Rip Sewell Stats

Rip Sewell was born on Saturday, May 11, 1907, in Decatur, Alabama. Sewell was 25 years old when he broke into the big leagues on June 14, 1932, with the Detroit Tigers. His biographical data, year-by-year hitting stats, fielding stats, pitching stats (where applicable), career totals, uniform numbers, salary data and miscellaneous items-of-interest are presented by Baseball Almanac on this comprehensive Rip Sewell baseball stats page.

Baseball Almanac Top Quote

"(Dick) Wakefield started to swing, then he stopped, and then he swung again and almost fell down when he missed. After the game, when everybody stopped laughing (Frankie) Frisch wanted to know what I called the pitch and Maurice Van Robays, an outfielder, said 'that's an eephus ball.' 'What's an eephus?' I asked him. 'Eephus ain't nuthin.' So it was always eephus after that." - Rip Sewell in The Boston Globe (July 12, 1981, The Eephus?, Sports Section: Page 3)

Rip Sewell

Rip Sewell Autograph on a 1989 Pacific Trading Baseball Card (#202)

Rip Sewell Autograph on a 1989 Pacific Trading Baseball Card (#202)

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Birth Name:   Truett Banks Sewell
Nickname:   Rip
Born On:   05-11-1907  (Taurus)
Place of Birth Data Born In:   Decatur, Alabama
Year of Death Data Died On:   09-03-1989 (1,000 Oldest Living)
Place of Death Data Died In:   Plant City, Florida
Cemetery:   Memorial Park, Plant City, Florida
High School:   Undetermined
College:   Vanderbilt University
Batting Stances Chart Bats:   Left   Throwing Arms Chart Throws:   Right
Player Height Chart Height:   6-01   Player Weight Chart Weight:   180
First Game:   06-14-1932 (Age 25)
Last Game:   09-18-1949
Draft:   Not Applicable

Rip Sewell

Rip Sewell Pitching Stats

1932 25 Tigers 5 0 3 0 0 .000 12.66 0 0 0 10.2 59 19 15 15 2 8 0 2 0 0 0 -
1938 31 Pirates 17 0 11 0 1 .000 4.23 0 0 1 38.1 176 41 18 27 3 21 2 17 3 2 0 -
1939 32 Pirates 52 12 20 10 9 .526 4.08 5 1 2 176.1 763 177 80 93 10 73 5 69 1 1 0 -
1940 33 Pirates 33 23 3 16 5 .762 2.80 14 2 1 189.2 790 169 59 71 6 67 6 60 2 3 0 -
1941 34 Pirates 39 32 7 14 17 .452 3.72 18 2 2 249.0 1,055 225 103 126 18 84 7 76 8 3 0 -
1942 35 Pirates 40 33 7 17 15 .531 3.41 18 5 2 248.0 1,067 259 94 117 13 72 4 69 4 2 0 -
1943 36 Pirates 35 31 4 21 9 .700 2.54 25 2 3 265.1 1,113 267 75 94 6 75 12 65 2 2 1 -
1944 37 Pirates 38 33 4 21 12 .636 3.18 24 3 2 286.0 1,218 263 101 112 15 99 8 87 1 3 1 -
1945 38 Pirates 33 24 7 11 9 .550 4.07 9 1 1 188.0 863 212 85 116 9 91 15 60 5 2 0 -
1946 39 Pirates 25 20 2 8 12 .400 3.68 11 2 0 149.1 641 140 61 68 6 53 7 33 2 1 0 -
1947 40 Pirates 24 12 8 6 4 .600 3.57 4 1 0 121.0 504 121 48 58 11 36 8 36 1 3 0 -
1948 41 Pirates 21 17 3 13 3 .813 3.48 7 0 0 121.2 522 126 47 51 9 37 2 36 1 1 0 -
1949 42 Pirates 28 6 9 6 1 .857 3.91 2 1 1 76.0 330 82 33 35 8 32 2 26 0 0 0 -
13 Years 390 243 88 143 97 .596 3.48 137 20 15 2,119.1 9,101 2,101 819 983 116 748 78 636 30 23 2 -

