Joseph Earl McEwing (born October 19, 1972) is an American former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professiona ...

player who spent most of his career with the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major leagu ...

, where he played from through . Nicknamed "Super Joe", he was the prototypical

utility player In sports, a utility player is one who can play several positions competently. Sports in which the term is often used include association football, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water polo. The ...

who could play any position on the field. McEwing was most recently the third base coach for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

(MLB). McEwing played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

at the

County College of Morris County College of Morris (CCM) is a public community college in Randolph, New Jersey. CCM offers associate degree and certificate programs as well as transfer opportunities for students looking to pursue a bachelor's degree at another institutio ...

Randolph Township, New Jersey Randolph is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States census, the township's population was 25,734, reflecting an increase of 887 (+3.6%) from the 24,847 counted in the 2000 census, which had in tu ...

. He played high school baseball at

Bishop Egan High School Conwell-Egan Catholic High School is a coeducational, Catholic high school in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Athletics The boys' basketball team won the PIAA Clas ...

(now known as

Conwell-Egan Catholic High School Conwell-Egan Catholic High School is a coeducational, Catholic high school in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. Athletics The boys' basketball team won the PIAA Class ...

) in

Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania Fairless Hills is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. The CDP is located within c. The population was 9,046 at the 2020 census. That is up from 8,466 at the 2010 census. History Fairless Hills as it is ...

Professional baseball career

In 1998, he had a total of 51 doubles with Triple-A Memphis and Double-A Arkansas. His first full season in the majors was also his best. McEwing batted .275 in with 141 hits and a career high nine

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run is ...

s. He also amassed a 25-game

hitting streak In baseball, a hitting streak is the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and gets at least one base hit. According to the Official Baseball Rules, such a streak is not necessarily ended when a player has at least 1 pla ...

, the fifth longest at that time by a rookie, and finished fifth in

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

Rookie of the Year balloting. McEwing became an immediate fan favorite because of his energy, hustle and obvious love for the game. During his rookie season, McEwing played every position on the field, except

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

and

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catcher ...

. In his honor,

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals h ...

fans created what was known as "Little Mac Land," in a play on words of the official "Big Mac Land" created in the upper deck of

Busch Stadium Busch Stadium (also referred to informally as "New Busch Stadium" or "Busch Stadium III") is a baseball stadium located in St. Louis, Missouri. The stadium serves as the home of the St. Louis Cardinals, the city's Major League Baseball (MLB) ...

for

Mark McGwire Mark David McGwire (born October 1, 1963), nicknamed "Big Mac", is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2001 for the Oakland Athletics and the St. Louis Card ...

. McEwing had a streak of 230 errorless games, which at one point was the longest such streak by an active major league outfielder. McEwing was often successful against

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

, so McEwing was nicknamed "Little Unit" (a reference to Johnson who was called "Big Unit"). During

Spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

just before the start of the season, he was traded to the New York Mets for

Jesse Orosco Jesse Russell Orosco (born April 21, 1957) is a Mexican American former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who holds the major league record for career pitching appearances, having pitched in 1,252 games. He pitched most notably for the New ...

. Cardinals manager

Tony LaRussa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland ...

admired McEwing so much that he requested a pair of the player's spikes upon the trade. Released by the Mets toward the end of

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

in (which especially upset All-Star

David Wright David Allen Wright (born December 20, 1982) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career for the New York Mets. He was drafted by the Mets in 2001 MLB draft and made ...

), the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expa ...

signed him to provide extra

infield Infield is a sports term whose definition depends on the sport in whose context it is used. Baseball In baseball, the diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, usually grass ...

insurance. The Royals called him up to the major leagues on March 12, when regular

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system u ...

, Mark Teahen, went on the 15-day disabled list. On March 30, , he was sent to the

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston, Texas. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division, having moved to the division in 2013 after ...

by the Royals. In , he signed a minor league contract with the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eig ...

. On January 16, , McEwing officially announced his retirement from baseball.

Post-playing career

In the 2008 season, McEwing started his baseball coaching career as the hitting coach for the

Charlotte Knights The Charlotte Knights are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field, which opened in 20 ...

. On November 3, 2008, he was named manager of the

Winston-Salem Dash The Winston-Salem Dash are a Minor League Baseball team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. They are a High-A team in the South Atlantic League and have been a farm team of the Chicago White Sox since 1997. The Dash began playing their home games a ...

, the Class A affiliate for the

, for the season. During that season,

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form ...

rated McEwing as the top managerial prospect in the

South Atlantic League The South Atlantic League, often informally called the Sally League, is a Minor League Baseball league with teams predominantly in states along the Atlantic coast of the United States from New York to Georgia. A Class A league for most of its ...

. McEwing was also named Manager of the Year for his work managing the Dash in 2009 and 2010. McEwing was named manager of the

, the White Sox triple-A affiliate, for the 2011 season. On October 10, 2011, several sources reported that McEwing would be promoted to serve as the third base coach for the

White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

in 2012, serving under new manager

Robin Ventura Robin Mark Ventura (born July 14, 1967) is an American former professional baseball third baseman and manager. Ventura played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, New York Mets, New York Yankees and Los Angeles D ...

. Several managerial and coaching positions opened up shortly before the end of the 2011 season when then White Sox manager

Ozzie Guillén Oswaldo José Guillén Barrios (; born January 20, 1964) is a former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop for 16 seasons, primarily with the Chicago White Sox, from 1985 to 2000. During tha ...

announced that he would be leaving. McEwing was promoted from third base coach to bench coach for the 2017 season and continued to occupy that job until 2020 when the White Sox hired Miguel Cairo. On December 1, 2020, McEwing was named third base coach. McEwing married to Courtnie and resides outside of Philadelphia, PA with his children JD, Grace and Ashlyn.

References

External links

2007 Player Statistics
* : {{DEFAULTSORT:McEwing, Joe 1972 births Living people People from Bristol, Pennsylvania St. Louis Cardinals players New York Mets players Kansas City Royals players Houston Astros players Chicago White Sox coaches Pawtucket Red Sox players Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball outfielders Major League Baseball third base coaches Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania Baseball players from Pennsylvania Morris Titans baseball players Binghamton Mets players Madison Hatters players Arkansas Travelers players St. Petersburg Cardinals players Savannah Cardinals players Memphis Redbirds players Norfolk Tides players Brooklyn Cyclones players Omaha Royals players Round Rock Express players Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Minor league baseball managers