From nationalpastime.com:
January 20, 1931 "After being released by the Indians, Alabama native Joe Sewell ends his career with the Yankees, hitting .282 during his three-year tenure with New York. The 33-year-old third infielder, who holds the record for consecutive games without recording a strikeout, at 115, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee as a player in 1977."
============================================================================================
Baseball’s Mr. Contact: Joe Sewell and His Incredible 4-Strikeout Season
https://medium.com/top-level-sports/...n-b663fd138de2
Excerpts from the medium.com article:
"Hall-of-Fame Infielder Joe Sewell struck out just four times in 699 plate appearances in 1925"
"Baseball Hall-of-Fame shortstop and third baseman Joe Sewell was a good defender, who hit .312 during a 14-year big league career. However, he is perhaps best known for his aversion to strikeouts, as he whiffed a microscopic 114 times in 8,333 plate appearances."
"The 5’6” left-handed hitting Sewell played his first 11 seasons (1920–1930) with the Cleveland Indians, starring as a consistent offensive force in the infield. He spent his final years (1931–1934) with the New York Yankees before retiring at the age of 34. In addition to his .312 average, he belted 436 doubles, 49 home runs and drove in 1,054 runs."
"In 1925, while with the Indians, he hit .336 and came to the plate 699 times, only striking out a total of four times. No other batter in MLB history has ever put the ball in play at a higher rate. But what were the nature of those strikeouts and who claimed the honor of sitting down the man who seemingly always put his bat on the ball?"
"During the final nine years of his career, Sewell never struck out more than nine times in any one season, and a grand total of just 48 times despite being a full-time player. He had seasons where he struck out just four times each in 1929 and 1933, but both came with fewer plate appearances than 1925. He was the greatest contact hitter the game has ever seen and his ability to avoid the whiff is a feat that will never be matched."
============================================================================================
JOE SEWELL STATS
https://www.baseball-almanac.com/pla...hp?p=seweljo01
Excerpts from the www.baseball-almanac.com article:
"Joe Sewell was named one of the 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians Players ever"
"Joe Sewell played his entire Major League career using only one bat, which he kept in shape by rubbing with a Coke bottle and seasoning with chewing tobacco! The nearly impossible to strikeout king - one bat wonder - holds the following unbreakable (in our opinion) records still to this day:
Fewest Strikeouts in a Career
Fewest Strikeouts in a Season (4 in 1925 and tied his own record with 4 in 1929)
Fewest Strikeouts in a Season by a Lefthander (s/a above)
Most Consecutive Games Without a Strikeout (115 in 1929)"
============================================================================================
JOE SEWELL
https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/sewell-joe
Excerpts from the baseballhall.org article:
"Joseph Wheeler Sewell
Inducted to the Hall of Fame in: 1977
Primary team: Cleveland Indians
Primary position: Shortstop"
"Keep your eye on the ball. It’s one of the most basic tenets of hitting, stressed from the first time a young player picks up a bat. Joe Sewell, however, took it to another level."
“When I was a boy I’d walk around with a pocket full of rocks or a Coca-Cola top,” Sewell said, “and I can’t remember not being able to hit them with a broomstick handle.”
"Sewell’s big league career was born out of one of the game’s tragedies. After Indians shortstop Ray Chapman died after being struck by a pitch from the Yankees’ Carl Mays in August 1920, Sewell was called up from the minors. The 21-year-old Sewell played in just 92 minor league games before his big league debut, yet he settled in immediately and helped the Indians win the 1920 World Series title."
"Sewell was also known for using only a single bat through his entire career, a 40-ouncer he dubbed “Black Betsy.”
"In the field, Sewell led American League shortstops in fielding percentage three times and finished in the Top 5 six times. He shifted to third base in 1929 and, after signing with the Yankees in 1931, was the regular third baseman for the Yankees club that won the 1932 World Series."
