Joe Sewell, Black Betsy & Strikeout Records

Joe Sewell, Black Betsy & Strikeout Records

In the great opening scene from the movie "The Natural" the main character, a young Roy Hobbs crafts a magical baseball bat he names "Wonderboy" out of a tree that has been struck by lightning. Though of course the story is fictional, players throughout baseball history have held strong connections be it often superstitious ones with their bats.

Joe Sewell who played fourteen Hall of Fame years mostly at shortstop with the Cleveland Indians enjoyed a unique relationship with his 40-ounce bat that he dubbed "Black Betsy." Playing in over 1,900 games and amassing approximately 7,132 at bats, Sewell used Black Betsy his entire career without breaking it. Compare that to modern day baseball players who usually go through over 100 bats or more in a single season. According to Sewell, he kept the bat in perfect condition by rubbing it daily with a glass Coke bottle and seasoning it with chewing tobacco.

Sewell struck out only 114 times in his career which translates to one strikeout every 62.5 at-bats. He also holds the modern single-season record for fewest strikeouts over a full season, with 3, set in 1932. Sewell also had 3 strikeouts in 1930, albeit in just 353 at-bats. Strangely two of the three strikeouts were in the same game to little known Pat Caraway of the Chicago White Sox. In 1925, 1929 and 1933, he only had 4 strikeouts. He struck out ten or more times in only four seasons, and his highest strikeout total was 20, during the 1922 season. For his 1925–1933 seasons, Sewell struck out 4, 6, 7, 9, 4, 3, 8, 3, and 4 times. He also holds the record for consecutive games without recording a strikeout, at 115.

Again compare that to modern day baseball players. In 2021, for example, Javier Baez who split time with the Chicago Cubs and New York Mets struck out 184 times while Joey Gallo of the Texas Rangers then New York Yankees stuck out a staggering 213 times in 498 at bats.