Theodore Walter Sepkowski, born ''Szepkowski'' (November 9, 1923 – March 8, 2002) was an American

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 baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player. Born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, he played outfield and three infield positions as a minor leaguer, and appeared in 19

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), ...

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

as a

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 ...

for the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

(; –) and

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

(). He batted and threw right-handed and was listed at and . Sepkowski's active career extended from 1942–1955, with the 1943–1945 seasons missed because of service in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mult ...

during World War II. He broke into the game with his hometown

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ...

, then a Cleveland farm club, and saw his first action in the Majors on September 9, 1942, when he was Cleveland's starting second baseman in a 5–4 defeat at the hands of the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

. Sepkowski collected his first MLB

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from ''Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization in ...

in five at bats that day but made two errors in the field.1942-9-9 box score from Retrosheet
/ref> He spent most of 1946 with the Double-A

Oklahoma City Indians The Oklahoma City Indians was the primary name of an American professional baseball team representing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from 1904 though 1957, except for 1913 and three seasons during World War II. The team played in several different minor ...

before another late-season recall, then started 1947 with Cleveland before his contract was sold to the Yankees on June 3. He appeared in two games for the Yanks as a

pinch runner In baseball, a pinch runner is a player substituted for the specific purpose of replacing another player on base. The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been sub ...

, then returned to the minors for the remainder of his career. As a Major Leaguer he appeared as a

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 us ...

and second baseman for two games each, and as a

right fielder A right fielder, abbreviated RF, is the outfielder in baseball or softball who plays defense in right field. Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the ...

in one contest. His six MLB hits included two doubles.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sepkowski, Ted 1923 births 2002 deaths Atlanta Crackers players Baltimore Orioles (IL) players Baseball players from Baltimore Cleveland Indians players Erie Senators players Hartford Chiefs players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players Major League Baseball right fielders Major League Baseball second basemen Major League Baseball third basemen Milwaukee Brewers (minor league) players Minor league baseball managers Newark Bears (IL) players New York Yankees players Oklahoma City Indians players Springfield Cubs players Wellsville Braves players United States Coast Guard personnel of World War II