"Ted (Williams) said he could see the ball leave his bat and I could too. I did that from the first day until I finished and that’s the reason why I didn’t strike out much." -- Joe Sewell
============================================================================================
Joe Sewell
https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/joe-sewell/
Excerpts from the sabr.org article:
"Opportunity from horrifying tragedy: That was what the death of Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman presented to 21-year-old Joseph Wheeler Sewell in the late summer of 1920. Chapman, a stellar shortstop for the contending Indians, died on August 17 after being struck in the head by a pitched baseball, and Cleveland had replaced him with second year shortstop Harry Lunte. On September 6, when Lunte pulled a leg muscle that left him unable to play, the Indians purchased Sewell’s contract from the New Orleans Pelicans of the Class A Southern Association. Sewell’s professional experience at the time amounted to 346 at-bats, yet out of necessity he was inserted into the middle of the infield of a team that was competing for the American League pennant."
"Sewell debuted on September 10, 1920, against the New York Yankees, going 0-2 at the plate. His arrival was expected to stabilize the infield, and despite his 15 errors in 22 games, 10 hits in his first 24 opportunities provided and unanticipated offensive bonus. The team capped Sewell’s first season with World Series win over Brooklyn, and Cleveland’s double play tandem of Bill Wambsganss and Sewell was set for the next three years. It proved to be the opening foray of what would become a Hall of Fame career for the shortstop."
“I’ve often wondered what my life would have been like if a ball hadn’t gotten away from Carl Mays,” Sewell said decades later. “…Because the moment that ball left Carl Mays’ hand, my life began to change.”
"Sewell was a left-handed batter, but threw right handed, and was so new to the professional game that he did not even own a decent bat. The day Sewell debuted, September 10, 1920, new teammate George Burns gave him a black forty-ounce bat to use. Sewell never broke that bat, and cared for it to the point of coddling what he called “Black Betsy” for the rest of his career. The bat is still displayed at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum in Birmingham."
"He said the secret to making contact was simple: Keep your eye on the ball—“and it sure isn’t much of a secret, is it?” Sewell, like Ted Williams, insisted he could see his bat hit the ball."
"On January 24 the New York Yankees signed the infielder to play third base and assigned him to room with star first baseman Lou Gehrig. Sewell played well in pinstripes, batting .302 in130 games for the Yankees in 1931, but he dropped to .272 and .273 for the next two seasons, which was about average for that era. Still, he refused to give in to pitchers. In 1932 Sewell struck out only three times, a rate of 167.7 at-bats per strikeout, still the major league record. On September 24, 1933, Sewell played his final major league game. Four months later, the Yankees released him."
"Sewell’s success, in retrospect, was improbable at best. The son of a doctor, he grew up in a family in which the expectation was that he would become a physician himself. He was undersized and spent only part of one season developing his skills in the minor leagues, yet his durability and batting eye were better than that of almost every other player in the history of the game. His career batting average was .312, and he used his 2,226 hits (of which only 49 were home runs) to drive in 1,055 runs, and he scored 1,141 times. His career mark of one strikeout per 63 at-bats remains an almost unassailable major-league record as of 2011."
"Sewell was on the field for two of the most memorable moments in the annals of the game. On October 10, 1920, the 22-year-old Sewell was playing shortstop when Cleveland second baseman Bill Wambsganss recorded the only unassisted triple play ever in World Series play. Twelve years later, and now batting for the New York Yankees, Sewell was in the lineup with Babe Ruth when the Bambino hit his “called shot” off Charlie Root in Game Three of the World Series. Whether Ruth called his shot is still debated, but Sewell declared, “I don’t care what anybody says, he did it.”
"On March 6, 1990, Joe Sewell passed away in Mobile, Alabama...Twenty years after his death, the name of Joe Sewell is still associated with excellence and character."
