Joe Sewell, baseball player, 1920-1933

Joe Sewell

⭐ Hall of Fame 1977

Born: 10/9/1898 in Titus, AL, USA

Died: 3/6/1990 in Mobile, AL, USA

MLB Debut: 1920-09-10 | Final Game: 1933-09-24

Bats: L | Throws: R | Height: 5'6" | Weight: 155 lbs

Full name: Joseph Wheeler Sewell

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Biography

Joe Sewell, born in 1898, was a prominent position player in Major League Baseball, whose career spanned from 1920 to 1933. Renowned for his exceptional batting ability and remarkable consistency, Sewell played a total of 1,903 games and achieved a career batting average of .312. He accumulated 2,226 hits, including 49 home runs and 1,055 RBIs, while also demonstrating speed on the basepaths with 74 stolen bases. His disciplined approach at the plate was exemplified by his ability to rarely strike out, making him one of the most reliable hitters of his era. Sewell's contributions to the game were recognized when he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977. He played during a transformative period in baseball, navigating through the roaring twenties and the early years of the Great Depression while establishing himself as a key player for teams such as the Cleveland Indians and the New York Yankees. His legacy endures not only through his impressive statistics but also through his influence on the game as a model of batting finesse and durability.

Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1903 7132 1141 2226 436 68 49 1055 74 842 114 0.312 0.391 0.413 0.804 15740.2

Career AVG .312 vs. league average .282 across their career seasons — +10.6% above league average.

Career OBP .391 vs. league average .344 across their career seasons — +13.8% above league average.

Career SLG .413 vs. league average .395 across their career seasons — near league average.

Career OPS 0.804 vs. league average 0.739 across their career seasons — +8.8% above league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1920 CLE AL 22 70 14 23 4 1 0 12 1 9 4 0.329 .271 (+21%) .331 (+24%) .363 (+14%) .694 (+19%) 247.0
1921 CLE AL 154 572 101 182 36 12 4 93 7 80 17 0.318 .286 (+11%) .344 (+20%) .395 (+12%) .739 (+16%) 2215.8
1922 CLE AL 153 558 80 167 28 7 2 83 10 73 20 0.299 .285 (+5%) .345 (+12%) .397 (-3%) .743 (+4%) 719.3
1923 CLE AL 153 553 98 195 41 10 3 109 9 98 12 0.353 .282 (+25%) .344 (+32%) .390 (+23%) .734 (+27%) 3686.3
1924 CLE AL 153 594 99 188 45 5 4 106 3 67 13 0.316 .283 (+11%) .345 (+12%) .389 (+10%) .734 (+11%) 1505.9
1925 CLE AL 155 608 78 204 37 7 1 98 7 64 4 0.336 .288 (+16%) .349 (+15%) .407 (+4%) .756 (+9%) 1410.2
1926 CLE AL 154 578 91 187 41 5 4 85 17 65 6 0.324 .279 (+16%) .345 (+16%) .390 (+11%) .735 (+13%) 1774.0
1927 CLE AL 153 569 83 180 48 5 1 92 3 51 7 0.316 .282 (+12%) .344 (+11%) .392 (+8%) .736 (+9%) 1183.0
1928 CLE AL 155 588 79 190 40 2 4 70 7 58 9 0.323 .280 (+15%) .342 (+14%) .395 (+6%) .737 (+10%) 1385.8
1929 CLE AL 152 578 90 182 38 3 7 73 6 48 4 0.315 .289 (+9%) .353 (+5%) .415 (+3%) .769 (+4%) 555.5
1930 CLE AL 109 353 44 102 17 6 0 48 1 41 3 0.289 .293 (-2%) .354 (+6%) .429 (-14%) .784 (-5%) -227.8
1931 NYY AL 130 484 102 146 22 1 6 64 1 61 8 0.302 .276 (+9%) .338 (+15%) .388 (avg) .726 (+7%) 1001.7
1932 NYY AL 125 503 95 137 21 3 11 68 0 56 3 0.272 .275 (-1%) .335 (+4%) .391 (avg) .726 (+2%) 307.3
1933 NYY AL 135 524 87 143 18 1 2 54 2 71 4 0.273 .270 (+1%) .329 (+9%) .377 (-15%) .707 (-3%) -23.7

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
11 38 4 9 1 0 0 3 6 1 0.237

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1932 WS NYA 4 15 4 5 1 0 0 3 4 0 0.333
1920 WS CLE 7 23 0 4 0 0 0 0 2 1 0.174

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
2B 16 0 38 44 3 8
3B 643 0 644 1253 72 103
SS 1216 0 2591 3933 333 665

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1920 CLE SS 22 0 44 70 15 11
1921 CLE SS 154 0 319 480 47 75
1922 CLE 2B 12 0 27 35 3 7
1922 CLE SS 139 0 295 462 49 72
1923 CLE SS 151 0 286 497 59 82
1924 CLE SS 153 0 349 514 36 76
1925 CLE 2B 3 0 10 6 0 0
1925 CLE SS 153 0 314 529 29 80
1926 CLE SS 154 0 326 463 37 86
1927 CLE SS 153 0 361 480 33 80
1928 CLE 3B 19 0 22 61 5 3
1928 CLE SS 137 0 297 438 28 103
1929 CLE 3B 152 0 163 336 13 28
1930 CLE 3B 97 0 83 184 14 16
1931 NYA 2B 1 0 1 3 0 1
1931 NYA 3B 121 0 131 227 18 14
1932 NYA 3B 123 0 122 221 9 15
1933 NYA 3B 131 0 123 224 13 27

Career Games by Position

Position Games
Second Base 16
Third Base 643
Shortstop 1214

Awards & Honors

Year Award Notes
1928 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1928 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1927 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1926 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1926 TSN All-Star SS
1925 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1924 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS
1923 Baseball Magazine All-Star SS

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
University of Alabama Tuscaloosa AL 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1932 Most Valuable Player AL 29th 1.0 80 0
1928 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 6.0 64 0
1927 Most Valuable Player AL 10th 9.0 64 0
1925 Most Valuable Player AL 3rd 21.0 64 0
1924 Most Valuable Player AL 9th 9.0 64 0
1923 Most Valuable Player AL 4th 20.0 64 0
1922 Most Valuable Player AL 19th 4.0 64 0