Brian Edward Sweeney (born June 13, 1974) is an American former professional
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
who is currently the
pitching coach
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, who determines the starting lineup and batting order, decides how to substitute players during the game, and makes strategy decisio ...
for the
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) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...
of
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), ...
(MLB). He played in MLB for the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
and
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...
and in
Nippon Professional Baseball
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
(NPB) for the
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Kitahiroshima, Hokkaidō. They compete in the Pacific League of Nippon Professional Baseball, playing the majority of their home games at ES CON Field Hokkaido. The Fighters also host a ...
, in addition to coaching for the
Cleveland Guardians
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) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...
.
Sweeney graduated from
Archbishop Stepinac High School
Archbishop Stepinac High School is an American all-boys' Roman Catholic high school in White Plains, New York.
It was operated by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York until the 2009–2010 school year, when it became independent of the ...
in
White Plains, New York
(Always Faithful)
, image_seal = WhitePlainsSeal.png
, seal_link =
, subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Country
, subdivision_name =
, subdivision_type1 = U.S. state, State
, su ...
in 1992. He graduated from
Mercy College in New York, where he was a starting pitcher.
After making his major league debut with the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
in , Sweeney moved to
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
in and then signed with Japan's Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.
He signed a minor league contract with the
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
and reported to Tacoma Rainiers on April 15, 2010.
On June 15, 2010, he was called up to replace
Ian Snell
Ian Dante Snell (born October 30, 1981) is an American former professional baseball right-handed pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Seattle Mariners. From 2001 to 2003, he went by the name Ian Oquendo ...
, who was designated for assignment.
On November 3, 2010, Sweeney was claimed off waivers by the
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...
.
Sweeney signed a minor league contract with the
New York Mets
The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
on May 5, 2011. On January 27, 2012, he signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners.
The
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...
named Sweeney as pitching coach for their rookie league
Gulf Coast League Phillies for the 2015 season. From 2016 to 2017, he was the pitching coach for their Single-A affiliate
Lakewood BlueClaws
The Jersey Shore BlueClaws (formerly Lakewood BlueClaws) are a Minor League Baseball team of the South Atlantic League and the High-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. They are located in Lakewood, New Jersey, and are named for their locat ...
.
Sweeney was hired by the Indians as a major league coach on December 11, 2017. Sweeney was promoted to bullpen coach on October 31, 2019.
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sweeney, Brian
Living people
1974 births
2013 World Baseball Classic players
Águilas del Zulia players
American expatriate baseball players in Japan
Baseball players from New York (state)
Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players
Cardenales de Lara players
Cleveland Indians coaches
Durham Bulls players
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters players
Lafayette Leopards players
Lancaster JetHawks players
Major League Baseball pitchers
Mercy Mavericks baseball players
Minor league baseball coaches
Navegantes del Magallanes players
American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela
New Haven Ravens players
Portland Beavers players
San Antonio Missions players
San Diego Padres players
Seattle Mariners players
Somerset Patriots players
Sportspeople from Yonkers, New York
Tacoma Rainiers players
Archbishop Stepinac High School alumni