Joe Hewitt managed to turn an excellent 5 year run at the start of his career into another decade of playing time.
Doing this required his core skillset–a fantastic eye for the strike zone and speed–to remain intact well into his late 30s, which is quite an accomplishment.
Hewitt debuts in 1911, and spends the next 8 years as an everyday or most every day infielder before the overall degradation of his offensive production catches up to him. But really, he’s only GOOD through 1915. 1916 and 1917 are poor, and a comeback in 1918 and 1919 proves illusory, with Hewitt never reaching league average in overall offense thereafter.
Remember, this crosses into the lively ball era, so his OPS numbers jump up by about 100 points–but he still sits well below league average, despite an 80-100 point spread between his BA and OBP.
In 1913, easily his best year, Hewitt should be among the leaders in hits, and his OBP and SB values should be up there as well. But he never really reaches those heights again–his walk rate would be among the league leaders in the late 1910s, but hitting under .240 with virtually no power will limit his opportunities, no matter how many walks he draws.
Hewitt was essentially a MI, playing most of his games at SS and a sizable number at 2B. He spent a bit of time at 3B and occasionally spent time at the corner OF spots. He was mediocre across the board, seeming to rely overmuch on his speed over any technique or positioning, with an arm too weak to compensate for that.
The speed was for real: Hewitt was constant threat to run when he got on base, which certainly made his walks a bit more powerful offensively. He should–despite limited PA’s many years–be in the top 1/4 of the league in steals a handful of times, with an outside shot at leading the league once or twice, with 1915 probably the best chance.
We end Hewitt’s career after a disastrous 1926 season. He is 40 at that point, and in clear precipitous decline for 2 years. In reality, he played a handful of games in his mid 40s, mostly as a pinch-hitter. We don’t think that happens in an integrated context.
I could be convinced that Hewitt deserves more playing time early in his career. I could also be convinced his career would end after 1920, a very weak season at age 35. Either change would impact his career totals, but the overall shape of his contribution should stay consistent. A useful piece for a few years.
| Name | Joe Hewitt (Slicker) |
| ID / Status | hewitt000joe / Draft |
| Pos | IF |
| DOB / i9s Career | 08/07/1885 / 1911 - 1926 |
| Birthplace | New Market, AL (USA) |
| Height / Weight | 5'7" / 140 |
| B / T | L / R |
Batting Projections
| Year | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BB | SO | SB | CS | BA | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| 1911 | 320 | 97 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 61 | 38 | 26 | 7 | 0.303 | 0.415 | 0.356 | 0.771 |
| 1912 | 461 | 132 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 70 | 60 | 68 | 14 | 0.286 | 0.380 | 0.334 | 0.714 |
| 1913 | 519 | 179 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 58 | 64 | 40 | 12 | 0.345 | 0.411 | 0.382 | 0.792 |
| 1914 | 503 | 106 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 80 | 65 | 55 | 7 | 0.211 | 0.319 | 0.350 | 0.570 |
| 1915 | 603 | 156 | 14 | 4 | 1 | 69 | 74 | 87 | 26 | 0.259 | 0.335 | 0.300 | 0.635 |
| 1916 | 491 | 93 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 65 | 63 | 42 | 6 | 0.189 | 0.284 | 0.242 | 0.527 |
| 1917 | 463 | 92 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 45 | 50 | 30 | 5 | 0.199 | 0.270 | 0.244 | 0.514 |
| 1918 | 403 | 88 | 8 | 5 | 0 | 63 | 39 | 34 | 6 | 0.218 | 0.324 | 0.263 | 0.587 |
| 1919 | 419 | 95 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 79 | 39 | 28 | 5 | 0.227 | 0.349 | 0.267 | 0.617 |
| 1920 | 253 | 47 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 34 | 18 | 19 | 9 | 0.186 | 0.282 | 0.233 | 0.515 |
| 1921 | 375 | 90 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 47 | 27 | 29 | 12 | 0.240 | 0.325 | 0.288 | 0.613 |
| 1922 | 352 | 92 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 33 | 19 | 9 | 4 | 0.261 | 0.325 | 0.324 | 0.649 |
| 1923 | 321 | 78 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 44 | 16 | 26 | 11 | 0.243 | 0.334 | 0.302 | 0.636 |
| 1924 | 397 | 99 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 47 | 25 | 27 | 9 | 0.249 | 0.329 | 0.277 | 0.606 |
| 1925 | 156 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 20 | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0.167 | 0.261 | 0.205 | 0.466 |
| 1926 | 56 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0.161 | 0.277 | 0.161 | 0.438 |