Mike Sweeney

1991–1997: Minor leagues and MLB debut

Sweeney was drafted by the Royals as a catcher out of Ontario High School in Ontario, California^[1][2] in the 10th round (262nd overall) of the 1991 MLB draft. He signed with the Royals in May 1991, a month before his graduation from high school. He had just led his varsity baseball team as the team captain to a CIF victory with an undefeated record of 26–0 for the 1991 season.^[3]

Sweeney made his major league debut on September 14, 1995 at catcher. He got his first major league hit against Paul Assenmacher of the Cleveland Indians during the final game of the season.

While Sweeney's ability with the bat impressed the Royals, they were less than enamored with his defensive skills as a catcher, having him work with starter Mike Macfarlane on his defense.^[4]

Sweeney hit his first major league home run, off Seattle Mariners' pitcher Jamie Moyer, on August 12, 1996.^[5][6]

Sweeney caught 76 games in 1997, splitting time with Macfarlane.^[7] He hit a two-run, walk-off home run off Doug Brocail of the Detroit Tigers on May 15, 1997 in his only at bat of the game.^[8]

1998: Primary catcher

In 1998, Sweeney played in his first Opening Day game. He tied a club record with two hits in an inning against the Oakland A's on May 31. Sweeney missed hitting for the cycle by approximately 40 feet, when he retreated to second base on what appeared to be a sure triple in the eighth inning with the Kansas City Royals leading by a 12–6 score.^{[citation needed]} He caught 91 games, the most of his major league career,^[9] serving as the regular starter after Macfarlane was traded midseason.^[4]

1999–2001

Sweeney's big break came in 1999, after the Royals tried unsuccessfully to trade him during spring training. Riddled with injuries and with no other viable options, the Royals started using Sweeney as their regular designated hitter. After the sudden retirement of Jeff King, the Royals offered the first base job to rookie Jeremy Giambi. When Giambi showed reluctance, they gave the job to Sweeney, who responded by posting the highest fielding percentage by a regular first baseman in more than 20 years. His .322 batting average led the team and his 22 home runs and 102 RBI were second and third on the team, respectively. From July 18 to August 13, Sweeney had a hit in 25 consecutive games, collecting 42 hits total. The 25-game hitting streak is tied for fourth longest in Royals history with George Brett's 25-game streak in 1983, trailing only Whit Merrifield's 31-game streak spanning 2018–2019, Brett's 30-game streak in 1980 and José Offerman's 27-game streak in 1998.

In 2000, Sweeney was selected to his first of five All-Star Games. He joined Jermaine Dye to become the first pair of Royals to go to an All-Star Game since 1989 (Bo Jackson and Mark Gubicza). Sweeney passed the 100 RBI mark for the second straight year on August 13, 2000, reaching the century mark faster than any player in Royals history. He finished second in the league with a club record 144 RBI, behind only Seattle's Edgar Martínez's 145 RBI, and breaking Hal McRae's 1982 team mark of 133.^{[citation needed]}

In June 2001, Sweeney hit .392 with 11 home runs and 29 RBI with a .794 slugging percentage and was named the American League (AL) Player of the Month for the only time in his career.^[10]

2002–2004

Sweeney had one of the best seasons of his career in 2002, hitting .340, the second-highest batting average in the AL and the second-highest in club history, behind Brett's .390 in 1980.^[12] Sweeney had a chance of winning the AL batting crown through the season's final weekend but fell short of Manny Ramírez, who hit a league-best .349.^[13] Sweeney was hitting .347 on September 24 before going 2-for-16 in his final four games.^[14]

On August 14, 2002, he became the fifth Royal in club history to record a straight steal of home and the first since Fred Patek versus Minnesota on June 18, 1977, with a stolen base off the New York Yankees' Andy Pettitte. His stolen base came on a 1-2 count with left-hander Aaron Guiel at the plate and gave the Royals a 2–1 lead, but KC lost the game, 3–2, in 14 innings.^[15]

Sweeney was placed on the disabled list for the first time in his career on July 26, 2002 (retroactive to July 14) with a lower back and hip strain. He would continue to have injury problems throughout the rest of his career, including a lengthy DL stint during the 2003 season, with the Royals seeking their first winning season since the strike-shortened 1994 season, where they went 64–51.

During the 2003 season, Sweeney was named to his fourth consecutive All-Star Game, joining Royals closer Mike MacDougal, marking the first time since 2000 (Sweeney and Jermaine Dye) that Kansas had two representatives and just the second time since 1989 (Bo Jackson and Mark Gubicza).

On July 22, 2004, Sweeney hit a grand slam and later hit an insurance three-run home run in a 13–7 Kansas City win. The seven RBI would be a career-high for Sweeney.^{[citation needed]} He would go on to bat .287 with 22 home runs and 79 RBI during the 2004 season.

Through the 2004 season, Sweeney compiled a .305 career average with 161 home runs and 683 RBI in 1,026 games.^[9]

2005–2007

In 2005, Sweeney was named the Royals' player of the year for the third time in his career.^[16] He led the team in average (.300) for the sixth time in his career, doubles (39) and home runs (21), despite playing in just 122 games.^[17] Sweeney won the Marvin Miller Man of the Year Award and was also named to the All-Star team for the fifth time in six seasons and the final time in his career.^[18][9]

Sweeney was restricted to designated hitter and was able to play just 60 games because of back problems in 2006. After returning from the disabled list on August 8, Sweeney hit .293 with six homers and 26 RBI, but missed another five games with a sore side.^{[citation needed]}

On September 1, 2007, his first day back off the DL, Sweeney pinch-hit in the bottom of the ninth and hit a bloop base hit that broke up Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Scott Baker's no-hitter.^[19] Baker had gone eight perfect innings before he walked Royals catcher John Buck at the beginning of the ninth. With two outs to go, Royals manager Buddy Bell pinch-hit Sweeney for Tony Peña Jr. and Sweeney ended the no-hitter.^[20] Sweeney won the Hutch Award, which honors players who exemplify a fighting spirit, honoring Fred Hutchinson, who died of cancer in 1964.^[21]