Major League Baseball Player. Played Major League baseball as a pitcher for 13 seasons (1932, 1938 to 1949) with the Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates. Except for a brief 5 game stint with the Tigers in 1932, he played his whole career as a Pirate, entering their starting rotation in 1939. He is best known to Baseball History for his highly unique blooper pitch, which was dubbed the "eephus pitch" by a teammate. In 1940 a hunting accident caused part of his left foot to be shot off, which facilitated a change in his pitching motion (he was unable to pivot on his right foot). That change developed into the "eephus", an arching lob that floated down in front of the batter. With the success of this pitch, he became one of the better National League pitchers during World War II (in addition to causing the development of the eephus, his injury kept him out of military service). From 1942 to 1945, he won 59 games, losing only 36. His best year as 1943, when he led the NL with 21 wins, and pitched 25 complete games. He was named to the National League All-Star team each year from 1943 to 1946, pitching in three of the games. In 1944 he helped the NL shut down the American League 7 to 1 in Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, but in 1946 the AL gained a measure of revenge, when Boston Red Sox great Ted Williams hit two home runs in the game - his second off of Rip Sewell's eephus (which was the first home run ever hit off of that unique pitch). Arm trouble developed in 1946 would sap him of his effectiveness, and he would win only 33 games in the last 4 years of his career. He retired in 194 with a record of 143 Wins, 97 Losses, 390 Games Pitched, 20 Shutouts, 636 Strikeouts and a career 3.48 ERA. He was an opponent of the early Player's Union (which he viewed as greedy), actively working against attempts to recruit his teammates. In 1981 author Elson Smith published the work "Blooper Man: The Rip Sewell Story." He still ranks in the top 10 all-time career Pirates pitching categories of wins, shutouts, games pitched, innings, and earned run average.
Major League Baseball Player. Played Major League baseball as a pitcher for 13 seasons (1932, 1938 to 1949) with the Detroit Tigers and Pittsburgh Pirates. Except for a brief 5 game stint with the Tigers in 1932, he played his whole career as a Pirate, entering their starting rotation in 1939. He is best known to Baseball History for his highly unique blooper pitch, which was dubbed the "eephus pitch" by a teammate. In 1940 a hunting accident caused part of his left foot to be shot off, which facilitated a change in his pitching motion (he was unable to pivot on his right foot). That change developed into the "eephus", an arching lob that floated down in front of the batter. With the success of this pitch, he became one of the better National League pitchers during World War II (in addition to causing the development of the eephus, his injury kept him out of military service). From 1942 to 1945, he won 59 games, losing only 36. His best year as 1943, when he led the NL with 21 wins, and pitched 25 complete games. He was named to the National League All-Star team each year from 1943 to 1946, pitching in three of the games. In 1944 he helped the NL shut down the American League 7 to 1 in Pittsburgh's Forbes Field, but in 1946 the AL gained a measure of revenge, when Boston Red Sox great Ted Williams hit two home runs in the game - his second off of Rip Sewell's eephus (which was the first home run ever hit off of that unique pitch). Arm trouble developed in 1946 would sap him of his effectiveness, and he would win only 33 games in the last 4 years of his career. He retired in 194 with a record of 143 Wins, 97 Losses, 390 Games Pitched, 20 Shutouts, 636 Strikeouts and a career 3.48 ERA. He was an opponent of the early Player's Union (which he viewed as greedy), actively working against attempts to recruit his teammates. In 1981 author Elson Smith published the work "Blooper Man: The Rip Sewell Story." He still ranks in the top 10 all-time career Pirates pitching categories of wins, shutouts, games pitched, innings, and earned run average.
Bio by: RPD2
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