San Diego Padres: FoB Speaks with FOX Sports’ Mark Sweeney

I had the pleasure of speaking with former San Diego Padres first baseman and outfielder, and current color-analyst for Friars broadcasts on FOX Sports San Diego, Mark Sweeney, over the weekend. Here’s our conversation.

Mark Sweeney is an awesome interview. Candid, affable, and friendly are three spot-on adjectives to describe The Sween Dog’s demeanor when speaking with me. Sweeney is currently a color-analyst on San Diego Padres’ TV broadcasts on FOX Sports San Diego, and also appears on FOX Sports 1 as a studio analyst.

Over his 14-year-career, Mark Sweeney played for a total of seven different teams, spending four years in San Diego, three in St. Louis, and nine more seasons with Colorado (2), San Francisco (2), Los Angeles (2), Milwaukee (2), and Cincinnati (1).

Sweeney ranks second all-time in MLB history with 175 career-pinch-hits, behind Lenny Harris and just in front of the legendary Manny Mota.

Sweeney’s time with the San Diego Padres

After being traded to the Padres in June 1997, Sweeney hit .320/.383/.417 in 115 at-bats to finish out the season. The next year, helping the Friars to the 1998 World Series, he cemented his place in Friars history.

He came back to San Diego for one more season in 2005, and again, had one of the most productive years of his career. In 221 at-bats, Sweeney slashed .294/.395/.466 with eight homers and 40 RBI.

The former San Diego Padres first-baseman, outfielder, and fan-favorite touched on a number of subjects.

In this interview, we discuss a little bit of his time as a kid in Massachusetts, a unique friend he made while in the California Angels’ farm system, as well as some of Sweeney’s thoughts on the upcoming San Diego Padres season.

This one is much shorter than the Kurt Bevacqua interview, clocking in at an efficient fifteen minutes and change. Though, don’t let the brevity of the chat lead you to believe that this is a vanilla, company-line, fluff interview.

Next: FoB Speaks With Kurt Bevacqua

To say that he was forthcoming and relatable would be an understatement. I want to thank Mark Sweeney again for taking the time to speak with us and I hope you enjoy it.