| Joe Sewell | |
|---|---|
 Sewell,c. 1921 | |
| Shortstop /Third baseman | |
| Born:(1898-10-09)October 9, 1898 Titus, Alabama, U.S. | |
| Died: March 6, 1990(1990-03-06) (aged 91) Mobile, Alabama, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| September 10, 1920, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 24, 1933, for the New York Yankees | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .312 |
| Hits | 2,226 |
| Home runs | 49 |
| Runs batted in | 1,054 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| Member of the National | |
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |
| Induction | 1977 |
| Election method | Veterans Committee |
Joseph Wheeler Sewell (October 9, 1898 – March 6, 1990) was an American professionalbaseballinfielder who played inMajor League Baseball for theCleveland Indians andNew York Yankees from 1920 to 1933. He was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in1977.[1]
Sewell was a member of twoWorld Series-winning teams. He holds the record for the loweststrikeout rate in major league history, striking out on average only once every 73 plate appearances,[2] and the most consecutive games without a strikeout, at 115.
Joseph Wheeler Sewell was born on October 9, 1898, inTitus, Alabama.
Sewell attendedWetumpka High School inWetumpka, Alabama.[3] He lettered incollege football at theUniversity of Alabama in 1917, 1918, and 1919.[4] He led the school baseball team to four conference titles.
Sewell joined the minor league New Orleans Pelicans in 1920, where he played a partial season before being called up to the "big league".[5]
Sewell made his Major League debut mid-season in 1920 with theWorld Series champion Cleveland Indians shortly aftershortstopRay Chapman was killed by a pitch from the Yankees’ Carl Mays in August and became the team's full-time shortstop the following year.[1] An emerging star, Sewellbatted .318 with 101runs, 93RBIs and a .412on-base percentage in 1921.[6]
Sewell's patience and daily work ethic became his hallmarks over the following decade and a half. Playing with Cleveland until 1930 and the New York Yankees from 1931 to 1933, Sewell batted .312 with 1,141 runs, 1,054 RBI, 436doubles, 68triples, 49home runs, 842bases on balls and a .391 on-base percentage. He regularly scored 90 or more runs a season and twice topped the 100 RBI plateau in 1923 and '24. He hit a career-high 11 home runs in 1932.[6]
Sewell struck out 114 times in 7,132 career at-bats for an average of one strikeout every 62.5 at-bats, second only toWillie Keeler (63.1). He also holds the modern single-season record for fewest strikeouts over a full season, with 3, set in 1932. Sewell also had 3 strikeouts in 1930, albeit in just 353 at-bats (as opposed to 503 in his record-setting year), as well as three other full seasons (1925, 1929, 1933) with 4 strikeouts. He struck out ten or more times in only four seasons, and his higheststrikeout total was 20, during the 1922 season. For his 1925–1933 seasons, Sewell struck out 4, 6, 7, 9, 4, 3, 8, 3, and 4 times. He also holds the record for consecutive games without recording a strikeout, at 115.
Sewell also played in 1,103 consecutive games, which to that point was second only toEverett Scott.
His 167.7 at-bats per strikeout in 1932 is still a single-season record.
According to hisobituary published inThe New York Times, he played his entire Major League career using only one bat (a 40-ouncer he dubbed "Black Betsy."),[1] which he kept in shape by rubbing with aCoke bottle and seasoning withchewing tobacco.[5]
Sewell played in two World Series, in1920 and1932, winning both times. His 1977 induction into theBaseball Hall of Fame was by the Veterans Committee. In 1981,Lawrence Ritter andDonald Honig included him in their bookThe 100 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time. (He joined the Indians' roster after September 1 in 1920 and normally would not have been eligible to participate in post-season play, butWilbert Robinson, manager of theBrooklyn Robins, waived the rule because of the circumstances with Chapman.)
Two of his brothers,Luke andTommy, also played major league baseball. Tommy played in one game with the Chicago Cubs in 1927, and Luke played for four teams over 20 years and, as manager of the St. Louis Browns, led the team to its only pennant in 1944.[5] His cousinRip Sewell was a major leaguepitcher credited with inventing theeephus pitch.
Joe Sewell was a member ofPi Kappa Phi fraternity.Sewell-Thomas Stadium, the baseball stadium at theUniversity of Alabama, is named in his honor and is nicknamed byCrimson Tide fans as "The Joe".[3] After his retirement, Sewell worked as a public relations man for a dairy and was a major league scout.[5]
In 1964, at the age of 66, he became the Alabama baseball coach, achieving a 114–99 record in seven seasons.[5]
One of his pitchers was future NFL standout, Alabama quarterback and 1966 MLB 10th round draftee (Yankees)Ken "The Snake" Stabler.[7]
Sewell died on March 6, 1990, aged 91, inMobile, Alabama. He was the last surviving member of the 1920 World Champion Cleveland Indians.[8]
Posthumously, Sewell's community (Elmore County) has established a scholarship award recognizing local high school seniors who exhibit Christian character, leadership in their community, strong academic standing, and athletic achievements. Sewell graduated from Wetumpka High School in 1916.[3]
