Joe Sewell was born on Sunday, October 9, 1898, in Titus, Alabama. Sewell was 21 years old when he broke into the big leagues on September 10, 1920, with the Cleveland Indians. 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 Joe Sewell baseball stats page.
"The toughest batter in history to strike out, with just 114 strikeouts in 7,132 at-bats, Joe Sewell was a perennial .300 hitter over 14 seasons with the Yankees and Indians. In 1920, Cleveland summoned Sewell from the Minors to replace the late Ray Chapman at shortstop, and the rookie batted .329 down the stretch to lead the Indians to the pennant. A great contact hitter, his career rate of one strikeout for every 63 at-bats is by far the best in history, and his three strikeouts in 1932 are the fewest ever for a full season." - National Baseball Hall of Fame (05/19/2013, 'Joe Sewell', Source)
Joe Sewell![]() Joe Sewell Autograph on a 1961 Fleer Baseball Card (#76) |
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| Biographical Data | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Joe SewellJoe Sewell Pitching Stats |
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| Year | Age | Team | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD |
| - | - | Did Not Pitch | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Career | G | GS | GF | W | L | PCT | ERA | CG | SHO | SV | IP | BFP | H | ER | R | HR | BB | IBB | SO | WP | HB | BK | HLD | ||
Joe SewellJoe Sewell Hitting Stats |
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| Year | Age | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG |
| 1920 | 22 | Indians | 22 | 70 | 14 | 23 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 9 | - | 4 | 3 | - | 1 | - | .329 | .413 | .414 |
| 1921 | 23 | Indians | 154 | 572 | 101 | 182 | 36 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 93 | 80 | - | 17 | 20 | - | 11 | - | .318 | .412 | .444 |
| 1922 | 24 | Indians | 153 | 558 | 80 | 167 | 28 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 83 | 73 | - | 20 | 19 | - | 6 | - | .299 | .386 | .385 |
| 1923 | 25 | Indians | 153 | 553 | 98 | 195 | 41 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 109 | 98 | - | 12 | 24 | - | 7 | - | .353 | .456 | .479 |
| 1924 | 26 | Indians | 153 | 594 | 99 | 188 | 45 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 106 | 67 | - | 13 | 22 | - | 2 | - | .316 | .388 | .429 |
| 1925 | 27 | Indians | 155 | 608 | 78 | 204 | 37 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 98 | 64 | - | 4 | 23 | - | 4 | - | .336 | .402 | .424 |
| 1926 | 28 | Indians | 154 | 578 | 91 | 187 | 41 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 85 | 65 | - | 6 | 21 | - | 8 | - | .324 | .399 | .433 |
| 1927 | 29 | Indians | 153 | 569 | 83 | 180 | 48 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 92 | 51 | - | 7 | 23 | - | 9 | - | .316 | .382 | .424 |
| 1928 | 30 | Indians | 155 | 588 | 79 | 190 | 40 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 70 | 58 | - | 9 | 25 | - | 7 | - | .323 | .391 | .418 |
| 1929 | 31 | Indians | 152 | 578 | 90 | 182 | 38 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 73 | 48 | - | 4 | 41 | - | 5 | - | .315 | .372 | .427 |
| 1930 | 32 | Indians | 109 | 353 | 44 | 102 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 48 | 41 | - | 3 | 13 | - | 7 | - | .289 | .374 | .371 |
| 1931 | 33 | Yankees | 130 | 484 | 102 | 146 | 22 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 64 | 61 | - | 8 | 17 | - | 9 | - | .302 | .390 | .388 |
| 1932 | 34 | Yankees | 125 | 503 | 95 | 137 | 21 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 68 | 56 | - | 3 | 14 | - | 3 | - | .272 | .349 | .392 |
| 1933 | 35 | Yankees | 135 | 524 | 87 | 143 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 54 | 71 | - | 4 | 10 | - | 1 | - | .273 | .361 | .323 |