============================================================================================
From the Archives: Harry Lunte—The Man Who Tried to Replace Ray Chapman
https://seamheads.com/blog/2017/11/1...e-harry-lunte/
Excerpts from the seamheads.com article:
"When play was restored Harry Lunte, a little-used 27-year-old shortstop, entered the game to run for Chapman...Lunte became the Indians starting shortstop, not because he was the best candidate but because he was the only candidate...Joe Sewell, who would eventually take over at shortstop for Cleveland, was stuck in New Orleans and was being held hostage by a manager who was refusing to let his prize player go until the Southern Association season ended on September 18. So the job was Lunte’s."
“That riding the bench is the toughest job of all,” he told the Cleveland Press‘ Ed Bang. “I want to get in and play. It’s so much easier to be doing something you like to do than to be always wishing for a chance.” His chance finally came on August 18, 1920 in Cleveland’s first game since Chapman was beaned."
"The Washington Post reported, “The fans paid tribute to Chapman’s memory by applauding Lunte his successor, when he first came to bat.” And so it went with each new stop on their road trip. Seventeen thousand spectators showed up at Fenway Park for an August 21 doubleheader to show their sympathies to the Indians and to applaud Lunte in a show of support. Senators fans did the same when the Indians played in Washington. When the Tribe finally returned home to Cleveland on September 3, Lunte received three standing ovations after making a handful of outstanding plays in a game against the Tigers."
"Sewell made his debut on September 10 with the Indians holding a one-game lead over the White Sox and a game and a half cushion over the Yankees. He played in the season’s final 22 games and was atrocious in the field, committing 15 errors and fielding at an .884 clip. But he was fantastic at the plate, batting .329 with a .413 on base average, scoring 14 runs and driving in 12. The Harry Lunte era in Cleveland was over."
"His baseball career apparently came to an end following the 1926 season for he dropped completely off the radar after that."
"Lunte died in his home town of St. Louis on July 27, 1965 at the age of 72."
============================================================================================
Related nyyfansforum article:
August 16, 1920: Ray Chapman; The Only On-Field Fatality In MLB History
https://nyyfansforum.sny.tv/forum/fo...in-mlb-history
January 20, 1931 "After being released by the Indians, Alabama native Joe Sewell ends his career with the Yankees, hitting .282 during his three-year tenure with New York. The 33-year-old third infielder, who holds the record for consecutive games without recording a strikeout, at 115, will be inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Veteran's Committee as a player in 1977."
============================================================================================
Baseball’s Mr. Contact: Joe Sewell and His Incredible 4-Strikeout Season
https://medium.com/top-level-sports/...n-b663fd138de2
Excerpts from the medium.com article:
"Hall-of-Fame Infielder Joe Sewell struck out just four times in 699 plate appearances in 1925"
"Baseball Hall-of-Fame shortstop and third baseman Joe Sewell was a good defender, who hit .312 during a 14-year big league career. However, he is perhaps best known for his aversion to strikeouts, as he whiffed a microscopic 114 times in 8,333 plate appearances."
"The 5’6” left-handed hitting Sewell played his first 11 seasons (1920–1930) with the Cleveland Indians, starring as a consistent offensive force in the infield. He spent his final years (1931–1934) with the New York Yankees before retiring at the age of 34. In addition to his .312 average, he belted 436 doubles, 49 home runs and drove in 1,054 runs."
"In 1925, while with the Indians, he hit .336 and came to the plate 699 times, only striking out a total of four times. No other batter in MLB history has ever put the ball in play at a higher rate. But what were the nature of those strikeouts and who claimed the honor of sitting down the man who seemingly always put his bat on the ball?"
"During the final nine years of his career, Sewell never struck out more than nine times in any one season, and a grand total of just 48 times despite being a full-time player. He had seasons where he struck out just four times each in 1929 and 1933, but both came with fewer plate appearances than 1925. He was the greatest contact hitter the game has ever seen and his ability to avoid the whiff is a feat that will never be matched."
