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

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

coach and former

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, basketball, American football, baseball, rugby union, rugby league, softball, ice hockey, and water ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB) for the

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 (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National ...

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) American League Central, Central Division. The team ...

, and

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

, and coached 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) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...

and Cardinals. Nicknamed "Super Joe", he was the prototypical

who could play any position on the field.

Early life

McEwing graduated from Bishop Egan High School in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania in 1990. While in high school he played for both the basketball and baseball teams. He played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

at the County College of Morris in Randolph Township, New Jersey. During the 1991 season, he set a school record for single-season batting average, hitting .465. In 2001, the college retired his uniform number, six.

Professional baseball career

In 1998, he had a total of 51 doubles with Triple-A Memphis and Double-A

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

. 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 Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

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 pl ...

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

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

Rookie of the Year balloting. McEwing became an immediate fan favorite because of his energy, hustle, and obvious love for the game. His nickname, Super Joe, referred to McEwing's positional versatility. During his rookie season, McEwing played every position on the field, except

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), 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, ...

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 catc ...

. In his honor,

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. It is the home of Major League Baseball's St. Louis Cardinals. It has a seating capacity of 44,383, ...

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 former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle Mariners and Arizo ...

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

Spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

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 an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball from 1979 to 2003 for the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Baltimor ...

. Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa 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, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...

in (which especially upset All-Star

David Wright David Allen Wright (born December 20, 1982) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who spent his entire 14-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Mets. Chosen by the Mets in the 2001 Major League Baseball dr ...

), the

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 baseball field, diamond, as well as the area immediately beyond it, has both grass and dirt, in contrast to the more distant, ...

insurance. The Royals called McEwing up to the major leagues in April, when starting

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 Baseball scorekeep ...

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

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

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

Post-playing career

Chicago White Sox

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 (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox. They are located in Charlotte, North Carolina, and play their home games at Truist Field ...

. On November 3, 2008, he was named manager of the Winston-Salem Dash, the Class A affiliate for the

, for the season. During that season,

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' (BA) is a sports publication company that covers baseball at every level, including Major League Baseball (MLB), with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in Minor League Baseball (MiLB) college, high school, and inte ...

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 h ...

. 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. In October 2011, McEwing was 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 club plays its home games at Rate Fie ...

in 2012, serving under new manager Robin Ventura. Several managerial and coaching positions opened up shortly before the end of the 2011 season when then White Sox manager Ozzie Guillén 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 Miguel Jesús Cairo i'-row(born May 4, 1974), is a Venezuelans, Venezuelan former professional baseball infielder and currently the Coach (baseball), bench coach for the Washington Nationals. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine ...

. On December 1, 2020, McEwing was named third base coach.

St. Louis Cardinals

On January 12, 2023, McEwing was hired by the

as their bench coach. McEwing was ejected for the first time in his MLB career on May 5, 2023, arguing a called strike one to Dylan Carlson. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol was ejected as well. On November 20, the Cardinals announced he will move into a role as a special assistant to John Mozeliak, the Cardinals president of baseball operations, as Daniel Descalso becomes the new bench coach.

Personal life

McEwing, his wife Courtnie, and their family reside outside of

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

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 utility players Major League Baseball third base coaches Baseball coaches from Pennsylvania Baseball players from Bucks County, 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 21st-century American sportsmen Omaha Royals players Round Rock Express players Águilas Cibaeñas players American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic Minor league baseball managers