| Career | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | GRSL | RBI | BB | IBB | SO | SH | SF | HBP | GIDP | AVG | OBP | SLG | ||
| 14 Years | 1,903 | 7,132 | 1,141 | 2,226 | 436 | 68 | 49 | 0 | 1,055 | 842 | - | 114 | 275 | - | 80 | - | .312 | .391 | .413 | ||
Joe SewellJoe Sewell Fielding Stats |
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| Team | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| 1920 Indians | SS | 22 | 21 | 507 | 129 | 5.9 | 114 | 44 | 70 | 15 | 11 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .884 | 6.07 |
| 1921 Indians | SS | 154 | 154 | 462 | 846 | 5.5 | 799 | 319 | 480 | 47 | 75 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .944 | 46.69 |
| 1922 Indians | 2B | 12 | 12 | 297 | 65 | 5.4 | 62 | 27 | 35 | 3 | 7 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .954 | 5.64 |
| 1922 Indians | SS | 139 | 139 | 3,690 | 806 | 5.8 | 757 | 295 | 462 | 49 | 72 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .939 | 5.54 |
| 1923 Indians | SS | 151 | 151 | 4,053 | 842 | 5.6 | 783 | 286 | 497 | 59 | 82 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .930 | 5.22 |
| 1924 Indians | SS | 153 | 153 | 39 | 899 | 5.9 | 863 | 349 | 514 | 36 | 76 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .960 | 597.46 |
| 1925 Indians | 2B | 3 | 3 | 51 | 16 | 5.3 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 0 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 8.47 |
| 1925 Indians | SS | 153 | 152 | 456 | 872 | 5.7 | 843 | 314 | 529 | 29 | 80 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .967 | 49.91 |
| 1926 Indians | SS | 154 | 154 | 39 | 826 | 5.4 | 789 | 326 | 463 | 37 | 86 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .955 | 546.23 |
| 1927 Indians | SS | 153 | 153 | 456 | 874 | 5.7 | 841 | 361 | 480 | 33 | 80 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .962 | 49.80 |
| 1928 Indians | 3B | 19 | 20 | 483 | 88 | 4.6 | 83 | 22 | 61 | 5 | 3 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .943 | 4.64 |
| 1928 Indians | SS | 137 | 135 | 3,441 | 763 | 5.6 | 735 | 297 | 438 | 28 | 103 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .963 | 5.77 |
| 1929 Indians | 3B | 152 | 152 | 453 | 512 | 3.4 | 499 | 163 | 336 | 13 | 28 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .975 | 29.74 |
| 1930 Indians | 3B | 97 | 89 | 2,250 | 281 | 2.9 | 267 | 83 | 184 | 14 | 16 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .950 | 3.20 |
| 1931 Yankees | 2B | 1 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 4.0 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | n/a | n/a | n/a | 1.000 | 21.60 |
| 1931 Yankees | 3B | 121 | 119 | 3,213 | 376 | 3.1 | 358 | 131 | 227 | 18 | 14 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .952 | 3.01 |
| 1932 Yankees | 3B | 123 | 120 | 3,135 | 352 | 2.9 | 343 | 122 | 221 | 9 | 15 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .974 | 2.95 |
| 1933 Yankees | 3B | 131 | 127 | 3,303 | 360 | 2.7 | 347 | 123 | 224 | 13 | 27 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .964 | 2.84 |
| Career | POS | G | GS | OUTS | TC | TC/G | CH | PO | A | E | DP | PB | CASB | CACS | FLD% | RF |
| SS Totals | 1,216 | 1,212 | 13,143 | 6,857 | 5.6 | 6,524 | 2,591 | 3,933 | 333 | 665 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .951 | 13.40 | |
| 3B Totals | 643 | 627 | 12,837 | 1,969 | 3.1 | 1,897 | 644 | 1,253 | 72 | 103 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .963 | 3.99 | |
| 2B Totals | 16 | 15 | 353 | 85 | 5.3 | 82 | 38 | 44 | 3 | 8 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .965 | 6.27 | |
| 14 Years | 1,875 | 1,854 | 26,333 | 8,911 | 4.8 | 8,503 | 3,273 | 5,230 | 408 | 776 | n/a | n/a | n/a | .954 | 8.72 | |
Joe SewellJoe Sewell Miscellaneous Stats |