============================================================================================
JOE SEWELL STATS
https://www.baseball-almanac.com/pla...hp?p=seweljo01
Excerpts from the www.baseball-almanac.com article:
"Joe Sewell was named one of the 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians Players ever"
"Joe Sewell played his entire Major League career using only one bat, which he kept in shape by rubbing with a Coke bottle and seasoning with chewing tobacco! The nearly impossible to strikeout king - one bat wonder - holds the following unbreakable (in our opinion) records still to this day:
Fewest Strikeouts in a Career
Fewest Strikeouts in a Season (4 in 1925 and tied his own record with 4 in 1929)
Fewest Strikeouts in a Season by a Lefthander (s/a above)
Most Consecutive Games Without a Strikeout (115 in 1929)"
============================================================================================
JOE SEWELL
https://baseballhall.org/hall-of-famers/sewell-joe
Excerpts from the baseballhall.org article:
"Joseph Wheeler Sewell
Inducted to the Hall of Fame in: 1977
Primary team: Cleveland Indians
Primary position: Shortstop"
"Keep your eye on the ball. It’s one of the most basic tenets of hitting, stressed from the first time a young player picks up a bat. Joe Sewell, however, took it to another level."
“When I was a boy I’d walk around with a pocket full of rocks or a Coca-Cola top,” Sewell said, “and I can’t remember not being able to hit them with a broomstick handle.”
"Sewell’s big league career was born out of one of the game’s tragedies. After Indians shortstop Ray Chapman died after being struck by a pitch from the Yankees’ Carl Mays in August 1920, Sewell was called up from the minors. The 21-year-old Sewell played in just 92 minor league games before his big league debut, yet he settled in immediately and helped the Indians win the 1920 World Series title."
"Sewell was also known for using only a single bat through his entire career, a 40-ouncer he dubbed “Black Betsy.”
"In the field, Sewell led American League shortstops in fielding percentage three times and finished in the Top 5 six times. He shifted to third base in 1929 and, after signing with the Yankees in 1931, was the regular third baseman for the Yankees club that won the 1932 World Series."
"Ted (Williams) said he could see the ball leave his bat and I could too. I did that from the first day until I finished and that’s the reason why I didn’t strike out much." -- Joe Sewell
============================================================================================
Joe Sewell
https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/joe-sewell/
Excerpts from the sabr.org article:
"Opportunity from horrifying tragedy: That was what the death of Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman presented to 21-year-old Joseph Wheeler Sewell in the late summer of 1920. Chapman, a stellar shortstop for the contending Indians, died on August 17 after being struck in the head by a pitched baseball, and Cleveland had replaced him with second year shortstop Harry Lunte. On September 6, when Lunte pulled a leg muscle that left him unable to play, the Indians purchased Sewell’s contract from the New Orleans Pelicans of the Class A Southern Association. Sewell’s professional experience at the time amounted to 346 at-bats, yet out of necessity he was inserted into the middle of the infield of a team that was competing for the American League pennant."
"Sewell debuted on September 10, 1920, against the New York Yankees, going 0-2 at the plate. His arrival was expected to stabilize the infield, and despite his 15 errors in 22 games, 10 hits in his first 24 opportunities provided and unanticipated offensive bonus. The team capped Sewell’s first season with World Series win over Brooklyn, and Cleveland’s double play tandem of Bill Wambsganss and Sewell was set for the next three years. It proved to be the opening foray of what would become a Hall of Fame career for the shortstop."
“I’ve often wondered what my life would have been like if a ball hadn’t gotten away from Carl Mays,” Sewell said decades later. “…Because the moment that ball left Carl Mays’ hand, my life began to change.”
"Sewell was a left-handed batter, but threw right handed, and was so new to the professional game that he did not even own a decent bat. The day Sewell debuted, September 10, 1920, new teammate George Burns gave him a black forty-ounce bat to use. Sewell never broke that bat, and cared for it to the point of coddling what he called “Black Betsy” for the rest of his career. The bat is still displayed at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame Museum in Birmingham."
