| Birthdate | 05/11/1907 |
| Death Date | 09/03/1989 |
| Debut Year | 1932 |
| Year of Induction | |
| Teams | Pirates, Tigers |
| Position | Pitcher |
Rip Sewell is best known for the “eephus pitch” so named by Maurice Van Robays because, “Eephus ain’t nothing and that’s what that ball is.”
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In this handwritten letter from February 14, 1978 Rip Sewell explains exactly how the eephus pitch was thrown. In content worth reading, Sewell starts out the letter thusly, “Thank you for your nice letter, and will try to explain to you how the ‘Ephus’ (sic) or blooper ball was thrown…”
Sewell then goes on about arm angle, back spin, and the ball’s height. He even mentions that just one homer was ever hit off of the eephus — by Ted Williams in the 1946 All Star game.
In the collection is this yellow index card signed by eephus specialist Rip Sewell. Sewell has attached a small drawing of himself throwing his famed pitch. At the bottom of the card he has writte, “(over)” so that the collector would turn the card to see a diagram of the eephus on the back.
On the back of the yellow 3×5 index card is this diagram drawn by Rip Sewell. The pitcher has drawn a crude pitcher’s mound, home plate area and batter’s box.
Sewell then uses a dotted line to convey the flight of the eephus that, according to the drawing, reached a height of 25′ before reaching the batter.
The pitcher writes his name again at the bottom of the card.
The Sewell family has quite an association with Major League Baseball. Not only did Rip Sewell make the big leagues but so did a trio of his cousins. Luke, Tommy, and Joe Sewell all played in the show.
Displayed here is Joe Sewell’s solid silver lifetime pass. By virtue of having played ten or more years by 1934, Sewell was among the first players to receive the gift.
A master of bat control, Sewell never struck out more than 20 times in a season. His strikeout totals reached double digits only in his first for season and never again throughout his 14-year playing career.
Rip Sewell’s cousin Joe was the best of the ball playing Sewell family. Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1977, Joe earned a World Series ring with both the Indians and the Yankees. While with New York he hit in front of Babe Ruth in the ’32 Series.
In the collection is this two-page handwritten letter from Joe Sewell. The content is nothing short of amazing as he describes one of the most famous feats in baseball history — Babe Ruth’s called shot in the 1932 World Series. Did Ruth point to centerfield and declare where he would put the next pitched ball?
Hitting in front of Ruth that day was Joe Sewell who describes in perfect detail exactly what happened.
“ ‘Yes’ “ Babe Ruth pointed to the centerfield and I have a mental picture of the ball going out of the park…”
The rest of the letter is penned with perfect detail.
The vivid details of this letter continue on the second page as Joe Sewell details Babe Ruth’s uncomfortable trip circling the bases after the homerun.
“…on his way home the fans threw cabbage, lemons, eggs, hats, and everything they had on the field until the umpires called the game and the ground keepers had to come out and clean it all up.”
At the close of the letter, Joe Sewell sums up his take saying, “There was no myth to it as I saw it all”.
The story of how Lloyd Waner tallied his milestone 3,000th hit is now a mere footnote in baseball history.
It’s also a story worth knowing.
In an unlikely turn of events, an angry Paul Waner rejected a scorer’s decision.
Waner demanded a chance to record his memorable knock cleanly – and got his wish.
This is the forgotten tale of how the 7th MLB batter to total 3,000 hits joined baseball’s exclusive club.
Read More >"Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball…"
~Jacques Barzun, 1954
