Mark Sweeney
| Mark Sweeney | |
|---|---|
 Sweeney with the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Outfielder / First baseman | |
| Born: October 26, 1969 Framingham, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
Batted: Left Threw: Left | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 4, 1995, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 26, 2008, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .254 |
| Home runs | 42 |
| Runs batted in | 250 |
| Teams | |
Mark Patrick Sweeney (born October 26, 1969) is an American former
Early life
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. He also led his football team as the quarterback to a state championship, winning the Tri-Valley League and a Superbowl in 1985.
College career
Sweeney was signed to play
While at Maine, he played
Professional career
Draft and minor leagues
Sweeney was drafted by the
MLB career
Sweeney made his major league debut on August 4,
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, making the last out of the Series by grounding out to third base.
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 Triple-A
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 Padres, 2006-2007 with the San Francisco Giants and 2007 and 2008 with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
He has played
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.[3] Bonds would later clear Sweeney of any involvement in his positive amphetamine test.[4]
On July 27, 2007, against the
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.[5]
He remained with the Dodgers, primarily as a pinch hitter through the 2008 season. In May 2008, Sweeney surrendered his jersey number, 22, to his rookie teammate Clayton Kershaw, and adopted #21.[6] Unable to find a playing position as a free agent for 2009, Sweeney officially announced his retirement on March 6, 2009. He subsequently rejoined the Dodgers organization as an assistant coach.
Post-playing career
In 2012, Sweeney began working as a baseball correspondent and pregame
In the Fall of 2013, Sweeney's number 12 was retired by his alma mater, the University of Maine.[7]
In 2014, Sweeney started appearing on FOX and FOX Sports 1 as a studio analyst.
Sweeney is married to fitness instructor Cindy Whitmarsh, with whom he has a son and two stepdaughters.[8]
References
- ^ "21 Mark Sweeney, 1B". CBS Sports. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
- ^ "2018 Cape League Hall of Fame Class Announced". capecodbaseball.org. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
- ^ "Report: Barry Bonds failed amphetamine test". The San Francisco Chronicle. 2007-01-11. Archived from the original on 2007-11-23.
- ^ Schulman, Henry (February 20, 2007). "Sweeney: It's 'over and done' / Giants don't expect another apology from Bonds". The San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Sweeney traded to rival Dodgers. San Francisco Chronicle.
- ^ Knight, Molly (May 30, 2008). "Reporting from ... the visitors clubhouse at Shea". ESPN.
- ^ "Former major leaguer Mark Sweeney returns for UMaine No. 12 jersey retirement". 18 October 2013.
- ^ Tom Krasovic (April 13, 2012). "San Diego Padre Mark Sweeney Talks Life and Fox Sports". San Diego Magazine.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/30/sports/baseball/30record.html?ref=sports
- https://web.archive.org/web/20070128223550/http://www.nypost.com/seven/01112007/sports/report__bonds_used_speed_sports_.htm