Mark Sweeney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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|---|---|
| Los Angeles Dodgers — No. 21 | |
| First Baseman | |
| Born: October 26, 1969 Framingham, Massachusetts |
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| Bats: Left | Throws: Left |
| Major League Baseball debut | |
| August 4, 1995 for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Selected MLB statistics (through April 30, 2008) |
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| Batting average | .259 |
| Hits | 454 |
| Home runs | 42 |
| Runs batted in | 245 |
| Teams | |
Mark Patrick Sweeney (born October 26, 1969, in Framingham, Massachusetts) is a first baseman and a corner outfielder in Major League Baseball who is currently on the Los Angeles Dodgers. He is best known for his skill as a pinch hitter, where he is 2nd on the all time list for pinch hits.
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[edit] High School Years
Sweeney attended Holliston High School in Holliston, Massachusetts and was a student and a letterman in football and baseball. In baseball, he helped lead his team to the 1987 Massachusetts State Championship.
[edit] College Years
Sweeney was signed to play QB for the University of Maine in Orono. There he decided to play baseball full time. He went on to become a Golden Spikes Finalist, playing outfield, and breaking many of the school's offensive records. As a senior he hit .384 with 23 HRs, 80 RBI and 22 SB in 65 games.
[edit] Minor League career
Sweeney was drafted by the California Angels in the 9th round of the 1991 MLB Draft. He made his professional debut in 1991 with the Boise Hawks in Class-A, batting .282 in 70 games. With the Angels organization he played for the Quad City Bandits (1992), Palm Springs Angels (1993), Midland Angels (1993-1994) and Vancouver Canadians (1994-1995). On July 8, 1995 he was traded by the Angels to the St. Louis Cardinals for John Habyan. After playing in 22 games for the AAA Louisville Redbirds his contract was purchased by the Cards on August 4.
[edit] MLB career
Sweeney made his Major League debut on August 4, 1995 as the starting first baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs. He was hitless in four at-bats in his debut. He collected his first ML hit the next day against Cubs starter Jim Bullinger. He hit his first home run on August 10 against the Los Angeles Dodgers Hideo Nomo.
He remained with the Cards until 1997 when he was traded to the San Diego Padres (along with Danny Jackson and Rich Batchelor) for Fernando Valenzuela, Phil Plantier and Scott Livingstone. He went 2 for 3 as a pinch hitter for the Padres in the 1998 World Series against the New York Yankees.
After the season, he was traded by the Padres (along with Greg Vaughn) to the Cincinnati Reds for Josh Harris, Reggie Sanders and Damian Jackson.
Sweeney spent one season with the Reds organization, much of which was spent with the AAA Indianapolis Indians. The Reds traded him on January 14, 2000 to the Milwaukee Brewers (along with Gene Altman) for Alex Ochoa. He spent the next two seasons with the Brewers shuttling between the Majors and AAA while battling through an assortment of injuries and trips to the Disabled list.
In 2002 he was traded by the Brewers (with Lou Collier, Jeromy Burnitz, Jeff D'Amico and cash to the New York Mets for Glendon Rusch, Lenny Harris and Alex Ochoa. He failed to make the Mets roster and was released. The San Diego Padres signed him as a free agent a few days later. Had a poor season with the Padres, hitting just .169 in 48 games.
Sweeney spent 2003 and 2004 with the Colorado Rockies, 2005 with the San Diego Padres, 2006-2007 with the San Francisco Giants and 2007 and 2008 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He has played first baseman, outfielder, and designated hitter.
In 1,120 career games, he is a lifetime .260 hitter, with 42 home runs, 245 runs batted in, and 16 stolen bases.
According to the New York Daily News in a story that broke in January 2007, Barry Bonds blamed a positive amphetamine test result during the 2006 season on a substance he took from Sweeney's locker. Sweeney's agent denied the claim that Bonds had gotten such a substance from Sweeney.[1] Bonds would later clear Sweeney of any involvement in his positive amphetamine test [2].
On July 27, 2007, against the Florida Marlins, he moved into a tie for 2nd place (151 hits) on the all time pinch hits list with Manny Mota with a pinch hit single.
On July 29, 2007, he moved into sole possession of 2nd place behind Lenny Harris on the all time pinch hits list with a game-tying, pinch hit double to deep right field in the 9th inning that scored Dave Roberts.
On August 9, 2007, Sweeney was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for second baseman Travis Denker. The trade was the first between the Giants and the Dodgers since 1985. [3] He was a top pinch hitter for the Dodgers for the remainder of the 2007 season.
[edit] References
[edit] External Links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball-Reference, or The Baseball Cube
- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/sports/baseball/30record.html?ref=sports
- http://www.nypost.com/seven/01112007/sports/report__bonds_used_speed_sports_.htm
