AJC > Sports > Columnists > Archives > 2007 > August > 03 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USA mark many swung for, missed
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Furman Bisher
So it is remarkable that Cy Young won 511 games. (He also holds the record for losing.) That Henry Aaron hit 755 home runs, which is the record in my eyes. That Cal Ripken Jr. played in 2,632 consecutive games, remarkable just for showing up for work. That Ty Cobb had a lifetime batting average of .367, and that Rogers Hornsby hit .424 one season. They still write of Ted Williams’ season of .406 as some magical figure that will never be struck again. And they write songs about Joe, Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak.
Well, let me tell you about Joe Sewell. It’s not a name that rings a lot of bells in the mind of baseball these days. Oh, he’s in the Hall of Fame, elected in 1977. He reached the major leagues ahead of time on account of the only death of a player that ever happened in a major league game. Carl Mays’ submarine pitch caught shortstop Ray Chapman in the head and killed him in 1920. Cleveland called Sewell up from the New Orleans farm, then just a kid of 21. He finished the season, and 13 more followed.
In his 14 seasons with Cleveland and the Yankees, Joe Sewell struck out only 114 times. That’s right — one hundred and fourteen. I’m not talking about some designated hitter, (ugh!) or a guy who sat when left-handers were pitching. He played every day, 1,902 games at shortstop and third base with the Indians and Yankees. That came to 7,976 plate appearances, 844 bases on balls, a lifetime average of .312 and 1,051 runs batted in.
Four of those seasons, Sewell struck out only four times. FOUR. (Some guys have struck out more than that in one game.) It all averaged out that he struck out only once every .0l6 times at bat. In modern times, so to speak, Lloyd Waner of the Pirates came closest. He struck out only 173 times and resides, as well, in Cooperstown. Illustrative of an abiding respect for guys with a keen eye among the Hall of Fame voters.
Not so in a major league feature recently filmed under the title “Baseball’s Most Unbreakable Feats.” You get the usual collection, such as mentioned above. There are others, Nolan Ryan’s all-time strikeouts, Rickey Henderson’s all-time stolen bases, Pete Rose’s all-time hits, among the ten most highly regarded by the producers of the DVD. (Not the narrator, Roger Clemens, if you will. And I’ll say this, “The Rocket” gets a good mark for his performance.)
For one thing, Ted Williams’ season of 1941, when he was the last major leaguer who hit for a .400 average, is viewed as a “record.” It’s likely true, we’ll never see another .400 hitter again, but a “record” it’s not. Rogers Hornsby hit .424 in 1924 with the Cardinals, and musty character that he was, that’s still the major league record for a season.
Ripken’s streak for consecutive games is viewed as the “most admirable” feat of them all, and who’s to joust with that? It should be added that Ripken gets credit for being the kind of human being he was, and is. His Hall of Fame partner, Tony Gwynn, posts another record that’s unlikely to be bettered or equalled. None of us ever expects to live long enough to see one man lead one of the major leagues in hitting eight times.
Perhaps Sewell’s immaculate feat isn’t the kind of positive stuff they were looking for. A streak of batting efficiency, not of muscular offense. May be, but it gets my vote as a kind of out-of-the sky performance, contributing to offense in its own way. Sewell hit for an average over .300 in 10 of his 14 seasons, struck 436 doubles and even slipped 49 home runs into his modest power production. Twice he played on two winning World Series teams, one each with the Indians and Yankees. Say this for him, he didn’t give the pitcher much of a strike zone. He was 5 feet 6-1/2 inches tall and weighed in steadily at a trim 155 pounds.
When it was over, he went home to Alabama and coached the baseball team at Tuscaloosa for several years. His brother, Luke, a catcher, played 20 seasons, then turned to managing and put one up for mankind — he produced the only pennant ever won by the St. Louis Browns in 1944. Another record that can’t ever be broken, but 114 strikeouts in a 1,902-game career of a .312 hitter? Let me see somebody top that!
Permalink | Comments (7) | Post your comment | Categories: Braves / MLB, Furman Bisher
Comments
By Leroy Rogers
August 3, 2007 11:39 PM | Link to this
Thanks for this very interesting story Mr. Bisher. I sure would like to read your memoirs! I have just sent the article to Frank Sullivan, a Korean War pal in HI., who pitched for the Red Sox when Sammy White was catcher. He lost the ‘55 All Star game in ‘55. [Frank has some great Jackie Jensen stories because he was afraid to fly!} Stan, the man, Musial hit a homer on July 12, in the 12th inning to win for the National League. Frank started 201 games and pitched 72 complete games. This is when I really enjoyed baseball in lieu of a parade of pitchers, sometimes as many as nine for the same team. Just too slow a game for this old man. Keep the facts coming our way, my friend.
By Ken Stallings
August 4, 2007 1:05 AM | Link to this
Stuck out only 114 times in 14 years! A feat of batsmanship to make modern player shudder with chagrin!
I don’t care the era, that’s an amazing feat and most certainly worthy of more discussion than the achievement has received to date.
By Gene
August 4, 2007 9:15 AM | Link to this
These historical articles are always a treat. These guys played with heavy bats and dead balls in stadiums with long fences, and sometimes, no fences. I heard Skip Cary say a few years ago that “the Babe” probably couldn’t cut it today. I disagree. I think that the old guys, particularly the pitchers, could hold their own with anyone.
By Howard
August 4, 2007 1:16 PM | Link to this
Sir…great column…one of your better ones. I am still amazed after I read about the exploits of guys like Sewall, Williams, Aaron, Mays, Ripken, Gwynn..and I have to chuckle at the outrageous salaries being paid to so many of these “average” clowns playing today. I really don’t think MLB clubs could even afford one or two of those superstars from the past…
By RK
August 4, 2007 1:32 PM | Link to this
This is a great column that shows how, in the past we had players who have not been equaled in the “modern era.” The Babe not cut it today? Are you kidding anyone? The Babe also did not strike out like the big swingers of today, he had the dead ball to hit, and, since the number of teams was so few, only the best pitchers got to the Majors. Babe Ruth’s stats, if you want to look them up, are about the same as Ted Williams…but much better in one category…frequency of Home Runs per time at bat. The Babe is the best, old or modern. In many of his years, Babe Ruth hit more home runs than other entire teams hit in a season. Against the dead ball Babe set the standard for every batter of the future.
By Charlie
August 4, 2007 7:03 PM | Link to this
Re: It all averaged out that he struck out only once every .0l6 times at bat.
My calculator says he struck out once every 62.56 official at bats (plate appearances minus walks). That’s OK, Furman. That’s not as bad as having Kathy Fiscus surviving her fall into the well.
By Charlie
August 4, 2007 7:09 PM | Link to this
Re: It all averaged out that he struck out only once every .0l6 times at bat. That would mean he would strike out 1,000 times for every 16 plate appearances. My calculator says it was once every 62.56 official at bats. That just proves you write, not figure.