CarL1 Wilmington Blue Rocks

Blue Rocks to retire Sweeney's number

March 26, 2004 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Wilmington Blue Rocks News Release


WILMINGTON, DE – The Wilmington Blue Rocks are proud to announce that the club will retire Mike Sweeney's uniform number 33 in a ceremony on Saturday, June 19 at Frawley Stadium. The time of the ceremony, which will take place during the day, will be announced in the near future and the event will be open to the public. Sweeney will become just the second Wilmington player ever to have his number retired, joining Robin Roberts, and the first for the modern-day Blue Rocks.

A standout player and Carolina League All-Star for Wilmington, Sweeney led the Blue Rocks in average, homers and walks during the 1995 season. In 99 games, Sweeney hit .310 with 18 homers, 53 RBI, 23 doubles, 61 runs scored and drew 60 walks.

"It's an honor to have my No. 33 retired by the Wilmington Blue Rocks," said Sweeney from Surprise, Ariz. "I have wonderful memories of that 1995 season and my time there. I am looking forward to seeing a lot of the people that I got to know and especially the Testa family, who I stayed with. They are a big reason as to why I said yes to coming down for the ceremony. When I was there, they let me drive their car, they fed me and took me to church and treated me like a member of their family."

The Orange, Calif. native was named the Carolina League's seventh-best prospect in 1995 by Baseball America after leading the CL in hitting and slugging (.548) and ranking second in on-base percentage (.424).

Sweeney made his major league debut on September 18 of the same year with the Kansas City Royals. He collected his first big-league hit on the final day of the regular season, a pitch-hit single against Cleveland's Paul Assenmacher.

Sweeney has established himself among baseball's elite first basemen, earning American League All-Star nods in the last four straight seasons.

Among Sweeney's many accomplishments on the major league level:

- Has batted over .300 in four of the last five seasons

- Ranks among the Royals' all-time leaders in nearly every offensive category, including batting average (.307, 1st), slugging percentage (.497, 2nd), on-base percentage (.381, 2nd), RBI (604, 5th), doubles (205, 6th), hits (1,014 7th), homers (139, 6th) and runs (532, 7th)

- Set a team record and tied the American League record by collecting an RBI in 13 straight games from June 23-July 4, 1999

- In 2000 he became the first American League player to hit at least .330 with 200 hits and 140 RBI since Al Rosen in 1953 with Cleveland

- Posted a 25-game hitting streak from July 18-Aug. 13, 1999, the third longest single-season hitting streak in club history

"Mike is the ultimate good guy role model. He always has time to smile and say 'hi' to a fan. I have the utmost respect for Mike as a player and a person," said Matt Minker, president of the Wilmington Blue Rocks.

The 30-year-old joins Robin Roberts and his No. 36 as the only two numbers to be officially retired by the Blue Rocks franchise. Roberts, who played with the original Blue Rocks in 1948, had his number retired at the 1998 Carolina League All-Star Game on June 23, when Wilmington hosted the contest.

While their numbers are not officially retired by the Blue Rocks, Wilmington players also do not wear the numbers 5, 10 or 20 in honor of former Royals George Brett, Dick Howser and Frank White. The Rocks also observe baseball's universal retiring of Jackie Robinson's No. 42.

The Kansas City Royals will be in the Wilmington region to play the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park for a three-game series the weekend of June 18-20. It will mark the first time the Royals have played the Phillies in a regular-season game and it's the first meeting between the two clubs since Game Six of the 1980 World Series at Veterans Stadium.

Check out the Wilmington Blue Rocks Statistics



Carolina League Stories from March 26, 2004


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