Dale Curtis Sveum ( ; born November 23, 1963) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former

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 (A ...

(MLB)

player Player may refer to: Role or adjective * Player (game), a participant in a game or sport ** Gamer, a player in video and tabletop games ** Athlete, a player in sports ** Player character, a character in a video game or role playing game who is ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

. He most recently served as the

bench 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 decisi ...

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 ...

. As a player, Sveum saw action in 12 major league seasons between 1986 and 1999. He was a member of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. The Brewers are named for t ...

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 ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The t ...

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) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion ...

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, and

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

. Following his playing career, Sveum managed in

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in No ...

baseball for several seasons before becoming an MLB coach. Sveum briefly served as manager of the Brewers in 2008 during his tenure as hitting coach for the team. He was later named manager of the Cubs after the 2011 season and served for two seasons. His cousin is former Blue Jays All-Star

John Olerud John Garrett Olerud, Jr. (; born August 5, 1968), nicknamed "Johnny O", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman from through , most notably as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays te ...

Playing career

During his time at Pinole Valley High School, Sveum was recognized as an All-State and

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quarterback The quarterback (commonly abbreviated "QB"), colloquially known as the "signal caller", is a position in gridiron football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive platoon and mostly line up directly behind the offensive line. In modern Am ...

, in addition to playing baseball and basketball. Drafted by the

in the first round (25th pick) of the 1982 amateur draft, he went on to play 12 seasons in MLB, hitting .236 with 69

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s. Arguably, Sveum's finest season came in , when he hit 25

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

and drove in 95 runs, mostly as the Brewers'

ninth In music, a ninth is a compound interval consisting of an octave plus a second. Like the second, the interval of a ninth is classified as a dissonance in common practice tonality. Since a ninth is an octave larger than a second, its ...

hitter in the lineup. One of his personal highlights came early in the season, when he hit a

walk-off home run In baseball, a walk-off home run is a home run that ends the game. For a home run to end the game, it must be hit in the bottom of the final inning of the game and generate enough runs to exceed the opponent's score. Because the opponent will no ...

County Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also used for Green Bay Packers fo ...

to give Milwaukee a 6–4 victory over the Texas Rangers. This victory, which came on April 19 (

Easter Sunday Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

), led the Brewers to a 12–0 record on the season. On July 17, 1987, Sveum totaled three homers and six RBIs during a 12–2 thumping of the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ...

. On September 3, 1988, Sveum was involved in a severe collision with fellow Brewer

Darryl Hamilton Darryl Quinn Hamilton (December 3, 1964 – June 21, 2015) was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1988 and 2001 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Texas Rangers, San Francisco Giants, Colorado R ...

. Sveum's leg was broken and he did not play again in . He also sat out the entire MLB season, while seeing action in 17 games in the minor leagues. In his first three major league seasons, Sveum's lowest yearly batting average was .242. Following his return to the majors in 1990, he only batted over .241 twice in parts of nine seasons. During his career, Sveum had the distinction of playing for five separate managers who would (at some point in their careers) win a league

Manager of the Year Award In Major League Baseball, the Manager of the Year Award is an honor given annually since 1983 to two outstanding managers, one each in the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner is voted on by 30 members of the Baseball Writ ...

: *

Tony La Russa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland At ...

(1983, 1988, 1992, 2002), in Oakland *

Jim Leyland James Richard Leyland (born December 15, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach and manager. He serves as a special assistant to the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB). Leyland led the Florida Marlins to the ...

(1990, 1992, 2006), in Pittsburgh *

Gene Lamont Gene William Lamont (born December 25, 1946) is an American special assistant to the general manager of the Kansas City Royals. He was a catcher and manager in Major League Baseball who managed the Chicago White Sox (1992–1995) and Pittsburgh P ...

(1993), with the Chicago White Sox *

Lou Piniella Louis Victor Piniella ( usually ; born August 28, 1943) is a former professional baseball player and manager. An outfielder, he played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals and ...

