It’s the middle innings of a Padres TV telecast and isn’t Mark Sweeney a tad early?
“Hopefully I can inject something without being the third guy that is stuffed in there,” Sweeney said.
There’s always room for the knowledgeable Sweeney, especially when the Rancho Santa Fe resident is preaching baseball on Fox Sports.
“This is a blessing,” he said.
Sweeney was a godsend as a pinch-hitter, making numerous managers look smart over a 14-year career in the majors. It was late in games where Sweeney shined when he delivered countless clutch at-bats. His 102 RBIs as a pinch-hitter are tops in baseball history. His 175 pinch-hits are No. 2 all-time.
With those credentials, Fox colleagues Mark Grant and Don Orsillo can always slide over. If Sweeney’s in the booth — or chatting before and after Padres games — he’s always worth a listen.
Instead of having all the answers, Sweeney shares the challenges all players face.
“I want to bring the everyday realization of how hard this game is,” said Sweeney, who played for seven teams that included two stints with the Padres. “The game was so hard for me.”
But the sweet-swinging lefty who started with the 1991 Boise Hawks in Single-A stuck around. The ninth-round pick of the California Angels started a journey that required him to do the little things in order to make a big impression.
“I had to figure out a way, day-to-day, how to stay in it,” Sweeney said.
That meant paying attention while watching Tony Gwynn punish thousands of baseballs from a tee. That meant listening when veterans and coaches distributed lessons of a game in which no one has all the answers.
“I really do like talking about baseball and the strategy that goes into a three-hour game,” Sweeney said. “And I would love to get better and better at doing it.”
Sweeney, 48, spelled Grant five times this year in handling nine innings and he worked two nationally televised FOX games this season. He’s wrapping up his sixth season putting his discerning eye on the rebuilding Padres and just what does he see?
“A lot of people thought they would be right around 100 losses this season and that didn’t happen,” Sweeney said. “And you got to see who was going to step up as big leaguers.”
Manuel Margot in center field gets two thumbs up from Sweeney. Same goes for catcher Austin Hedges. Both are considered integral building blocks for an organization that is sinking to its seventh straight losing season.
“Manny is the guy that sticks out to me as legitimate,” he said. “And with Austin, it’s the work that he puts in with the pitchers that is just incredible. Both of them are everyday players that are trying to get better, every day.”
Sweeney, though, points to Jose Pirela as the team’s MVP. An outfielder thought to be a descending player after a poor season last year has established himself as part of the mix going forward.
Hunter Renfroe’s rise and fall? While he hit 20 home runs, he was also demoted to Triple-A last month. He hit his 21st homer on Monday, the day he was recalled.
“He does have some stuff he has to clean up,” Sweeney said. “Defensively we know he has a strong arm but sometimes you just don’t know where it is going. And in trying to hit the 500-foot homers instead of the 375-foot ones consistently, he’s going to have to make that adjustment. But if he puts in the work, I think there is a lot of upside there.”
Sweeney, as usual, is on the up-and-up. That rings true no matter the inning.
1 comment
obviously you don’t listen to him very often because obviously you would learn that his vocabulary is very limited to the word obviously. he must use that word a hundred times a game. I can’t stand to listen to him. when he comes in the booth I turn off the sound. he has a stable of around ten to twelve words that he uses over and over until one is ready to puke if we hear them again. sorry, but he needs to go back to school and expand his vocabulary, obviously. last night the word obviously was the second word out of his mouth and in one sentence he used it three time.
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