Eighty years ago today, something happened that has occurred only twice ever.
Joe Sewell struck out twice in one game.
Sewell, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977, was famous for his penchant for contact hitting. In 14 seasons and 7132 career at-bats, he fanned only 114 times. In nine straight full-time seasons between 1925 and 1933, he never went into double digits in Ks.
And yet on May 26, 1930 as a member of the Cleveland Indians ballclub, he struck out twice at the hands of White Sox pitcher Pat Caraway. For his part, Caraway wasn’t much of a flamethrower. For his career, he only struck out 2.8 batters per nine innings.
Seeing that it was relatively early in the season, I suppose some wondered if Sewell was losing his touch. Instead, he finished the 1930 season striking out only one more time. That total of three strikeouts was tied for his lowest total in his career.
Sewell had struck out twice in a game earlier in his career in 1923. That year he had the obscene total of 12 strikeouts.
| Date | Tm | Opp | Rslt | PA | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | Pos. Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1930-05-26 (2) | CLE | CHW | W 5-2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3B |
| 1923-05-13 | CLE | WSH | W 5-2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | SS |