The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-03-24
TALKING
ITOVER
BY JOE WILLIAMS

CT. PETERSBURG, Fla, March
~ 24.-Joe Sewell of the Yankees
struck out in Wednesdays ball
game with the Braves. This is a
phenomenon comparable to jim
Londos losing wrestling match.
They strike cut Sewell about as
often as somebody cheers Hoover.
He is the Dead-Eye Dick of the
majors. In justice to the young
man it should be written that he
did not strike out, but was called
out, and on a high ball. But then
many good man has come to
grief on a high ball.
One year Sewell went through a
full season Of 155 games with orly
four strikeouts. This may not be
a world record but it is as close
to one as a pair of cross eyes.
When he strikes out more than
ten times it is a bad year for him
Last year, his first with the Yam
KEGS, he struck out eight times in
100 games.
Il was a little bit off in my tim
ing" he explained.
You get better appreciation OF the
young mans optical accuracy when you
learn that the average hitter strikes out
about twenty-five times in season. Cen
orally Ruth strikes 9gt more often mt, than
due mostly to the fact that he is free
swinger, which is to say he takes toe
hold and swings from the hip. hoping al
ways 10 blast out a home run
sewell is chop hitter. He waits until
the ball Is almost on him before ne swings
home runs mn are mot his speeiay The
records show he deals largely in singles
and doubles His motto is safety hrst"
and he isn't particular whether the safety
is single or double.
y n
A SIX him the sect OF his unerring
"A eye at the plate and he tells
you Il wait until the ball begins to
break. then 1 swing
Most ball players will tell you
this is impossible. In rebuttal, all
Sewell has to do is point to the
records. Hornsby is much like him.
They don't strike the Rajah out
very often. / hope no one will be
unfeeling enough to call to my
attention how often HornSby struck
out in the 1929 series with the AS
A great number of union workers
we're going out on strikes at that
time and the Rajah probably was in
sympathy with them.
I don't know for sure whether sewsn
will start the season at third for the
Yankees. The experts are saying Lyn
Larry will get the Job and maybe he will.
Nevertheless, SeWell will stay with the
club and it's no cinch that in the end he
won't be the clubs regular third baseman.
The Yankees piSks S him up last 81. year in
lshed in second place, though viii adnt
finishing second to the AS vas feat that !;
thirteen and one-half games, -.
men in the league last year, despite the
fact. that he Is slow and doesn cover
se%eI was not good enough to piay third
for Cleveland. and yet he came to New
York and handled the same position with
high competency.
THE story of Sewell's career in
i baseball is a bit above the
ordinary. He jumped direct from
the campus of Alabama to the New
Orleans club in the Southern
League.
incidentally. few universities in
the country have sent more play
ers to the big leagues than Alabama.
Sewell was only one of three
brothers who came up. Luke is now
Cleveland's ace catcher. Tommy
played the outfield for the Cubs.
Riggs Stephenson is now with the
Cubs, and Ike Boone is in the
Brooklyn outfield. Ike's brother.
Dan, was with several big league
clubs. Andy Cohen was temper
airy hero with the Giants.
One of basehalrs blacklist tragedies
BROUGHT Joe Sewell into the American
League. A bean ball thrown by Carl
Mays OF the Yankees killed Ray Chapman
Of Cleveland. and Sewell was called in to
All the gap at shortstop Three months
of the college campus, Sewel was damned
into the Cleveland inf1eld between Larry
Gardner at third and Bill Wamby at
second.
II was tough spot for a youngster of
90 but so smoothly did the combination
function that Cleveland went on to win
the league championship and later the
world championship over Brooklyn.