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| Baserunning Statistics | Other Positions | Common Hitting Ratios | Common Pitching Ratios | |||||||||
| Team | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 1920 Indians | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 17.5 | 5.8 | - | - | - |
| 1921 Indians | 7 | 6 | .538 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 143.0 | 33.6 | 6.2 | - | - | - |
| 1922 Indians | 10 | 12 | .455 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 279.0 | 27.9 | 6.7 | - | - | - |
| 1923 Indians | 9 | 6 | .600 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 184.3 | 46.1 | 5.1 | - | - | - |
| 1924 Indians | 3 | 3 | .500 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 148.5 | 45.7 | 5.6 | - | - | - |
| 1925 Indians | 7 | 6 | .538 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 608.0 | 152.0 | 6.2 | - | - | - |
| 1926 Indians | 17 | 7 | .708 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 144.5 | 96.3 | 6.8 | - | - | - |
| 1927 Indians | 3 | 16 | .158 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 569.0 | 81.3 | 6.2 | - | - | - |
| 1928 Indians | 7 | 1 | .875 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 147.0 | 65.3 | 8.4 | - | - | - |
| 1929 Indians | 6 | 6 | .500 | 0 | 0 | n/a | 82.6 | 144.5 | 7.9 | - | - | - |
| 1930 Indians | 1 | 4 | .200 | 12 | 0 | n/a | 0.0 | 117.7 | 7.4 | - | - | - |
| 1931 Yankees | 1 | 1 | .500 | 8 | 0 | n/a | 80.7 | 60.5 | 7.6 | - | - | - |
| 1932 Yankees | 0 | 2 | .000 | 2 | 0 | n/a | 45.7 | 167.7 | 7.4 | - | - | - |
| 1933 Yankees | 2 | 2 | .500 | 6 | 0 | n/a | 262.0 | 131.0 | 9.7 | - | - | - |
| Career | SB | CS | SB% | PH | PR | DH | AB/HR | AB/K | AB/RBI | K/BB | K/9 | BB/9 |
| 14 Years | 74 | 72 | .507 | 32 | 0 | n/a | 145.6 | 62.6 | 6.8 | - | - | - |
Joe SewellJoe Sewell Miscellaneous Items of Interest |
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| Team | Roster | Uniform Numbers | Salary | All-Star | World Series |
| 1920 Cleveland Indians | n/a | $2,400.00 | n/a | Stats |
| 1921 Cleveland Indians | n/a | $3,000.00 | n/a | - |
| 1922 Cleveland Indians | n/a | $6,000.00 | n/a | - |
| 1923 Cleveland Indians | n/a | $6,500.00 | n/a | - |
| 1924 Cleveland Indians | n/a | $8,000.00 | n/a | - |
| 1925 Cleveland Indians | n/a | $9,000.00 | n/a | - |
| 1926 Cleveland Indians | n/a | $10,000.00 | n/a | - |
| 1927 Cleveland Indians | n/a | $11,500.00 | n/a | - |
| 1928 Cleveland Indians | n/a | $12,000.00 | n/a | - |
| 1929 Cleveland Indians | 4 | $14,500.00 | n/a | - |
| 1930 Cleveland Indians | 2 | $14,500.00 | n/a | - |
| 1931 New York Yankees | 27 | $10,000.00 | n/a | - |
| 1932 New York Yankees | 21 | $8,000.00 | n/a | Stats |
| 1933 New York Yankees | 21 | $7,500.00 | - | - |
| Joe Sewell Stats by Baseball Almanac | ||||

Did you know that Joe Sewell was named one of the 100 Greatest Cleveland Indians Players ever? As part of the club’s 100th Anniversary Celebration in 2001, a panel of veteran baseball writers, historians and executives selected a roster of the Top 100 Greatest Indians and Sewell was named one of the seven shortstops.
According to his obituary published in the New York Times, 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 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 | National Baseball Hall of Fame Plaque | Class of 1977 (HOF)
Besides being former ballplayers, do you know what Joe Sewell (1,103), Billy Williams (1,117), Miguel Tejada (1,152), Steve Garvey (1,207), Everett Scott (1,307), Lou Gehrig (2,130), and Cal Ripken, Jr. (2,632) have in common? The answer was in the parenthesis, they are the only seven players in baseball history to appear in 1,000-or-more consecutive games without missing a game. [Consecutive Games Played Record]