Mike Sweeney has been (was?) a Philadelphia Phillie for all of 90 days. In those 90 days, Sweeney reached cult hero status, becoming more beloved than Scott Rolen, Bobby Abreu, and Mike Schmidt combined.
OK, jokes aside, Sweeney became a fan favorite nearly instantly. Understanding his career was clearly the downside, Sweeney took the term “role player” to a new level. He rallied around his teammates at every turn, was routinely the first person taking hacks at early batting practice, and always, ALWAYS had a smile on his face. The ultimate team player indeed.
Even a new term was born out of his love of baseball and his teammates: Hugs for Sweeney. In an interview I conducted with him during NLCS media day, I brought up the Hugs for Sweeney title that had become an internet sensation of sorts. Sweeney sheepishly attempted to turn the attention away from it all – he’d rather talk about how much he enjoys playing here and how much he enjoys his teammates.
The hugs thing, however, was ...
Original Story:
