Luke Sewell

Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1921-1942)

AVG .259
HR 20
RBI 696
H 1,393
OPS .665
PIV -8,435
Position
Catcher
Bats / Throws
R / R
Height / Weight
5'9" / 160 lb
Born
1/5/1901 in Titus, AL, USA
Died
5/14/1987 in Akron, OH, USA
MLB Debut
1921-06-30
Last Game
1942-08-01
Awards
All-Star

Full name: James Luther Sewell

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Career Batting Statistics

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS PIV
1,630 5,383 653 1,393 272 56 20 696 65 486 307 .259 .323 .341 .665 -8,435

Career AVG .259 vs. league average .280 across their career seasons — 7.6% below league average.

Career OBP .323 vs. league average .343 across their career seasons — 5.8% below league average.

Career SLG .341 vs. league average .395 across their career seasons — 13.6% below league average.

Career OPS .665 vs. league average .738 across their career seasons — 9.9% below league average.

Season-by-Season Batting

Career Arc

Click a stat to plot it across every season.

Year Team Lg G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI SB BB SO AVG Lg AVG Lg OBP Lg SLG Lg OPS PIV
1921 CLE AL 3 6 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 3 .000 — — — — 0.0
1922 CLE AL 41 87 14 23 5 0 0 10 1 5 8 .264 .285 (-7%) .345 (-10%) .397 (-19%) .743 (-15%) -206.5
1923 CLE AL 10 10 2 2 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 .200 — — — — 0.0
1924 CLE AL 63 165 27 48 9 1 0 17 1 22 13 .291 .283 (+2%) .345 (+12%) .389 (-8%) .734 (+1%) 139.3
1925 CLE AL 74 220 30 51 10 2 0 18 6 33 18 .232 .288 (-20%) .349 (-4%) .407 (-27%) .756 (-16%) -525.1
1926 CLE AL 126 433 41 103 16 4 0 46 9 36 27 .238 .279 (-15%) .345 (-13%) .390 (-25%) .735 (-19%) -1317.5
1927 CLE AL 128 470 52 138 27 6 0 53 4 20 23 .294 .282 (+4%) .344 (-5%) .392 (-4%) .736 (-4%) -403.9
1928 CLE AL 122 411 52 111 16 9 3 52 3 26 27 .270 .280 (-4%) .342 (-7%) .395 (-5%) .737 (-6%) -462.6
1929 CLE AL 124 406 41 96 16 3 1 39 6 29 26 .236 .289 (-18%) .353 (-19%) .415 (-28%) .769 (-24%) -1647.7
1930 CLE AL 76 292 40 75 21 2 1 43 5 14 9 .257 .293 (-13%) .354 (-17%) .429 (-18%) .784 (-18%) -921.1
1931 CLE AL 108 375 45 103 30 4 1 53 1 36 17 .275 .276 (-1%) .338 (+1%) .388 (-1%) .726 (avg) -10.5
1932 CLE AL 87 300 36 76 20 2 2 52 4 38 24 .253 .275 (-8%) .335 (+1%) .391 (-10%) .726 (-5%) -186.3
1933 WS1 AL 141 474 65 125 30 4 2 61 7 48 24 .264 .270 (-2%) .329 (+2%) .377 (-6%) .707 (-2%) -109.5
1934 WS1 AL 72 207 21 49 7 3 2 21 0 22 10 .237 .278 (-15%) .340 (-8%) .392 (-16%) .733 (-13%) -407.0
1935 CHA AL 118 421 52 120 19 3 2 67 3 32 18 .285 .279 (+2%) .342 (-2%) .399 (-10%) .742 (-6%) -429.8
1936 CHA AL 128 451 59 113 20 5 5 73 11 54 16 .251 .283 (-12%) .349 (-5%) .404 (-13%) .753 (-9%) -673.5
1937 CHA AL 122 412 51 111 21 6 1 61 4 46 18 .269 .276 (-3%) .342 (avg) .398 (-10%) .740 (-6%) -335.5
1938 CHA AL 65 211 23 45 4 1 0 27 0 20 20 .213 .272 (-22%) .341 (-17%) .392 (-38%) .734 (-28%) -937.9
1939 CLE AL 16 20 1 3 1 0 0 1 0 3 1 .150 — — — — 0.0
1942 SLA AL 6 12 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 5 .083 — — — — 0.0
Career · 20 seasons 1,630 5,383 653 1,393 272 56 20 696 65 486 307 .259 — — — — -8,435

Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.

Postseason Statistics

Playoff Career Batting

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
5 17 1 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 .176

Playoff Batting by Year

Year Round Team G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG
1933 WS WS1 5 17 1 3 0 0 0 1 2 0 .176

Game Log & Splits

View full game log (1631 games) →

Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).

Batting — Home / Away

SplitGABRHHRRBIAVG
Home80425583376958338.272
Away827282531369512361.246

Last 10 Games — Batting

DateTmOppResABRH2B3BHRRBIBBSO
1942-08-01 SLANYYW 301000001
1942-07-30 SLAMINL 200000002
1942-07-25 SLABOSL 200000000
1942-07-23 SLAPHAW 200000001
1942-07-19 SLAMINW 110000010
1942-07-05 SLACHWL 200000001
1939-08-30 CLENYYW 200000010
1939-08-27 CLEBOSW 100000020
1939-08-24 CLEPHAW 100000000
1939-08-24 CLEPHAW 000000000

Fielding Statistics

Career Fielding Totals by Position

Position G GS PO A E DP
1B 7 0 57 3 0 4
2B 1 0 1 1 0 0
3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
C 1562 0 5444 1084 150 138
OF 9 0 20 3 1 1

Season-by-Season Fielding

Year Team Pos G GS PO A E DP
1921 CLE C 3 0 7 4 0 0
1922 CLE C 39 0 108 21 5 2
1923 CLE C 7 0 5 5 2 0
1924 CLE C 57 0 171 42 9 5
1925 CLE C 66 0 216 54 8 13
1925 CLE OF 2 0 6 0 0 0
1926 CLE C 125 0 437 91 9 3
1927 CLE C 126 0 402 119 20 14
1928 CLE C 118 0 430 117 16 13
1929 CLE C 124 0 433 81 18 11
1930 CLE C 76 0 283 49 9 5
1931 CLE C 104 0 384 61 9 5
1932 CLE C 84 0 306 50 8 8
1933 WS1 C 141 0 516 61 6 12
1934 WS1 1B 6 0 57 3 0 4
1934 WS1 2B 1 0 1 1 0 0
1934 WS1 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1934 WS1 C 50 0 143 23 1 6
1934 WS1 OF 7 0 14 3 1 1
1935 CHA C 112 0 399 83 6 10
1936 CHA C 126 0 461 87 9 12
1937 CHA C 118 0 502 72 9 11
1938 CHA C 65 0 205 55 4 7
1939 CLE 1B 1 0 0 0 0 0
1939 CLE C 15 0 24 4 1 0
1942 SLA C 6 0 12 5 1 1

Career Games by Position

Position Diamond

Circle size = games played at each position.

Position Games
Catcher 1558
First Base 7
Second Base 1
Third Base 1
Left Field 4
Right Field 5

College History

School Name City State Years Attended
University of Alabama Tuscaloosa AL 1919, 1920, 1921

Award Voting History

Year Award League Finish Points Won Points Max Votes First
1937 Most Valuable Player AL 5th 22.0 80 0
1935 Most Valuable Player AL 15th 7.0 80 0
1928 Most Valuable Player AL 12th 6.0 64 0
1927 Most Valuable Player AL 9th 13.0 64 0

Most Similar Players

Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.

Career Spans

Luke Sewell (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.

  1. 98
    Al Lopez HOF
    .261 avg, 51 HR
  2. 97
    Rollie Hemsley
    .262 avg, 31 HR
  3. 88
    Steve O'Neill
    .263 avg, 13 HR
  4. 82
    Heinie Peitz
    .271 avg, 16 HR
  5. 82
    Frank Snyder
    .265 avg, 47 HR
  6. 81
    Charlie Moore
    .261 avg, 36 HR

Frequently Asked Questions about Luke Sewell

What years did Luke Sewell play?
Luke Sewell played in Major League Baseball from 1921 to 1942.
Was Luke Sewell a pitcher?
No. Luke Sewell was a position player (Catcher).
How many home runs did Luke Sewell hit?
Luke Sewell hit 20 career home runs with 1393 hits.