Sewell, Joseph W.
Baseball
b. Oct. 9, 1898, Titus, AL
d. March 6, 1990
Sewell played baseball at the University of Alabama and entered professional ball after graduating in 1920. He spent most of the season with a minor-league team in New Orleans.
The Cleveland Indians, fighting for the AL pennant, suffered a tragic loss when shortstop Ray Chapman died after being hit in the head by a pitch. They paid New Orleans $8,000 for Sewell, who hit .329 during the last 22 games. Cleveland won the pennant and the World Series.
When he first arrived in the major leagues, Manager Tris Speaker advised him, "Just try to get a piece of the ball." Sewell was better at that than anyone else in baseball history.
The 5-foot-6½, 155-pounder, a left-handed hitter, choked up on a heavy 40-ounce bat and it was virtually impossible to strike him out. In 7,132 official at-bats, he struck out only 114 times, a record for a player with 14 or more seasons. He also set a major-league record for fewest strikeouts in a season with 4 in 1925, when he had 608 at-bats. He tied that in 1929, when he had 578 at-bats.
Sewell batted .353 in 1923 and led the AL with 45 doubles in 1924, when he hit .316. He had averages of .336, .324, .316, .323 and .315 during the next five seasons. He dropped to .289 in 1930 and was released by the Indians.
During his last two seasons with Cleveland, Sewell had played mostly at third base, and he remained at that position with the Yankees. He batted .302 in 1931, then had a .272 average and a career high 11 home runs in 1932, when the Yankees won the pennant. Sewell hit .333 in their four-game victory over the Chicago Cubs in the World Series.
He retired as a player after hitting .273 in 1933. Sewell was a coach with the Yankees for two years. He later served as a major-league scout and as baseball coach at his alma mater.
From late 1922 until early 1930, he played in 1,103 consecutive games, a record at the time.