Rip Sewell

Rip Sewell Hitting Stats

1932 25 Tigers 5 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 .500 .500 .500
1938 31 Pirates 17 12 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 .083 .083 .083
1939 32 Pirates 52 55 5 11 1 0 1 0 4 3 0 11 4 0 0 1 .200 .241 .273
1940 33 Pirates 47 73 14 14 2 1 1 0 4 3 0 19 1 0 0 1 .192 .224 .288
1941 34 Pirates 42 92 12 16 2 0 1 0 5 3 0 15 4 0 0 4 .174 .200 .228
1942 35 Pirates 41 87 9 13 3 0 0 0 4 3 0 19 1 0 0 2 .149 .178 .184
1943 36 Pirates 41 105 9 30 4 1 0 0 17 2 0 21 1 0 0 2 .286 .299 .343
1944 37 Pirates 44 112 10 25 4 1 1 0 12 2 0 19 2 0 0 1 .223 .237 .304
1945 38 Pirates 35 64 10 20 3 0 0 0 6 7 0 11 1 0 0 1 .313 .380 .359
1946 39 Pirates 26 50 4 9 2 0 0 0 1 4 0 12 2 0 0 4 .180 .241 .220
1947 40 Pirates 24 40 2 5 0 0 1 0 4 1 0 6 0 0 0 3 .125 .146 .200
1948 41 Pirates 21 42 5 6 1 0 1 0 2 6 0 15 1 0 0 0 .143 .250 .238
1949 42 Pirates 28 16 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 4 2 0 1 0 .063 .250 .063
13 Years 423 750 81 152 22 3 6 0 59 37 0 154 19 0 1 20 .203 .241 .264

Rip Sewell

Rip Sewell Fielding Stats

1932 Tigers P 5 0 32 4 0.8 4 1 3 0 0 n/a n/a n/a 1.000 3.38
1938 Pirates P 17 0 115 14 0.8 13 0 13 1 3 n/a n/a n/a .929 3.05
1939 Pirates P 52 12 529 57 1.1 56 9 47 1 3 n/a n/a n/a .982 2.86
1940 Pirates P 33 23 569 68 2.1 63 17 46 5 0 n/a n/a n/a .926 2.99
1941 Pirates P 39 32 747 79 2.0 77 21 56 2 6 n/a n/a n/a .975 2.78
1942 Pirates P 40 33 744 72 1.8 70 19 51 2 3 n/a n/a n/a .972 2.54
1943 Pirates P 35 31 796 77 2.2 73 13 60 4 4 n/a n/a n/a .948 2.48
1944 Pirates P 38 33 858 74 1.9 70 21 49 4 1 n/a n/a n/a .946 2.20
1945 Pirates P 33 24 564 46 1.4 45 10 35 1 2 n/a n/a n/a .978 2.15
1946 Pirates P 25 20 448 36 1.4 34 8 26 2 1 n/a n/a n/a .944 2.05
1947 Pirates P 24 12 363 37 1.5 36 10 26 1 3 n/a n/a n/a .973 2.68
1948 Pirates P 21 17 365 34 1.6 31 10 21 3 1 n/a n/a n/a .912 2.29
1949 Pirates P 28 6 228 17 0.6 15 3 12 2 0 n/a n/a n/a .882 1.78
P Totals 390 243 6,358 615 1.6 587 142 445 28 27 n/a n/a n/a .954 2.49
13 Years 390 243 6,358 615 1.6 587 142 445 28 27 n/a n/a n/a .954 2.49

Rip Sewell

Rip Sewell Miscellaneous Stats

1932 Tigers 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 2.0 0.0 0.25 1.69 6.75
1938 Pirates 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 12.0 0.0 0.81 3.99 4.93
1939 Pirates 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 55.0 5.0 13.8 0.95 3.52 3.73
1940 Pirates 0 0 .000 0 14 n/a 73.0 3.8 18.3 0.90 2.85 3.18
1941 Pirates 0 0 .000 0 3 n/a 92.0 6.1 18.4 0.90 2.75 3.04
1942 Pirates 2 1 .667 0 2 n/a 0.0 4.6 21.8 0.96 2.50 2.61
1943 Pirates 7 0 1.000 2 5 n/a 0.0 5.0 6.2 0.87 2.20 2.54
1944 Pirates 1 0 1.000 1 5 n/a 112.0 5.9 9.3 0.88 2.74 3.12
1945 Pirates 1 0 1.000 0 2 n/a 0.0 5.8 10.7 0.66 2.87 4.36
1946 Pirates 1 0 1.000 0 1 n/a 0.0 4.2 50.0 0.62 1.99 3.19
1947 Pirates 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 40.0 6.7 10.0 1.00 2.68 2.68
1948 Pirates 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 42.0 2.8 21.0 0.97 2.66 2.74
1949 Pirates 0 0 .000 0 0 n/a 0.0 4.0 0.0 0.81 3.08 3.79
13 Years 12 1 .923 3 32 n/a 125.0 4.9 12.7 0.85 2.70 3.18