"He said the secret to making contact was simple: Keep your eye on the ball—“and it sure isn’t much of a secret, is it?” Sewell, like Ted Williams, insisted he could see his bat hit the ball."
"On January 24 the New York Yankees signed the infielder to play third base and assigned him to room with star first baseman Lou Gehrig. Sewell played well in pinstripes, batting .302 in130 games for the Yankees in 1931, but he dropped to .272 and .273 for the next two seasons, which was about average for that era. Still, he refused to give in to pitchers. In 1932 Sewell struck out only three times, a rate of 167.7 at-bats per strikeout, still the major league record. On September 24, 1933, Sewell played his final major league game. Four months later, the Yankees released him."
"Sewell’s success, in retrospect, was improbable at best. The son of a doctor, he grew up in a family in which the expectation was that he would become a physician himself. He was undersized and spent only part of one season developing his skills in the minor leagues, yet his durability and batting eye were better than that of almost every other player in the history of the game. His career batting average was .312, and he used his 2,226 hits (of which only 49 were home runs) to drive in 1,055 runs, and he scored 1,141 times. His career mark of one strikeout per 63 at-bats remains an almost unassailable major-league record as of 2011."
"Sewell was on the field for two of the most memorable moments in the annals of the game. On October 10, 1920, the 22-year-old Sewell was playing shortstop when Cleveland second baseman Bill Wambsganss recorded the only unassisted triple play ever in World Series play. Twelve years later, and now batting for the New York Yankees, Sewell was in the lineup with Babe Ruth when the Bambino hit his “called shot” off Charlie Root in Game Three of the World Series. Whether Ruth called his shot is still debated, but Sewell declared, “I don’t care what anybody says, he did it.”
"On March 6, 1990, Joe Sewell passed away in Mobile, Alabama...Twenty years after his death, the name of Joe Sewell is still associated with excellence and character."
============================================================================================
From the Archives: Harry Lunte—The Man Who Tried to Replace Ray Chapman
https://seamheads.com/blog/2017/11/1...e-harry-lunte/
Excerpts from the seamheads.com article:
"When play was restored Harry Lunte, a little-used 27-year-old shortstop, entered the game to run for Chapman...Lunte became the Indians starting shortstop, not because he was the best candidate but because he was the only candidate...Joe Sewell, who would eventually take over at shortstop for Cleveland, was stuck in New Orleans and was being held hostage by a manager who was refusing to let his prize player go until the Southern Association season ended on September 18. So the job was Lunte’s."
“That riding the bench is the toughest job of all,” he told the Cleveland Press‘ Ed Bang. “I want to get in and play. It’s so much easier to be doing something you like to do than to be always wishing for a chance.” His chance finally came on August 18, 1920 in Cleveland’s first game since Chapman was beaned."
"The Washington Post reported, “The fans paid tribute to Chapman’s memory by applauding Lunte his successor, when he first came to bat.” And so it went with each new stop on their road trip. Seventeen thousand spectators showed up at Fenway Park for an August 21 doubleheader to show their sympathies to the Indians and to applaud Lunte in a show of support. Senators fans did the same when the Indians played in Washington. When the Tribe finally returned home to Cleveland on September 3, Lunte received three standing ovations after making a handful of outstanding plays in a game against the Tigers."
"Sewell made his debut on September 10 with the Indians holding a one-game lead over the White Sox and a game and a half cushion over the Yankees. He played in the season’s final 22 games and was atrocious in the field, committing 15 errors and fielding at an .884 clip. But he was fantastic at the plate, batting .329 with a .413 on base average, scoring 14 runs and driving in 12. The Harry Lunte era in Cleveland was over."
"His baseball career apparently came to an end following the 1926 season for he dropped completely off the radar after that."
"Lunte died in his home town of St. Louis on July 27, 1965 at the age of 72."
============================================================================================
Related nyyfansforum article:
August 16, 1920: Ray Chapman; The Only On-Field Fatality In MLB History
https://nyyfansforum.sny.tv/forum/fo...in-mlb-history
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