(1995, 2001, 2008), in Seattle *

Joe Torre Joseph Paul Torre (; born July 18, 1940) is an American professional baseball executive, serving as a special assistant to the Commissioner of Baseball since 2020. He previously served in the capacity of Major League Baseball's (MLB) chief baseb ...

(1996, 1998), in New York

Coaching career

Pittsburgh

Prior to coaching in Milwaukee, Sveum managed the Double A team in the

organization from 2001–2003, compiling a 213–211 record. In 2003,

Baseball America ''Baseball America'' is a sports enterprise that covers baseball at every level, including MLB, with a particular focus on up-and-coming players in the MiLB, college, high school, and international leagues. It is currently published in the form o ...

tabbed Sveum as the best potential MLB manager in the

Eastern League Eastern League may refer to: Baseball in the United States ''Most recent leagues listed first'' * Eastern League (1938–present), a minor league established in 1923 and renamed Eastern League in 1938, at the Double-A level * Eastern League (1916� ...

Boston Red Sox

Sveum was on the coaching staff of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

from 2004–05, serving as third base coach and working under manager (and former Brewers teammate)

Terry Francona Terrence Jon Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he was the manager of the Boston Red Sox fo ...

. Following Sveum's second season in Boston, he left the Red Sox to rejoin Milwaukee as the team's bench coach.

Milwaukee Brewers

On October 30, 2007, Sveum switched positions on the staff and became the team's third base coach. On September 15, 2008, he was named interim manager of the

after manager

Ned Yost Edgar Frederick Yost III (; born August 19, 1954) is a former Major League Baseball catcher and manager of the Milwaukee Brewers and Kansas City Royals. He played for the Brewers, Texas Rangers, and Montreal Expos. Early life Yost was born o ...

was fired. Sveum led the team to a 7–5 record to close out the 2008 regular season, which was enough for the Brewers to make the playoffs for the first time since their World Series run in 1982. Under Sveum's leadership, the Brewers lost the 2008 NLDS to the

in 4 games. As

Ken Macha Kenneth Edward Macha (; born September 29, 1950) is a former Major League Baseball third baseman and manager. He managed the Oakland Athletics from 2003–2006, including American League Western Division championships in both his first and final ...

took over the Brewers for the 2009 season, Sveum stayed on as the team's hitting coach.

Chicago Cubs

On November 16, 2011 the Chicago Cubs offered Sveum their vacant managerial position. The following day, on November 17, 2011, he accepted an offer to become the new manager of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

, and was introduced on November 18, 2011. Sveum was fired on September 30, 2013 after posting a record of 127-197 in two seasons with the Cubs. On August 16, 2017, Sveum received a World Series ring from the team.

Kansas City Royals

On October 3, 2013, the

announced they had hired Sveum as a coach and infield instructor, reuniting him with Yost (serving as manager). On May 29, 2014, the Royals promoted Sveum to hitting coach in an effort to improve a lackluster offensive start to the season. Sveum departed the Royals when Yost retired from the team after the 2019 season.

Managerial record

References

External links

Dale Sveum
at SABR (Baseball BioProject) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sveum, Dale 1963 births Living people Altoona Curve managers American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball coaches from California Baseball players from California Beloit Brewers players Boston Red Sox coaches Calgary Cannons players Chicago Cubs managers Chicago White Sox players Denver Zephyrs players El Paso Diablos players Kansas City Royals coaches Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball hitting coaches Major League Baseball shortstops Major League Baseball third basemen Major League Baseball third base coaches Milwaukee Brewers coaches Milwaukee Brewers players Milwaukee Brewers managers Nashville Sounds players New York Yankees players Oakland Athletics players Philadelphia Phillies players Pikeville Brewers players Pittsburgh Pirates players Seattle Mariners players Stockton Ports players Tacoma Tigers players Tucson Sidewinders players Vancouver Canadians players