Rip Sewell

Rip Sewell Miscellaneous Items of Interest

1932 Detroit Tigers 22 $1,800.00 n/a -
1938 Pittsburgh Pirates 44 Undetermined - -
1939 Pittsburgh Pirates 44 Undetermined - -
1940 Pittsburgh Pirates 30 Undetermined - -
1941 Pittsburgh Pirates 30 Undetermined - -
1942 Pittsburgh Pirates 30 Undetermined - -
1943 Pittsburgh Pirates 30 $16,000.00 Stats -
1944 Pittsburgh Pirates 30 $21,000.00 Stats -
1945 Pittsburgh Pirates 30 $21,000.00 n/a -
1946 Pittsburgh Pirates 30 Undetermined Stats -
1947 Pittsburgh Pirates 30 Undetermined - -
1948 Pittsburgh Pirates 30 Undetermined - -
1949 Pittsburgh Pirates 30 Undetermined - -

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Truett Banks Sewell was a Major League Baseball player who pitched for the Detroit Tigers (1932) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1938–1949). Rip, his nickname, was sent to four consecutive All-Star Games (1943, 1944, 1945, 1946) and is credited with inventing the "Eephus Pitch."

Rip Sewell led the National League in complete games and wins in 1943, winning percentage in 1948, and won 20-or-more games in back-to-back seasons (1943-1944). During that time, Sewell relied heavily on his blooper pitch, a high arcing (often above 20 feet) delivery he developed in 1942, after a hunting accident permanently damaged his big toe.

Rip Sewell: Born To Soon

MENTION THE NAME Rip Sewell to anyone who remembers when the city of New York had three baseball teams and the mind becomes a rampaging flood of memories. The Eephus Pitch ... The All-Star Game ... July 9, 1946 ... Fenway Park, Boston ... Ted Williams ... Forty years have passed, but Rip Sewell remembers the sequence of events like it was yesterday. In a flash, he is transported back that hot July afternoon.

"I wasn't expecting to pitch because I had a sore elbow," Sewell recalled. "But it was the eighth inning and the American League was beating us 8-0, and Charley Grimm and Bill McKechnie came to me and said, 'Hey, Rip, would you go in and pitch an inning and wake this crowd up? They're going to start asking for their money back.'

"They told me to go down to the bullpen and warm up and I said I don't have to warm up, all I have to do is shake hands with the catcher and I'm ready."

Rip Sewell knew what National League manager Grimm and coach McKechnie wanted. They wanted him to throw the old Eephus Pitch. Some people called it a Blooper Pitch because Sewell tosse it toward the plate on a high, lazy arc, like a bloop hit to the outfield. He first threw (it) against Dick Wakefield of the Detroit Tigers in a spring training game. After the game, the writers asked him what he called this unique, special pitch.

"It's an Eephus Pitch," volunteered Sewell's Pirates teammate, outfielder Maurice Van Robays.

"What's an eephus?" asked one writer.

"Eephus ain't nothon," Van Robays explained. "And that pitch ain't nothin' either."

In Boston's Fenway Park that July 9, 1946, Snuffy Stirnweiss and Jack Kramer had singled and Stan Spence walked to load the bases against Sewell in the AL eighth. Sam Chapman drove in one run with a sacrifice fly and now Williams stepped to the plate, already having homered and singled twice.

"Hey, Rip," Williams shouted, "you ain't gonna throw that damn ball in a game like this, are you?"

"Yeah, boy," Sewell replied, "You're gonna get it."

"Ted was shaking his head 'no,'" Sewell remembers, "and I was nodding my head 'yes.' I threw him one blooper and he swing from Port Arthur and fouled it off. The second one was an inch outside and he took it. I threw a fastball for a strike and then I threw my Sunday blooper.

"Ted ran up three steps and hit it out of the ballpark. Actually, he was out of the batter's box when he hit it and if it was a regular game, Larry Goetz (plate ump) would have had to call him out for stepping out of the box. But it was only an exhibition and the crowd loved it. It was a terrific show. If I had $10 for every time they showed that film on the television, I'd be a rich man today."

Source of Excerpt: The Daily News. Phil Pepe. February 23, 1986. Page 52.



1946 All-Star Game: Ted Williams Homers Off Sewell's Eephus Pitch | MLB Advanced Media, L.P.

Did you know that Rip Sewell surrendered 116 home runs in regular season games, to sixty-eight batters, in ten different ballparks, but none of them ever homered off his blooper pitch?