line. He eventually reached Triple-A and spent parts of four seasons with Pawtucket, the Red Sox’ top minor league affiliate, before leaving the organization as a six-year minor league free agent.
In 2003, he officially signed with the Reds and immediately made a strong impression. Playing for Double-A Chattanooga, he hit .306 with 14 home runs and 76 RBIs in 101 games. He also spent time at Triple-A Louisville before Cincinnati finally gave him the call.
Dernell Stenson in 2001.Credit: Ezra Shaw/Allsport/Getty
On Aug. 13, 2003, Stenson made his Major League debut against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Just three days later, he collected three hits, including two doubles, in his first Major League start, against Houston. Later that season, he made three impressive catches in left field to help preserve a Reds victory over Montreal. On Sept. 28, in the final game of Cincinnati’s season, Stenson hit his third and final Major League home run.
He had every reason to believe there was more to come. So Stenson headed to Arizona to continue playing in the Arizona Fall League, an off-season league designed to showcase and develop some of baseball’s top young talent.
“Every organization after every season, they have a chance to send three to four representatives to the Arizona Fall League,” explains former MLB pitcher Mike Gallo in the episode. “You’re playing against the best of the best. You get asked to go, you go. That’s how pretty much everyone looks at the Fall League: if you put up numbers there, you got your badge to play at the big league level.”
Stenson was one of those players. He joined the Scottsdale Scorpions, with Gallo as a teammate, and was hitting .394 through 18 games. After finally reaching the majors, he appeared to be building momentum toward an even bigger role with the Reds the following season.
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Then came Nov. 5.
Just 84 days after he made his major league debut, Stenson was found dead on a residential street in Chandler, Ariz., after being shot and apparently run over. Police initially treated the case as a homicide. His body was discovered after authorities received a call around 1:45 a.m. reporting that shots had been fired. His 2002 Isuzu Rodeo was later found roughly 10 miles away.
“The crime started at one place at one time but has then moved a thousand yards to an entirely different location,” retired criminologist Erik Brown, who worked at the Chandler Police Department, explains. “Looking at the blood trail, what we pieced together was that they had to stop the vehicle and forcibly dislodge him from the vehicle before they drove off.”
The circumstances surrounding Stenson’s death would prove to be more complicated than an apparent carjacking.
Brown continues, “Every murder is obviously horrible, but this crime scene was just shocking. Any crime scene is complex, but this was essentially a nightmare. Documenting the condition of the body, there was damage to the face, to the right side. He was obviously scraped and obviously dragged for a long period of time. And there was a pretty obvious wound to the head of the individual, most likely from a hand gun.”
Dernell Stenson practicing before a Paw Sox game against Buffalo in 1999.Credit: MediaNews Group/Boston Herald/Getty
“There definitely was a trail of evidence along that roadway,” says Ivan Kaminsky, a retired detective who also worked for the Chandler Police Department. “There were casings that were all 380. There was fiber and biological debris for a long distance. Through a witness statement, we had a really detailed description on what the vehicle was that fled the scene.”
Four men were ultimately arrested, with robbery identified as the motive. Reginald Riddle and David Griffith were charged in connection with murder, kidnapping and armed robbery. Riddle eventually pleaded guilty to first-degree murder as part of a deal and was sentenced to life in prison, with the possibility of parole after 25 years. Griffith pleaded guilty to murder, armed robbery and kidnapping and was sentenced to life without parole.
Riddle’s half-brother Kevin Riddle was sentenced to eight years and nine months after pleading guilty to auto theft and hindering prosecution. A fourth man, Robert Maye, was ultimately cleared of charges after authorities determined he was a protected federal witness.
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The baseball world was stunned. The Arizona Fall League suspended play for two days following Stenson’s death. For the players who had been sharing a clubhouse with him in Scottsdale, the news was especially devastating.
“We had a day game that day,” Gallo recalls, before getting choked up. “We come in the clubhouse and everybody is not getting dressed. Did our game get canceled? What’s going on here? And I saw some law enforcement. At that point, my wheels start turning. I remember looking around, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘Everyone’s here.’ Then I look around at Dernell Stenson’s locker. I just remember it was empty. He wasn’t there.”
In 2004, the league established the Dernell Stenson Sportsmanship Award, honoring a player who demonstrates perseverance and humility. The Chattanooga Lookouts also retired his No. 26 in his honor.
The Dernell Stenson episode, “A Future Cut Short,” is now streaming on Investigation Discovery. New Game Day Murders episodes air weekly on ID and episodes are available to stream on HBO Max.
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Source: “AOL Sports”
